Press Pass: Playin’ by the bay
SAN JOSE, Calif., -- There's a large blue and yellow sign that greets you when you enter CEFCU Stadium off of Seventh Street.
It reads: San Jose State Football ... 2020 Mountain West Champions.
Now, don't get me wrong, what the Spartans did last year to navigate COVID-19 and climb out of the cellar to reach the peak was extremely impressive. But really? This program has a title and Wyoming doesn't?
During the game, an in-house announcer made her way through the sparse crowd to ask a trivia question -- a simple one at that.
"Can you name the city SJSU played its bowl game in last season?"
A gentleman, wearing Spartans gear from head to toe, moved his head toward the mic and blurted out -- the wrong answer. One of the 13,000-plus thousand in attendance didn't even know that?
This program has only played in nine bowl games in its history.
The correct answer is the Arizona Bowl. SJSU lost to Ball State, 34-13, in Tucson.
It wasn't just that, either. Tailgate alley was anything but a party. It was 100 yards of empty aside from two personal pop-up tents and an inflatable slide.
No beer.
No food.
No music.
No atmosphere.
It's too bad. Brent Brennan is really building something in the Silicon Valley. He turned down job offers to stay there. They have good players. They can be fun to watch.
Our bartender at the San Jose Airport, an SJSU grad and lifelong local, asked why he was seeing so many people wearing Wyoming gear? He wondered if the Cowboys were in town to play -- Stanford.
It's just hard to swallow. Wyoming has so many more resources and enthusiasm surrounding its team. When will it be the Pokes time?
Here are a few shots from 7220sports.com photographer, DJ Johnson, from our trip to the Bay Area:
UW vs. SJSU
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