The End of an (Almost) Perfect Season
Written by: Kurt Frohlich
A surprising number of Nevada Wolf Pack fans relocated from Reno to San Francisco the weekend of January 8 to attend the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and watch our Pack match up against the Boston College Eagles. We knew this was going to be a special event starting with the short drive to the Bay Area. “Go Pack” billboards were prominent from Sacramento all the way to the Bay Bridge, as were the rally flags flapping away from various vehicle windows. We were in the midst of a full-fledged Bowl Game caravan! Who says the Pack faithful don’t travel?
Once we arrived at our hotel and had breakfast early Sunday morning, it was “old home week”. We ran into more friends and acquaintances there in San Francisco – some of whom we hadn’t seen in years – than running around town at home in Reno. Same for the pep rally later in the day. All of Union Square was a sea of Silver and Blue, with just a smattering of red and gold BC faithful. The sky was clear, it was not too cold, with no threat of rain! Coach Ault rallied the crowd as did our star QB, Colin Kaepernick. The cheerleaders and band did their thing, the wolf mascots entertained the kids, and the Kraft sponsors handed out some free goodies.
At around 4 o’clock, we took the short walk down to the AT&T park to begin the pre-game tailgating festivities. Who knew Parking Lot A was so huge? But we found our friends, enjoyed some BBQ chicken, threw the football around, enjoyed some adult beverages, and continued to run into people we knew.
At 5 o’clock, we headed into the park, rally towels and tickets in hand, to find our seats and take in the pre-game activities courtesy of ESPN. Even Joe Montana showed up to partake in the coin (OREO cookie) toss.
As for the game itself…we were hoping for a rip-roaring blowout and not having to stress over the outcome. But that wasn’t the case. The Nevada high powered offense was held largely in check by the BC top rated run defense. A Kaepernick fumble resulted in an early BC touchdown, and we were down 7-0. We tied the game up shortly thereafter on a brilliant punt return, and then kicked a field goal and did a lot of punting back and forth. It became a defensive, field position game and it looked like whoever had the ball last without making a mistake would win. The only comic relief in the second half was the Nevada streaker…such a proud moment.
In the end, a key interception sealed the 20-13 victory as BC was driving for the tie with about 3 minutes to go. We kneeled down a few times since BC had used up their time-outs, and it was over. Students filled the field, flags waved, speeches were made, and trophies were hoisted. It was a little anti-climactic as we didn’t get the offensive fireworks we were used to, but it was a nearly perfect ending to the best season UNR has ever had. If only we had beaten Hawaii for the perfect season…oh well. Beating Cal and then Boise State will have to do. The team, the university and the greater Reno and Northern Nevada area can be so proud of this team, and we’ll look back fondly on the 2010 season for a long time to come. Thank you, Nevada “Dream Team”, for a fantastic, memorable, and very entertaining season.
Kurt and Family
