Funny article about UTEP, Hawaii Bowl, and GMAC Bowl

by **RGV Pony** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:59 pm

I was trying to find a write-up as to how and if UTEP was retaining Price, and ran across this from 4 years ago. I had to wonder if it was serious or satire. Humorous nevertheless, despite it being a few years old:

But a number of UTEP players are now claiming that they thought they were playing in the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu and not the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, and insist that they were deliberately misled in that regard by Price.

"We had been talking about going to the Hawaii Bowl all year", said one player. "Right after we got off the plane they took us straight to a big luau", added an offensive tackle, apparently referring to the southern-style shrimp boil that was held for both teams the night they arrived in Mobile. "There were white sandy beaches, a lot of golf courses, delicious seafood and a cruise ship in the harbor. Why would we be suspicious?"

Some of the players claim they were taken to a big warship that had suffered damage and told by Price that it was Pearl Harbor, when in fact they were viewing the battleship USS Alabama, permanently moored in Mobile Bay and damaged by hurricane Katrina.

A spokesperson for UTEP stated "the players were told they were going to Mobile and not Hawaii, but there's always 5% who don't get the word. With respect to the Pearl Harbor incident, the team visited the battleship after a bowling outing at Leilani Lanes and the team dinner at Hooter's Restaurant, and coach Price was too drunk to remember anything, but does specifically recall telling the players that they were not at Pearl Harbor."

Even if Price is successful at calming down his returning players about the Hawaii debacle, a further misunderstanding may be brewing. "At least the team gets a $750,000 payout", said a disappointed UTEP wide-receiver. "That's almost $7,500 each, a little less, maybe, if assistant coaches get a full share.