Going Bowling: Emerald Bowl

Most fans wouldn't be happy with a trip to the Emerald Bowl: a mid range, pre-New Years Bowl, played in a baseball stadium.  Yet I was excited.  I was going to get to see BC play USC, the local team that I always disliked, and close to my Christmas Trip in Los Angeles.

The trip started off with a morning flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco.  7:15 to be exact, a flight dominated by USC fans.  After a quick trip to San Francisco in which my brother talked the entire time about his career, love life and more about his career.  While he's the Junior in college I'm the one out of school, still not a convo I have every day.

At San Francisco, we checked into the Drury hotel near the stadium and took a nap, had some breakfast and began getting ready to head to the stadium.  A quick stop at a liquor store and we were on our way to the tailgates.  My good friend Dan Couch, who lives just outside San Francisco, set up an incredible tailgate just 5 minutes from the Stadium.  His tailgate, spanning three spots, consisted of beers, brats and burgers.  A perfect setting for a bowl game, sun was shining, food was great, and I was with a bunch of old friends.

Unfortunately, with about an hour before kickoff, things started to go downhill.  The rain began to come, harder, harder and harder and the disaster of getting to the game on time set in.  Waiting in a 20 minute line, in the rain, at a will call that was the other side of the stadium, is not a way to get ready for a big game.

Once we got in, thats when the excitement happened.  We pulled into our fantastic seats behind the bc bench on the 20 yard line about 20 rows up.  The seats were great and the game wasn't bad.  While we went down 14-0, a few exciting plays brought us with-in 1 at 14-13.  It was a wild few plays and a lot of fun.  A few bad calls including a blatant fumble overturned and a roughing the passer call, and BC ended up losing 24-13 but not with a few more chances.

The night ended with a trip to The Kells, a local bar filled with a very young crew.  While upstairs was quiet and peaceful, downstairs was filled with hip hop dance music and a wild crowd.

The next day in San Francisco involved a little football watching at a nearby sports bar, a trip to the Wharf which had fantastic eating and a little wine tasting and took a trip to Union Square for a little shopping.  We finished off the night with burgers and beer at a popular San Francisco joint: Gordon Biersch.  After filling up on a great local brew and a Giant Bacon & Mushroom Cheesburger.

While BC didn't pull it out, my overall trip was a lot of fun.  I got to hang out with friends, see a great game, and enjoy the great city of San Francisco.