Sun Bowl Swag

Bowl season is officially upon us, and while everyone else gets excited about the match-ups and the elegant parades, like the Rose Bowl parade, I really look forward to reading lists of bowl swag items that each of the teams receives. I also look forward to following and reading the Belk Bowl Twitter (@belkbowl) tweets. If you haven’t done so already, I highly recommend following this account.

There are certainly some perks for the players to playing in the bowls, like getting to travel to the Bahamas, Miami, or Hawaii in the middle of December. Also, there is all the free swag they will receive. Players might get a free backpack, a pair of sunglasses, or a watch. There is even some special swag depending upon the bowl game and sponsor.

Sun Bowl Swag

Here are some of the items that the Tar Heels will be receiving for playing in the Sun Bowl:

• Gift Suite
• Watch
• Fleece pullover
• Backpack
• Hat
• Coin

Top Ten Best Bowl Swag Items (no particular order)

1. Amazon Echo Dot (Heart of Dallas Bowl)

• Think of all the questions college students could ask Alexa.

2. $300 Best Buy Shopping Trip (Russell Athletic Bowl)

• Who wouldn’t love $300 to Best Buy?

3. Shopping Trip to Belk (Belk Bowl)

• You can buy a lot of Christmas sweaters for your grandmother with that shopping trip.

4. Fathead Decal (Quick Lane Bowl)

• What a great conversation starter whenever your friends or parents come over to visit.

5. Apple Watch (Alamo Bowl)

• I really think these watches are pointless, but I am old, so I am sure the kids these days are really looking forward to getting one.

6. $300 Vanilla Visa Gift Card (Peach Bowl)

• This is pretty much like getting cash for playing in a bowl game, and the NCAA is actually OK with it.

7. PS4 Game and Accessory Bundle (Fiesta Bowl)

• Free video games? Yes, please!

8. Beats Headphones (Arizona Bowl)

• You can’t go wrong if Dr. Dre says these things are cool.

9. $300 Microsoft Gift Card (Military Bowl)

• Not quite as cool as a $300 Apple Gift Card.

10. Gift Suites* (various bowls)

*Gift Suites

• This is an opportunity for the football players to pick items (provided by the bowls and their sponsors) of their choosing from a particular room. The items selected (along with the other items given by the bowls) cannot exceed the NCAA limit of $550 per person. Here is a video of Ohio State’s gift suite:

Top Ten Most Interesting Bowl Swag Items

1. Festive Wear Holiday Sweater (Armed Forces Bowl)

• Just in time for all of those ugly sweater themed parties.

2. Selfie Stick (New Mexico Bowl)

• Kids these days and their selfies.

3. Paddle-Ball Set (Miami Beach Bowl)

• Think of all the paddle-ball games that are going to break out in Central Michigan this winter.

4. RTIC SoftPak 40 Cooler (Dollar General Bowl)

• What college kid doesn’t want a cooler?

5. Aloha Shirt and Surf Trunks (Hawaii Bowl)

• We all know the real gift from this bowl is getting to travel to Hawaii, but these gifts will come in handy for “hanging ten” and a luau party.

6. Inflatable “Big-Lazy” Couch (Arizona Bowl)

• What college student doesn’t need furniture for their dorm rooms or apartments, especially in inflatable-form?

7. Bobblehead (TaxSlayer Bowl)

• Like the personalized Fathead, this will be pretty awesome to have when you are older and a great conversation starter.

8. $25 Buffalo Wild Wings Gift Card (Citrus Bowl)

• I don’t think this is enough for a 300 pound lineman from LSU or Louisville.

9. Big Game Autograph Football (Camelia Bowl)

• Players just need to make sure not to sign the football with their own autograph and sell it because that would be bad (sarcasm).

10. Belt Buckle (Texas Bowl)

• When in Texas.