[rtb72]

Pack appropriately

What an AWESOME forecast!

[Kricket]

Wild week for the Kricket fam so far. Saw the Grand Canyon, Sedona, a giant crater, Montezuma Castle, and the Cybertruck for the first time.

Now we’re here in Scottsdale. Think we’re going to head to the zoo soon. Maybe we’ll see some of you folks there!

[Sly Fox]

Who is here at Boondocks?

[LU 57]

We swung by but there were scores of people trying to get in so we kept driving

[Kricket]

We swung by but there were scores of people trying to get in so we kept driving

Had to pass due to having the kids.

[Kricket]

My brother asked if Liberty will be outnumbered 9-1 in the stands. The ratio was reversed at the zoo light/band event. Obviously that’s not indicative of how many will show up at the game but even around town I’ve noticed more Flames than Ducks.

[jmclaughlin]

We swung by but there were scores of people trying to get in so we kept driving

Had to pass due to having the kids.

Same. Not the ideal setting for my 10 yr old. Looked like a cool spot. It was hoping. My late 90’s RA wouldn’t have approved

[jmclaughlin]

The Duck high rollers were out at TPC Scottsdale tonight. Regret #1 was to not have enough time to get a round in at the Stadium Course. Is it too much to ask the Flames to be back next year??

[JK37]

The Fiesta is one of the CFP semifinals next year, so not at all!!

Isn’t Sawgrass in Jacksonville?

[Ill flame]

The Fiesta is one of the CFP semifinals next year, so not at all!!

Isn’t Sawgrass in Jacksonville?

You are correct. He's thinking of TPC Scottsdale.

[Purple Haize]

We did the Zoo Lights last night after hanging around the pool all day. It was pretty cool, even though no one stopped by to say hi Then we used our influence to score 2 seats at Steak 44 afterwards. Had tons of people ask about LU. We were wearing our LU pull overs so it garnrded a lot of attention amongst the glitterati’s there!
Now ready for the Pre Game Buffet Thingy and the game!

[Sly Fox]

That $50 brunch in Club 71 is actually on the floor of the arena where the Suns play. Great band playing tunes the Old Hags would appreciate.

[Kricket]

The number of Flame fans here vs Ducks seems pretty even so far. Maybe even more Flames than Ducks.

[LU 57]

I missed the memo on the Battle of Bands starting at 7:30 so we were late to that. Had 8 on my brain. Lights were cool though.

Made it in time to hear the band this morning before we went in. Stadium is top notch. So far have seen more red than green. Maybe they are late arriving?

Hoping we can shock the world.

Go

[LU 57]

The number of Flame fans here vs Ducks seems pretty even so far. Maybe even more Flames than Ducks.

More Flames from what I have seen.

[LUminary]

Took a while to post, but waited until back from the Fiesta experience. Had a great trip.

Highlights for the wife and myself were Scottsdale in general (we did a food tour which was enjoyable; stayed at the team hotel which was functional for the activities and was nice but not as great as the price would indicate; and did an awesome tour of Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home).

We did a road trip Tuesday into New Mexico. It was worth the haul since I was in the neighborhood and needed it to check off an empty box on my 50 states list. Three to go -- the Dakotas and Iowa. The scenery was worth the trip, and a taste of Route 66 is always high on my list (along with the Frank Lloyd Wright thing). Jerry's Cafe in Gallup with a side of chiles and fry bread wasn't bad either.

Tried to get to the ASOR/FlamesFans gathering on New Year's Eve, but the crowd and line outside the building scared me off.

State Farm Stadium is a great venue. The first quarter was about as much fun as I've ever had as a fan. So impressed with the number of LU fans that turned out. I think that's significant. I knew Oregon was going to score a lot, but was disappointed that the Flames' offense couldn't cash in. Oregon was close to flawless, it seemed we couldn't catch a break from the second quarter on and it of course snowballed. As good as Oregon was, there shouldn't have been that big of a gap. Something like 38-27 would have been doable. Don't like the fact that the strength of LU's program is being judged on the outcome of one game, but can't change that now.

Wondering if a top 25 spot in the final polls if off the table now, and who the top G5 team will be in final rankings. A lesser bowl and lesser opponent might have resulted in a 14-0 season and top 20 ranking, but not sure I'd have traded this chance.

To the plus side, the experience and exposure gained by the program for being on a big stage is invaluable. This is somewhat anecdotal, but talked to different sets of folks in both Arizona and New Mexico the day after the game that commented after seeing the LU hat and shirt I was wearing. All said they weren't familiar with LU at all before seeing the game on TV New Year's Day. They asked questions about the school. It was a big deal. Wouldn't have gotten that playing in a lesser bowl. I hope we get another chance.

[JK37]

This kind of publicity and exposure can’t be bought. Lord knows if it could be, LU already would’ve.

[Sly Fox]

Let the record show that one of the highlights of the weekend for me was the church service. Seriously.

I have covered many, many bowls over the years. Never have I ever seen a team chapel service opened up to the public and promoted. That is one of the unique aspects of our school that I really enjoyed experiencing at the Scottsdale Plaza.

The Battle of the Bands at the zoo turned out to be worth the price of admission. Zoo Lights is always fun at any zoo and they did a nice job in Phoenix of getting a good portion of the site lit up and accessible. The Oregon band went first and only did like 3-4 songs and then left. That pushed the start of the LU band up even earlier than anticipated. That's why some of you arrived after it was over. Liberty folks made up about 80% of the crowd.

