Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 31, 1993 TAG: 9312310071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: SHREVEPORT, LA. LENGTH: Medium
Still, the cajun-dining locals aren't eating it up.
For the Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl, the ticket lines haven't been as long as the game's name.
"We're a little mystified by that," said Mike McCarthy, the bowl's chairman, who expects - with his fingers crossed - a crowd in the 33,000 range today. "We've certainly had matches of a lesser degree that have drawn better."
Indiana and Virginia Tech not only give the 18th Independence Bowl its first matchup of 8-3 teams in history. It's also the first meeting of ranked teams - Nos. 21 and 22 respectively - in the 50,459-seat stadium on the Louisiana State Fairgrounds.
Through its history, the Independence Bowl has struggled to survive and build an image as more than a regional bowl. Its history is dotted with McNeese State, Louisiana Tech, Tulsa and Southern Mississippi.
The game made a shrewd move this year when it didn't rush to align itself with a fourth- or fifth-place team from any conference. It perhaps got the two best fourth-place teams in the country.
It was a big gamble, but not as sizable a roll of the dice as this game will see in future years. Odds are, the Independence's thinking won't be the same after the Hokies and Hoosiers meet for the first time.
One keyboarder wrote earlier this week that Shreveport wasn't exactly the Las Vegas of Louisiana. That's about to change. Gambling has been legalized in Louisiana, and three casinos are rising from the banks of the Red River in Shreveport and Bossier City.
Although the parlors won't open until April or May, McCarthy said Harrah's, Isle of Capri and Binion's Horseshoe each has purchased 1,000 tickets for today's game.
It isn't those tickets that has McCarthy smiling. It's the thought that the casinos are likely to attract more visitors to Shreveport, including some bowl fans who have been reluctant to follow their teams to a distant metropolitan area of 250,000 - not much bigger than the Roanoke Valley.
Meanwhile, the Independence is seeking a renewal of its title sponsorship from Poulan, the chainsaw chain. A four-year contract that pays the bowl an estimated $650,000 annually expires today.
Although there has been a change in top management at Poulan, McCarthy is hopeful the company will renew. Due to the lack of local support at the turnstiles, the game's survival could be buzzsawed without Poulan.
Even with a corporate sponsor, the bowl is paying only $700,000 per team, a minimum for a Division I-A bowl. The NCAA is considering a hike to a $1 million minimum, and it's no secret among the bowls that the Independence always has lobbied its bowl sisters hard to keep team payoffs at a low figure.
After the Hokies were invited in mid-November, McCarthy had half of the pairing the game wanted. Without a commitment to a conference, the bowl - unlike in past years - didn't have to wait for remnants.
After Michigan beat Ohio State and it became evident that the Hall of Fame Bowl was going to pick the Wolverines for its No. 4 Big Ten slot, Indiana was holding off the Independence Bowl, waiting for the Carquest Bowl slot that Virginia grabbed when LSU didn't qualify as a fifth Southeastern Conference team.
The Independence - appropriately named with no conference deals - wanted the Hoosiers and had the hammer. Indiana was told to make a declaration of Independence immediately, or the game was going to take Iowa.
The bowl's aggressive stance worked. In another year, perhaps the conference dust would settle differently. Will the Independence be less independent in the future?
"No way, and that should be underlined," McCarthy said. "No way we're going to tie up with a conference agreement. After what happened, why would we?"
Among the 19 Division I-A bowls this season, only seven others have ranked-team matchups superior to a bowl that has been forced to feast on leftovers.
With the casinos will come more quality hotels and maybe more quality teams. Now, if McCarthy and his committee can only get those in the bowl's backyard excited.
One Shreveport native has an idea.
"You lose this, and whaddya got," said quarterback-turned-telecaster Terry Bradshaw, who has never seen his hometown bowl. "We've got gambling coming in here.
"We need to keep the Independence Bowl. Then people can come here and bet on the game."
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB