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University of Minnesota Athletics
Bowl Blog: Pregame Press Conference
12/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
On the final day before the Insight Bowl, Golden Gopher head football coach Tim Brewster, and seniors Lee Campbell and Nick Tow-Arnett met the media for the final press conference before the game.
Iowa State met with the media first today (Dec. 30) and between the two press conferences, Coach Brewster and Cyclone head coach Paul Rhoads were each officially welcomed to the Insight Bowl and Tempe by mayor Hugh Hallman.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, as the mayor of Tempe," Hallman said. "I am here not only to welcome all members of the press, and the teams, but of course the head coaches of these fine teams who are going to fight over whose going to be victorious."
Mayor Hallman was also sure to make note of the wonderful weather that each team has been treated to, as opposed to the below freezing temperatures and snow that can be found in Ames and the Twin Cities.
Coach Brewster opened by thanking the Insight Bowl committee, and speaking of how much his team had enjoyed their time in Arizona.
"We would like to thank Insight Enterprises, John Junker and the Insight Bowl committee for inviting the Minnesota Golden Gophers to a beautiful place, to Phoenix, Arizona, and we've had a great week," Brewster said. "Our players have really enjoyed it. I think the focus has been outstanding. The focus has been on the game. We've been here before, and we really look forward to the game tomorrow night."
This will be the third Insight Bowl for seniors Campbell and Tow-Arnett, and each felt that having past experience at this game will be beneficial come kickoff.
"I think it gives us an excellent advantage," Campbell said. "We have been past that "wow" factor. Just from the standpoint of most of the seniors on this team and the leadership, we mean business. We're here to get the win and to do whatever it takes. We've had 15 great practices, and our guys are really excited to play tomorrow."
"Definitely, like Lee said, we have been here before," Tow-Arnett added. "Been in the stadium. Played in the stadium a couple times. Obviously coming in there, we will not be looking around "oohing" and "ahhing." We have already been there. So, yeah, we should come out and play strong."
Campbell, Tow-Arnett and the rest of the team wrapped up the day with their final practice, at a Sun Devil Stadium already fully dressed in Insight Bowl attire. "A" Mountain behind the stadium was a beautiful backdrop as the Gophers put the final polish on the 2009 season. 27 seniors will conclude their careers tomorrow afternoon, looking to go out with back-to-back winning seasons.
"We talked to the younger guys about it," Tow-Arnett said. "We kind of stressed that this is like the first game of next year for them, and getting a win in a Bowl game, you can ride that momentum through spring and have that confidence going into next year, that you can start off on the right foot. So the game is huge."
-Pat McCabe, Athletic Communications Assistant-
