Picture of a beautiful looking City: Aboutalltravel.com

I heard yesterday NIU will play South Florida in the International Bowl on Jan 2, 2010 in Toronto. My daughter informed me she'll be able to travel with the team as well (if she gets her passport). She's pretty pumped and I don't blame her. It should be some great exposure being able to travel to our Northern neighbors.

South Florida concerns me in the matchup against the Huskies. I watched a little of the Bulls' game vs U-Conn in a snow packed and cold contest. They were unfazed by the weather which surprised me quite a bit. No way did I think a warm weather team would be able to withstand the elements in Connecticut. The other Huskies (U-Conn of course) won by a field goal over their Big East foes with no time left.

I was impressed with how QB B.J. Daniels ran and threw the ball in the cold. He looked effective in what little I saw. One thing for sure is the Bulls can score points. The young NIU defense has its hands full up north. The Jeff Sagarin ratings from USA Today show South Florida #51 rated at 75.08 and my #87 Huskies rated at 66.39.

NIU has had its troubles defensively against the pass-run QB style. The losses NIU had were against good quarterbacks-mainly throwing. I can only hope the Huskies have the right personnel in place come game time. The good thing is the International Bowl gives NIU some much needed notice. Coach Jerry Kill is quietly building a decent program. This marks the second straight year NIU will play in the post-season.


Photo: grfx.cstv.com


The other part of my concern is personal. My wife and I would love to go up to Toronto to see the game. I've long been a fan of Canada, specifically the fishing variety. The last visit a few years ago we met some great young lads from the Toronto area. They were all college age kids. I cannot recall which school they were attending at that time...anyway, they all stated how great of a city Toronto is: the friendliness and the atmosphere gave the city a great feel according to the youngsters.

I'm pretty excited about going...but I fear the cost we'll need to expend if we decide to go. It would be awesome celebrating New Year's Day in another country! Plus, of course, my daughter would be there! I looked into flight-hotel packages and that could run up some serious dough for only a few days (I'm thinking Thursday-Monday). So, I looked at driving. The bad part is my car has quite a few miles on it and it's around 600 miles (967km to my Canadian friends). I can't decide what to do...it would be an unusual New Year's celebration for sure.

The cost compounds itself because the wife and I are going on vacation in February to Costa Rica. It's great when the kids grow up, BTW ...Also, my wife suggested maybe that’s our shared Christmas gift (way more than we usually spend on each other). The other factor is my 2 sons and I embarked on our "All Baseball Parks Tour" 2 years ago. Eventually, we'll make it Toronto (hopefully!)...So, my traveling friends, my Canadian friends and my American friends (oh, I can't forget NIU supporters)....what should I do?

Thanks for reading.