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University of Minnesota Athletics
Bowl Blog: Gophers Arrive in Valley of the Sun
12/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
The University of Minnesota football team and staff were welcomed to the Valley of the Sun with open arms on Christmas Night. Committee members from the Insight Bowl, members of the Tempe Diablos, fans and the local media all welcomed Head Coach Tim Brewster and his Gopher squad at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Thursday night.
Upon arrival at Sky Harbor, the Gophers were greeted with cheering, plenty of pom-pom waving and a lots of maroon and gold. The Gophers arrived to what the Arizona natives called cold weather and a bit of rain. But the Minnesota group was more than happy with the temperature in the upper 50s, despite a bit of a shower falling.
After some welcome wishes and a bit of socializing, Coach Brewster spoke briefly with the local media. Brewster said he was very proud to bring his team to the Insight Bowl.
“This is a very special honor and privilege to bring the Gopher Football family to the Valley of the Sun, to the Tempe area, for the Insight Bowl,” Brewster said. “I’d like to thank the Insight Bowl, the Tempe Diablos and everyone else who is involved who I know will make this a special week for us.”
As for the matchup with Kansas, Brewster had nothing but good things to say about the Jayhawks.
“I think this is a tremendous matchup,” the Gophers’ head coach said. “Kansas is one of the outstanding teams in the country. I truly believe that December 31st at 4 o’clock, we’re going to kick off one heck of a football game. I’m very impressed with and have a great deal of admiration for what Coach (Mark) Mangino has done at Kansas. They have had an excellent year in one of the toughest football conferences in America the Big 12.”
The Minnesota head coach said he is very happy to bring his 2008 Gopher squad to the Insight Bowl. According to Brewster, playing in this game and the 15 extra practices leading up to the game will be very important to his program.
“I think this trip is vital to the development of our team,” Brewster said. “I’m extremely pleased with the progress we’ve made this season. We won one football game last season and we’re here at the Insight Bowl as a 7-5 football team. That’s the biggest turnaround in college football this season and it was done at the University of Minnesota.”
The team met with Insight Bowl staff and officials around 9 p.m. MT and then held a team meeting. The Gophers will then hold their 11th of 15 pre-Insight Bowl practices at 11:15 a.m. Friday.
Check back here at GopherSports.com all week for more blogs from practice, player events, press conferences, etc. as we lead up to the Insight Bowl at 4 p.m. MT on New Year’s Eve.
-Andy Seeley
