Quick Lane Bowl Central
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Travel Day
Six buses loaded with the entire NIU Football team, athletics administrators, support and coaching staff, as well as their families, set out from Huskie Stadium at 8 a.m. bound for Detroit. The "McYordon" sandwiches – two sausage patties, two eggs and cheesy hashbrowns in a bagel – held the players over until the team made its traditional rest stop at the truck stop in Sawyer, Michigan.
By 3:45 p.m. ET, the Huskie buses were pulling into downtown Detroit at the team headquarters for the next five days, the Westin Book Cadillac hotel. The hotel alone set the trip apart from NIU's previous visits to Detroit for the MAC Championships. The team was greeted by a line-up of local schoolchildren decked out in NIU gear, drummers and Lions cheerleaders.
Encounter with a Knick
NIU freshman linebacker
Michael Kennedy did a little star-watching (we won't call it stalking) at the Huskies' hotel when he realized the NBA's New York Knicks were also staying at the Westin Book Cadillac in advance of their game versus the Detroit Pistons. While he may have been looking for Kristaps Porzingis, Kennedy described the encounter:
"I met Michael Beasley," he said. "I heard them coming out the door, so I ran out in the hallway real quick. Then I was like, 'I think they're going to the elevator,' so me and my roommate went to the elevator and were just talking to them. It was just a quick conversation. They asked me what position I played, and why I was up here. I told them my position and that we were playing Duke. They told me they were playing the Pistons today, and we talked about how the elevator was taking a long time."
See, the NBA stars are people who wait for elevators too!
Fowling (rhymes with Bowling) Fun, and a Win
On Friday night, the Huskies and Blue Devils were introduced to the newest recreation sensation (at least in Detroit), Fowling. A rather wacky combination of Bowling, Bags and Football, it didn't take long for the Huskies to get hooked on the game. Teams of three to four players lined up on opposite sides and threw footballs at the opposing teams' pins with the objective to knock them all down. Coach Carey once again showed his mastery at recruiting as he teamed up with former Huskie quarterbacks
Craig Harmon and
Jordan Lynch to take on all comers. The trio ran through most of the competition until they were finally knocked off by current NIU QBs
Marcus Childers,
Anthony Thompson and
Ryan Graham.
The event wrapped up with a little friendly competition as NIU and Duke faced off in a best of three match. Four players represented each team – players from offense, defense and special teams – and a member of the coaching staff. NIU's
Marcus Childers,
Jackson Abresch,
Christian Hagan and yes,
Jordan Lynch, were confident as they took their spots behind one set of pins. The rest of the teams gathered alongside, making throwing at the pins like "driving through fans at the Master's" remarked NIU assistant coach
Jeff Knowles. As pins were knocked down, cheers went up from each side. But enough description, just watch…
Freshman quarterback
Marcus Childers takes out the final pins in BOTH matches to give NIU the win in the FIRST competition of the bowl.
Looking Ahead
NIU's Saturday gets underway at 8:30 a.m. (ET) as the team heads to Ford Field for practice. Following practice, members of the Detroit media will have a chance to interview Carey and several of the Huskie players before they enjoy a free afternoon. On Saturday evening, the team will visit the Henry Ford Museum where they will enjoy dinner and a chance to walk around the museum.
NIU (8-4) takes on Duke (6-6) Tuesday, December 26 at 4:15 p.m. (CT)/5:15 (ET) on ESPN from Ford Field in Detroit.
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