Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Arrive In San Antonio To Begin Final Alamo Bowl Preparations
December 24, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
SAN ANTONIO — If the Colorado Buffaloes had any lingering doubts about a bowl game being different from a regular season affair, those doubts were doused almost immediately upon their arrival Saturday night.
When the team buses pulled into the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown San Antonio, they were greeted by a throng of fans, a mariachi band, television cameras and reporters from a variety of other mediums.
"Wow!" came from the mouth of more than one Buff as they walked into the hotel. "This is great."
The No. 10 Buffs, who will meet No. 12 Oklahoma State in Thursday's Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome (7 p.m., ESPN), arrived at about 6 p.m. Central time. They arrived to a party the likes of which none of them have seen in their time at Colorado.
Buffs quarterback Sefo Liufau was a popular figure at an impromptu press conference once the Buffs negotiated their way through the first-floor horde.
"A lot of hoopla, a lot of people and fans welcoming us in," Liufau said with a grin. "It's just a great feeling to finally be able to make it to something like this."
Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre will be coaching in his first bowl game as a head coach. While he led San Jose State to a bowl appearance in 2012, he accepted the job at Colorado before the Spartans' bowl game. He then watched SJSU play in the bowl on television.
This year, he'll be on the sidelines, and he said it was no doubt a special feeling to pull into the hotel with his team.
"When we pulled up, I told my wife, 'We are at a bowl game,'" MacIntyre said "It's exciting for Colorado Buff Nation and for us, of course. Getting here is great for these young men to experience this. They worked to hard to be able to enjoy it and then have a great game."
Thursday's game will be Colorado's first bowl appearance since 2007, and the Buffs will be looking for the program's first bowl win since 2004. Their schedule this week is one they hope will allow the players to enjoy the experience and still produce a win on Thursday.
The Buffs will practice each day this week at University of the Incarnate Word, beginning with a 90-minute workout Christmas morning. Sunday afternoon, they will attend a San Antonio Spurs-Chicago Bulls NBA game.
Along with daily practices, meetings and film sessions, the Buffs will also have a Monday trip to SeaWorld San Antonio, a Tuesday pep rally and a Wednesday walk-through at the Alamodome. Several players and coaches are also scheduled for a variety of press conferences throughout the week.
But despite the bowl atmosphere, the Buffs say they are here to win a football game. They haven't played since the Dec. 2 Pac-12 Championship game vs. Washington, meaning the bowl game will be nearly a four-week gap between contests.
"We've kind of been in hiding these past couple of weeks," Liufau said. "So to finally be here and to finally get closer to the game, I think that's the biggest thing. Just being able to experience and be a part of this with my teammates and finally make a bowl game — it's really special to me."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
