TailGreater: Tips for bowl travelers
By now you know where your favorite team is going this winter, whether it's to New York in December, to Pasadena in January, or nowhere in particular because you root for Notre Dame and they didn't make a bowl game. Okay, sorry. No more Notre Dame jokes. I'm done. Promise.
Anyway, now's that time where every college sports fan goes over their finances and holiday travel plans, figuring out whether or not a bowl trip is feasible. Traveling with your favorite team to a bowl (or, if you're lucky and rich, a playoff game) is one of college football fandom's holy grails, and it really doesn't have to be that hard to do. Trust us. This week on TailGreater, we'll give you all the tools you'll need to get to your bowl game as easily as possible.
This week's playlist is crammed to the brim with songs hand-picked for their ability to be played in your beat-up Jeep Grand Cherokee's terrible speakers while it's full with seven of your friends, blasting down the highway on a quest to watch your team probably lose.
From road trip sing-along classics like "Highway to Hell" and Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" to newer ones like Rihanna's "Shut Up and Drive," there's plenty of high-energy tunes to keep you awake through those long stretches of land in the Midwest that seem to extend into oblivion. We've even added in some more mellow songs to cruise to for when your friend breaks into the beer stash early at the hotel and is hung over all morning in the car. So find your car's AUX input, or if it doesn't have one, grab that weird cassette-tape-MP3 adapter thing, and crank it up. It's a long road ahead.
Game Plan of the Week: Making it to the bowl
Over the next few weeks, we'll be going over more specific plans of attack for fans looking to attend specific bowls, but this week, we're kicking off with tips that work no matter which bowl you're trying to go to.
Book Your Holiday Trip With Southwest
This might be a too-little-too-late tip as of now, but if you are traveling to meet family for the holidays and you haven't booked your flight yet, book it with Southwest. If you do this, you'll be able to change your flight at will without paying any extra fees. That way, as soon as you and your friends decide where you're going and how you're getting there, you can adjust your holiday flights accordingly and ensure you can still visit family. Then the only headache will be explaining to your family why you're leaving on Christmas to catch a bowl game on the 26th.
KAYAK isn't everything
If you need to fly to your bowl game, Kayak.com can be an invaluable resource, seeing as it allows you to compare and contrast flight prices (and hotel prices!) over a period of time. This is great! That said, it's not the only tool you should need. For one, certain airlines are not included in KAYAK's comparison algorithm. Southwest is probably the most prominent one, but for budget-minded travelers, low-cost airlines like Frontier and Spirit are not listed there either. Be sure to check those sites as well.
Contact your alumni office
Regardless of whether or not you actually attended the college your root for, the alumni office can be an invaluable resource for fans wanting to travel to bowl games. Most alumni networks offer all-inclusive travel plans for bowl games. They're usually more expensive than buying everything piecemeal, but these packages also usually feature better accommodations, better tickets, and appreciated extras like shuttles from the hotel to the game. It's also nice to know that you're going to be surrounded by fellow fans during the whole trip. If you can afford it, this is definitely the way to go.
Record the game even if you don't think you'll ever watch itÂ
Trust us on this one. If you have a DVR, be sure to set it to record the bowl game you're planning on attending before you leave. You can always delete it if the game ends up being a heartbreaker, but on the off chance your team actually wins, you'll want to be able to relive the action from a perspective that isn't the nosebleed seats. Plus, you might even catch yourself on TV! That's always fun.
Okay, okay. Yes, it does look like some weird torture device. But whether you're in a car or on a plane, the J-Pillow promises to allow you to sleep comfortably by supporting your head and neck with a fluffy pillow that is hooked to your seat. This keeps your spine aligned, supports your weight, and makes nodding off a whole lot easier. Think of it as the travel pillow you know and love, except with an added, semi-awkward-but-inarguably-functional third arm. Amazon has these available right now for just under $30, a small price to pay for restful sleep while traveling to your bowl game.
Next week: The Rose Bowl
Planning on making the trek out to Pasadena? Make sure to check back next week for TailGreater's official guide to making the best of your trek out west.
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