Don't let the coaches fool you. The best part about the Washington Huskies and Nebraska Cornhuskers' invitation to the Holiday Bowl is not the extra practice time or the prestige of a bowl game; it's the gifts the players and coaches receive. And at the Holiday Bowl this year, the collection of swag is decent, but not spectacular.
According to The Sports Journal, players from Washington and Nebraska will receive: A Best Buy gift card (amount not specified), a Fossil Watch and a hooded sweatshirt and cap combination, presumably with the logo of the 2010 Holiday Bowl sponsor, Bridgeport Education. The Best Buy gift card is probably the gift that elicits the most excitement, but it still ranks on the lower-end of bowl gifts.
After the jump, the gifts Nebraska and Washington missed out on.
If Nebraska or Washington were chosen for the Alamo Bowl, one step up on the Pac-10 and Big 12 bowl ladder, the gift packs included:
Microsoft Xbox 360 with Kinect; $20 Game Stop gift card; Kicker 541 headphones; Apple iPod shuffle; Fossil Watch; Schutt Mini-Helmet; Team Panoramic Photo
Nebraska, moreso than Washington, can be heard cursing the Big 12 for its apparent work to keep the Huskers out of a more prestigious bowl. The Huskers lost in the Big 12 title-game, and rumors quickly surfaced indicating the conference, as one final middle finger to the departing Cornhuskers, was working behind the scene to bump Nebraska down the bowl ladder. Instead of a bunch of sweet swag, the team will get a gift card at the Holiday Bowl.
You've gotta love bowl season. Players can't take any money from "boosters" but are free to gobble-up hundreds of dollars in sponsored merchandise as a reward for on-field performance!