The Missouri Tigers had a nice little surprise on Sunday afternoon when they were invited to the Insight Bowl ahead of Big 12 rival the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It surprised me a little bit, I'll admit, but a surprise most Mizzou fans would take. Many figured it would be Nebraska over Missouri because the perception is that Missouri fans don't travel well for the bowl game, which unfortunately affects which bowl you get into.
After the announcement that Mizzou had accepted the Insight Bowl bid on Dec. 28, 2010, Mizzou AD Mike Alden came out and said they'll need fans to go to the game.
"We are excited to be taking part in a bowl game for a record sixth-straight season," said Director of Athletics Mike Alden. "Playing in bowl games on a consistent basis is a major goal that Coach Pinkel and his program has achieved, and having a chance on a national stage to take on one of the top programs in the Big Ten Conference is a great opportunity. We need Tiger Nation to come out in full force for this game, the Phoenix area is a great destination this time of the year, and this promises to be one of the better bowl matchups around," he said. Good weather and a good team. Mizzou had an event last night for the bowl announcement and sold nearly 4,000 of their allotment of 11,000 tickets. That's a good start.