Bowled Over:  Celebrating the Bearcats in Birmingham

Robert Dobbs, UCAA President

“People in Cincinnati have decided to jump on the train, because ‘If I don’t jump on, it’s going to pass me by.’ And it’s only going to get bigger … It’s only going to get more crowded on that train.”

             --Brian Kelly, addressing hundreds of Bearcat fans the night before the Papajohns.com Bowl

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As those in my UC circle can tell you, I had spent the first three weeks of December telling just about everyone I knew to “Go to the Bowl!”  The importance of making this kind of trip with our fellow Bearcats was clear in many ways:  It would show the bowl committees that UC can and does “travel well” and is deserving of more respect than we were shown when this year’s bowl bids were extended.  It would be a well-earned show of tangible support to a team and coaching staff that made 2007 a season to remember.  And it was necessary for thousands of UC alumni to meld as one in a tremendous community of Red & Black, made even more special because it was happening so far from home.

The Papajohns.com Bowl was UC’s sixth bowl game in the last eight years, but to be honest, the real “big-time bowl game experience” had remained foreign to us.  We really didn’t know what it meant to talk with so many of our friends and discover they were making plans to take a carload of family members to the bowl game, just like we were.  We didn’t realize what a hotel overflowing with Bearcat revelry looked, sounded and felt like the night before the game.  We couldn’t fathom a stadium other than Nippert with a sea of UC fans cheering for hours, greatly outnumbering and drowning out opposing fans who had traveled less than half as far, and even crowd-surfing The Bearcat from the field to the very top of an historic Deep South football shrine.  We couldn’t imagine stopping somewhere in Tennessee for a tank of gas or a quick meal and seeing so many friendly fellow Bearcats at the adjacent pumps or throughout the restaurant, all wearing C-paws and chanting “UC!!!  UC!!!”  But then we went to Birmingham.

I’m proud of the effort that made it all happen in a fairly short period of time.  As a memorable season drew to a close and the Bearcats finished with a #20 national ranking, we all hoped for, and expected, to go to a “better bowl.”  But things happen for a reason.  Looking back, the Papajohns.com Bowl was a great thing for UC.  I especially thank our UC Alumni Association staff.  With their Athletics colleagues and others, they worked tirelessly to get 300 students booked onto six buses, into Birmingham hotels and to the bowl, realizing that such a wonderful experience would stay with the students forever.  They created a vibrant pre-game tailgate atmosphere at Legion Field.  They warmly greeted alums throughout the weekend, making them feel valued for having made the trip and being part of the Bearcat family.  And I know they’re already making plans to build on this season and bowl trip so that 2008 takes it to a new level of engagement and excitement.

As for the 8,500 alumni and fans who “traveled well” from Cincinnati and around the country, it was an unforgettable two days.  We bonded.  We helped our team earn its record-tying tenth win.  We celebrated.  We represented our school and city with class.  We further redefined UC’s evolving alumni culture.  And we positioned ourselves for greater opportunities as a fan base.  As Coach Kelly says, bigger things are ahead.  The UC Alumni Association is eager to help it happen.

Happy New Year … and GO BEARCATS!

Bob Dobbs
President
UC Alumni Association

P.S.:  Be sure to mark your calendar for Saturday, April 26, when UC will stage Bearcat Bowl II, the annual spring football game. We’re treating this as our unofficial first home game of the 2008 season, so hold the date, get ready for some springtime tailgating, and watch for more information!