OUTBACK BOWL 2000

January 1, 2000 11:00 AM

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, Florida

Purdue Boilermakers

Vs.

Georgia Bulldogs

Broadcast on ESPN

 

Yes, we were THERE, dudes! We had a blast, and we want to share it with YOU! We were part of the 30,000 Purdue fans that arrived in Tampa to support our team and party into the new millennium. Daun Stroik, my husband Jay Bolton and myself (Jennifer) drove from Austin, Texas to St. Petersburg, Florida for this special occasion. We were beyond exhaustion when we pulled up to the Westin Innisbrook, where my parents were staying (with the PAA tour group).

Three tired Austinites sitting on a sofa ...(Jennifer and Daun try to hide their tired faces behind a stuffed Kitty.)

A second glance, and we hadn't moved!(except for Daun and Jennifer to show their faces.)

I am sure we could share MANY roadtrip stories with you, I haven't prepared any to put on this page. If you want 'em, e-mail me, and I will put them up later.

My parents took a few shots of the outside of the Tampa Convention Center, so here they are. It was a nice facility, but - just like last year - we overwhelmed the space we were allotted!

An outside shot of the Convention Center.

The Convention Center stairs.

The Convention Center's back "porch."

A three-masted ship that the Kelbaughs saw in the harbor, outside the Convention Center.

The pep rally was a blast! As I said, we overwhelmed the space Purdue had been allotted in the Convention Center; there was only standing room left by the time it started. President Beering spoke, and mentioned the Rose Bowl for 2001 (wouldn't that be AWESOME?). Coach Tiller spoke, and his words were very encouraging. The entire All-American Marching Band made it into this cramped convention room, and performed as well! Here are the pictures and .mpgs that my father got!

The PU cheerleaders get the festivities rolling!

The cheerleaders bring out Rowdie to help out!

Quick .mpg - The AAMB performs "Fighting Varsity."

Our cheerleaders are relentless about getting the crowd "Boilered Up!"

Quick .mpg - The AAMB enters the facility!

Quick .mpg - The AAMB performs "Hail Purdue."

Quick .mpg - The AAMB performs more of "Hail Purdue."

Quick .mpg - The AAMB performs a third section of "Hail Purdue."

 

We didn't take any pictures of our New Year's celebration, because none of us wanted to tote our nice digital camera along for the evening. But, I will say that St. Petersburg's "First Night" was a lot of fun. It was like a big street carnival. The fireworks at Midnight seemed to go on and on - we timed them at 20 minutes, and it was no small feat, since they were continuous and not just a sputter here and there!

Meanwhile, my parents were with the PAA Tour at the Westin Innisbrook, and they took a few shots of their evening (black tie optional). My father bought a new tux to celebrate the new millennium, and the bow tie and cumberbund were, of course, black and gold!

PAA Tour New Year's celebration, in full swing!

Friends of the Kelbaughs, take 1!(These folks sit near the Kelbaughs during regular season games at Purdue)

Friends of the Kelbaughs, take 2!

Dick and Cricket Kelbaugh celebrate the end of the 1900s.(someone tell Cricket she shouldn't stick her tongue out at parties?)

Cricket decided to smile for this shot!

I think this is a .mpg Dick tried to take of the festivities.

Saturday morning, we decked out my Saturn and headed to the stadium.

The front of the car

The back of the car

Our Purdue Barbies pouncing on the UGA Barbie. (in keeping with our Barbie theme from the PU/IU game.)

 

We met my parents (Cricket and Dick Kelbaugh) around 10:00 on game day, and headed to the stands. My father's 30+-year alumni status gave us great seats - on the 30-yard line near the Purdue endzone. We were up near the top of the first deck, and had club-level access (which meant we could go inside the air conditioning and watch the game on the video screens if we chose).

The view from our seats. (Yes, it is a full-size pirate ship, with cannons that work!)

Every bowl game starts with a pre-show, and the Outback was not to be outdone. They brought in a high school pep team "Just for Kix" to do a dance before the team bands took the field. We didn't get any shots of them here, but they are in the halftime bit.

The Purdue All-American Marching Band takes over the field!

And, the AAMB really fills out the whole field!

Jay snapped this shot of the World's Largest Bass Drum in our endzone!

The AAMB performs our traditional Block "P" formation.

A second shot of the Block "P".

The shield and flags are displayed during the "I Am an American" speech.

Dick's picture of the AAMB during the "I Am an American" speech.

The AAMB floating PURDUE marches down the field.

The pairasailers start to drift towards the stadium.

One of the pairasailers bringing in the American flag.

 

*Whistle* Gametime

The team did well in the first half of the game.

Purdue fans show off their BOILER UP! Fingers given to them by the John Purdue Club.

After the first touchdown, someone threw this TP down from the upper deck.

Gameshot, by Dick Kelbaugh.

It looked like another AlamoBowl to put under our belts (to me anyhow). Come halftime, we were in high spirits! The halftime show comprised of 14 high school bands from 10 states performing together with over 600 high school cheerleaders/pep squad members!

The high school bands perform.

A second shot of the bands.

Yet another angle - they were pretty good!

"Just for Kix" spells out 2000 on the field.

The Georgia Marching Band marches G E O R G I A across the field(with a slightly crooked G)

Purdue's All-American Marching Band puts on its best!

The percussion section of the AAMB.

In the second half, we failed to keep the Bulldogs at bay, and in overtime, succumbed to them. But, the cheerleaders kept our spirits up, and I thought - even to the end - that we had a good chance of Demolishing the Dawgs!

The gal on top appears to be a wishbone!

The male cheerleaders run around in circles spelling out P U R D U E.

Jay caught the "U" on film.

Rowdie and the cheerleaders pep up the stands!

After the game, we headed back to the Westin at Innisbrook, where the PAA tour folks (and my parents) were. Daun and I custom-made our shirts to wear on Bowl day, and we are very proud of how they turned out. We had several folks stop us at the pep rally, as well as at the bowl game, and ask us where we had gotten them.

Our thanks go to Daun's Epson 740 printer and iron-on transfer sheets!

Jennifer takes a picture of Dad taking a picture of Jennifer.

Dad takes a picture of Jennifer taking a picture of Dad.

Daun is a die-hard Purdue fan! (Up close and personal)

So is Jennifer!

Jennifer and Daun showing off their face paint!

Jennifer and Daun show their face paint off for Dad, too!

Daun and Jennifer showing off their Purdue hairstyles!

Jennifer, Jay, and Daun show off their shirts!

Would you like another angle on that?

We wanted to make sure you could read our shirts!

One last shot of these awesome Ts!

Last, but certainly not least, we learned a valuable lesson on this trip. Face paints are good sunblock - so remember to use sunscreen on the rest of your face, or you will have a whiteout effect wherever you used the face paint, right Daun?

Daun with "P" on her face.