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Holiday bowling in Baghdad

FRED GREAVES / USO Football legend Tony Casillas (92), playing for Team Freedom, tries to evade Team Liberty's Spc. Aaron Decker (41) and college quarterback legend Tee Martin, center, who was playing defense during the first Tostitos/USO "Salute the Troops" Bowl, where legendary college football players played alongside troops in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 1. Team Freedom, led by coach Barry Switzer, beat Team Liberty, which was led by coach Tommy Bowden.
Staff report
Tommy Bowden missed his father’s final game coaching Florida State, with good reason. With Bobby Bowden’s blessing, too.

The former Clemson coach, along with Barry Switzer, Rocket Ismail, Bruce Smith, Ty Detmer and others, traveled to Baghdad for a New Year’s Day game — the “Salute the Troops Bowl”— with hopes of providing American soldiers a reminder of what bowl season is like back home.

Players and coaches flew to Kuwait City, then headed to Baghdad for the game at Camp Victory, which has hosted a slew of other visits from sports figures in recent years. The event was sponsored by the USO and Tostitos, and highlights aired Jan. 4 during halftime of the TCU-Boise State Fiesta Bowl matchup.

“I’m hoping we can send a message to the troops that they are not forgotten, that they are greatly appreciated by people in the United States of America,” Tommy Bowden said. “Hopefully, this can be a small dose of appreciation from the sport of college football.”Where does everybody – everybody — want to be for the holidays? They want to be home,” USO president Sloan Gibson said. His organization (USO.org) helped make the event happen. “If they can’t be home, you want to bring the elements of home to them. And college bowl games, that’s front and center, part of what the holidays are all about.”“I already had a strong, strong appreciation of the sacrifices that the military makes,” Tommy Bowden said. “I’m going to get a firsthand taste of what it’s like to be away from home in the holidays.”


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