The matchup in the Poinsettia Bowl tonight sounded interesting from the beginning. Now that game day has arrived there is an added level of intrigue. The kind of intrigue that young boys dream of and mothers and washing machines fear. Mud. Lots and lots of mud.
I have spent the better part of my adult life living in the San Diego area and as such I have become accustomed to some wet and dreary days during the winter, but no period that I can remember rivals the rain that has come down in the last week. Some areas in San Diego have measured as many as 13" in the last 7 days and flooding has been an issue throughout the city. Qualcomm Stadium is no exception.
As of last night the playing surface was completely submerged with standing water as high as 2 1/2 feet along the sidelines. I am pretty sure that they don't make a tarp for that! Crews have been working around the clock to pump all the water out of the stadium and have assured the fans and more importantly ESPN that the game will kick off on time.
The playing surface at Qualcomm is always terrible come December but tonight it will be exceptional. The combination of the home town San Diego State Aztecs playing Navy in the city that is home to more Navy and Marine Corps personnel than any other has resulted in record setting ticket sales for the game. The crowd is going to be in for a wet and sloppy contest that is sure to be fun to watch. I am now annoyed with myself for deciding not to be there in person. This is going to be fun!