The highlights unrelated to LU from the weekend for us were Dobbins Lookout on South Mountain and the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). Both far exceeded our expectations. We spent 2.5 hours at the MIM and we could have easily doubled that time if we had that flexibility in our schedule.

[rtb72]

Ditto with what others said. We spent most of our time seeing sights, but battle of bands was well attended and fun as well. The stadium and game were fun despite the outcome. Met up with some new Flames fans and also some I already knew. The food was excellent. We hit several locations, but we made a special trip to Bootleggers since it was highlighted on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Really good food. Also took family to Botanical Desert Garden and Grand Canyon as part of our trip. Even got up super early on Sunday morning to drive out into the desert to watch a sunrise. Overall great experience and would certainly do it again, especially the fellowship with other fans that went along with the trip.

[LU 57]

Let the record show that one of the highlights of the weekend for me was the church service. Seriously.

I have covered many, many bowls over the years. Never have I ever seen a team chapel service opened up to the public and promoted. That is one of the unique aspects of our school that I really enjoyed experiencing at the Scottsdale Plaza.

The Battle of the Bands at the zoo turned out to be worth the price of admission. Zoo Lights is always fun at any zoo and they did a nice job in Phoenix of getting a good portion of the site lit up and accessible. The Oregon band went first and only did like 3-4 songs and then left. That pushed the start of the LU band up even earlier than anticipated. That's why some of you arrived after it was over. Liberty folks made up about 80% of the crowd.

The highlights unrelated to LU from the weekend for us were Dobbins Lookout on South Mountain and the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). Both far exceeded our expectations. We spent 2.5 hours at the MIM and we could have easily doubled that time if we had that flexibility in our schedule.

Dobbins Lookout was really cool and I enjoyed the zoo lights even though we missed the band. Did get to catch their performance prior to entering the stadium. I felt like our band was clearly better than Oregon’s.

Was disappointed to miss the church service in hindsight as several of my old teammates were there. Looked like a huge crowd in the pictures. Not a great excuse but we got in super late the night before.

One of the fam’s highlights was Pizzeria Bianco. The critic on the Chef’s Table episode calls it the best pizza in the world. I am no expert but it was the best we had ever had.

Lastly, I had plans to catch up with Purple and would like to have connected with Sly and others, but the time just slipped away. We just need to do this again!

My son is playing ball elsewhere so I will not likely be at many (if any) football games for a few years, but hope to maybe catch a hoops game.

[Sly Fox]

Perhaps the Rose Bowl next year!

[Purple Haize]

Since we are doing the Round Up….
The WVU win on Wednesday night was a glorious way to start the adventure with my UNC fan girl wife!
Mastros was spectacular! Service was outstanding. We had so much fun that a bunch of staff was hanging out with us and one Patron asked their server if we were famous Our main server hooked us up with NYE reservations at Steak 44 which is apparently THE steak place in Phoenix. I sampled Waygu for the first time. It was absolutely delicious! But honestly for the price difference I’m not sure it was worth it
Friday was a Suns game. The team was also there but we had better seats! I wore my red LU pullover and that garnered a lot of conversations.
Saturday was Hot Air balloon riding. That was spectacular! I did try to buy Mrs Purple a 1 way ticket but was unable to do so. It was an amazing view. All you folks that hiked up mountains….I literally was looking down on you
The church service was neat. It was SRO and in true Baptist tradition there were donuts and coffee before and folks talking for hours afterwards

One interesting side not was Merchandise. There was a booth set up in the team hotel. We grabbed our stuff right when they opened but by Saturday night they had sold out of a bunch of stuff and had to be restocked. Then after church on Sunday that line was bigger than a post Thomas Road crowd at Morrisons Buffet! People waited over on HOUR in line to get something. Then at the Stadium LU gear sold out well before kickoff. That’s a great thing to see! Now if Barnes and Nobles would take notes…

[Sly Fox]

We were in the stadium about an hour and half early and there was NO gear from LU anywhere to be found. Around halftime, a few tshirts suddenly appeared at a couple of booths. Before I could go send pics down to my LU roommate, they had already sold out. That was a HUGE marketing miss. But it was our first major bowl and the learning curve was steep.

I regret not waiting in those lines at the Scottsdale Plaza expecting to snare some gear at the stadium. Big mistake on my part. Now I am trolling eBay and elsewhere for Fiesta gear. Ugh.

[Purple Haize]

We were in the stadium about an hour and half early and there was NO gear from LU anywhere to be found. Around halftime, a few tshirts suddenly appeared at a couple of booths. Before I could go send pics down to my LU roommate, they had already sold out. That was a HUGE marketing miss. But it was our first major bowl and the learning curve was steep.

I regret not waiting in those lines at the Scottsdale Plaza expecting to snare some gear at the stadium. Big mistake on my part. Now I am trolling eBay and elsewhere for Fiesta gear. Ugh.

From my understanding the Fiesta Bowl gear was controlled by The Fiesta Bowl and not LU. That’s according to the 2 people I talked to who were setting up the booth at the Plaza and 1 other Fiesta Bowl person. So in that light it was a huge marketing WIN. There were still Oregon T shirts to be had after the game but not much else

[Kricket]

I was wondering why it was all Oregon gear and no LU gear. I thought it was a miss on our end.