Click on above logo to order tickets through Temple.
Owls and Brian Sanford rejoice in one of the two greatest photos ever (the other is below).
Owlsports.com photo
Photo courtesy Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC
There's a saying way older than I am that pretty much describes what happened yesterday at the Liacouras Center.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
That might come from an old Chinese Proverb, although some internet sources dispute it.
Until yesterday, I didn't think much of the phrase.
While on the subject of a picture being worth a thousand words, UCLA will bring its cheerleaders and band to D.C., unless (wink, wink) Army beats Navy.
"Yeah, right," I always said. "The Chinese guy who wrote that never read a Gary Smith story in Sports Illustrated or never enjoyed morning coffee over a Bill Lyon column in the 1980s or never heard the beautiful word pictures as described by Vin Scully or Harry Kalas."
Then I saw the photo in today's Daily News by Charles Fox and that changed my mind.
That photo, which is credited to Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC and appears above this story, says it all.
The sheer joy on the faces of the wonderful kids who play football for Temple University is genuine and spontaneous and cannot be conveyed by mere words.
So I publish it here instead with a plea.
Nobody took a photo of us in the parking lot during that 2005 game against Miami, but it would have been a lot uglier than that beautiful shot. There were less than 10 of us left tailgating in the rain but, before we even heard about Al Golden, we had a dream that someone, someday would come and lead us back to a bowl game.
That day and that someone has come.
That's why it's important that all 21,046 of you who showed up for the last home game against Kent State purchase tickets for this "home" game in D.C.
All of you and, hopefully, 21,000 more on top of that.
For maximum impact, please purchase your tickets through Temple University by clicking on the logo above. By buying through Temple, the university will be able to show future bowls that this fan base will travel and have concrete figures to back it up.
Please buy as many as you can and give to those who can make the short trip down I-95 and cheer on these great kids. Or you can wait until Monday morning at 10 a.m. and walk up to the Liacouras Center ticket window. The best seats are on the Temple (South) side 200, 300, 400 and 500 levels. Don't buy the obstructed 100-level seats.
But buy them through Temple and don't procrastinate like thousands of folks did only to be caught waiting in long lines at the ticket windows at the last home game.
