Peterson: Hawkeyes bowl vet dad to Cyclones bowl rookie son: 'Enjoy the experience'
Randy PetersonAMES, Ia. — Troy Foster has some advice before his son embarks on what Pops says will be one of the most unforgettable experiences of the kid’s life.
Enjoy the experience. Soak it all in. Because the memories and the friendships made during this one-of-a-kind journey stay with you the rest of your life.
That’s roughly the message the elder Foster conveyed when I asked if he had any fatherly tips before Sean Foster climbs up the stairs to the charter jet that, on Christmas Day, will whisk the Iowa State football team to its first bowl game since 2012.
Sean’s dad has first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be part of a bowl team. He knows what it’s like to go through bowl preparation.
He knows, too, that whatever his redshirt freshman son experiences will never be forgotten.
“Enjoy the experience,” said Troy, who was on Iowa’s 1991 Holiday Bowl team. “He’s one of a very small percentage of people that have the blessing and the honor to play a sport. It doesn’t happen to many kids at the major college level, so enjoy it.”
The Dec. 30 Liberty Bowl against Memphis is a first for this batch of Iowa State players, although Allen Lazard recalls attending the Cyclones’ 2012 Liberty Bowl to support his brother Anthony, who was on the team.
“The stadium was like 90 percent Cyclone Nation,” Lazard recalled. “Unbelievable.”
Memphis (the town, at least) will seem like that in the days leading up to the 11:30 a.m. game on ABC.
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The Cyclones Spirit Rally is on Dec. 29 between 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at AutoZone Park, home of the triple-A Memphis Redbirds. There’s even word that Matt Campbell and his players will show up for a while.
The Liberty Bowl parade starts at 3 p.m. that day, and it’s on famous Beale Street, home of what I’ve heard to be very good barbecue. There’s a Bash on Beale Street pep rally for fans of both teams that starts around 4:30 p.m. after the parade.
Translated: There won’t be a shortage of cardinal and gold — or maybe even grey, depending on the team’s uniform color for the game.
Foster recalls seeing thousands of Iowa fans during the Hawkeyes' two-week bowl trip to San Diego back in 1991, too.
He remembers the SeaWorld visit. He was part of the team that toured the USS Ranger, an aircraft carrier docked in San Diego. He attended a dinner with players from BYU, the Hawkeyes’ opponent.
“We were out there two weeks,” Troy said. “It was an awesome experience.”
Bowl trips were longer back then. Troy Foster’s coach, Hayden Fry, liked for his guys to get sightseeing and all the bowl’s mandatory promotional stuff out of the way early — before intense bowl prep started six days or so before the game.
His son’s first bowl trip will last a total of six days.
The team leaves on Dec. 25 and returns shortly after the game. It’ll be the normal game-week routine — except that instead of attending class, there’s the Bass Pro Shop team welcome party to attend, a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Breakfast, a professional rodeo, players and coaches of both teams' dinners — and then the game.
“I’m looking forward to the experience,” Sean said. “The whole bowl prep — it’s a great opportunity for our team to get better.”
Sean will start at right tackle for a Cyclones team that’s a 3 1/2-point underdog against the hometown Tigers. It’ll be his fifth start in a row since replacing injured Bryce Meeker. He’s a rookie. For him, the 15 or so extra practices are beneficial.
“I’ve told him to enjoy every moment of the process,” Troy said. “In my opinion, he’s playing for one of the top five coaching staffs in the country. Use the extra practices to learn as much from them as he can.”
Troy’s No. 75 Holiday Bowl jersey hangs in a frame on a wall of the Foster home in the Chicago suburb of Mundelein. Sean wears No. 75, too. It’s a tradition started by his grandfather.
“It’s pretty cool to see my dad’s Holiday Bowl uniform,” Sean said.
It’d also be cool someday to see framed father and son bowl jerseys hanging side by side.
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Randy writes opinion and analysis of Iowa State football and basketball. You can reach Randy at rpeterson@dmreg.com or on Twitter at @RandyPete.