Las Vegas Gets Ready For Maaco Bowl Las Vegas

By David Walton

When the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas kicks off on December 22, it will be one of the longer running bowl games in college football. The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas (formerly known as the Las Vegas Bowl) usually features a team from the Mountain West Conference against a team from the Pac-10, and has been played annually since 1992. The game is played at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, which seats 40,000. Since the bowl gets first choice from the MWC, usually the conference champion plays in the bowl unless that team qualifies for the BCS.

The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas has been around since 1981, when it was first introduced as the California Raisin Bowl. The bowl was played in Fresno, California until 1991, when it was moved to Las Vegas and renamed the Las Vegas Bowl. In 1995, the first-ever overtime college football game was played in the Las Vegas Bowl when Toledo defeated Nevada 40-37. The following season, overtime was adopted for the regular college football season.

The team with the most appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl is BYU, with four games, followed by Nevada and UCLA, who have both appeared in three bowl games each. No team has more than two Las Vegas Bowl victories. With this game likely featuring a strong Pac-10 teams against the conference champion from MWC, this game always looks to be great college football in the setting of Las Vegas, with festivities beginning as early as October.

The events for the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas start as early as October, with the VIP Community Kick Off Luncheon on October 1st, and then takes the celebration to the links with the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas VIP Golf Outing on October 22nd. The festivities kick into high gear after December 10th, when the selected teams attend the Team Welcome & Media Conference at the ESPN Zone. The Welcome Reception takes place on December 19th at the ESPNZone and the Mirage features the Terry Fator Show on the same day.

Sunday, December 12, see Kids Day, the luncheon and a visit to the Sunrise Children's Hospital by the teams. Fans will gather at the Fremont Street Experience on December 21 to cheer along in a pep rally, and there will be several events at the Las Vegas Convention Center, including a Cheer Clinic, Kickoff Luncheon, and Kickoff Media Conference. just before the game kicks off at the stadium, Budweiser sponsors the Bud Light Pre Game Tailgate Party.

Although the college bowl system is a time-honored tradition, it is still controversial among college football fans. It's an understandable discussion, since college football Division I is the only major U.S. sport without a playoff system. However, fans of college teams are glad when their team makes a bowl and it does allow many teams to end their seasons on a winning note. It's also notable that traveling to and experiencing a college bowl game is something no college football fan should miss.

If you are looking for Maaco Bowl Las Vegas tickets, you can start by checking free online tools like TicketZinger.com, which shows a list of all of the cheapest available tickets in one place. You can also browse online auction sites and classified ad sites. However, you need to remember that if a deal sounds like it is too good to be true, it probably is. - 31493

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