Who's Going To Tampa?

Are you going to the Outback Bowl?

  • YES!

    Votes: 56 80.0%

  • Nah

    Votes: 14 20.0%
  • Total voters
    70
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For those looking for a little cheaper travel cost and have some extra time, consider Amtrak! St Paul to Tampa I believe is about a 53 hour trip and you get to see some beautiful country!
 

Had the hotel booked (on free cancellation) a couple of weeks ago and got a decent deal. Booked two flights (wife and I) last night but, between starting the booking and finishing the process, tickets had gone up £250 each.
 

BilldGopher said:
Noted in another thread if staying in Clearwater/Clearwater Beach consider visiting Honeymoon Island S.P. about 45 minutes north. Natural barrier island setting. Clearwater Beach can be like Coney Island...which is fine if that's your thing. Honeymoon Island is the other end of the continuum.
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Honeymoon Island is right where I go for a several weeks in Jan - Feb each year. Some good restaurants in the area: Molly Goodheads (Palm Harbor/Ozona) excellent bar food/sports bar, recommend grouper sandwich or fish tacos; Ozona Blue Grilling Company, a little higher end; Casa Tina in Dunedin, their Ceviche is wonderful; Fins in Palm Harbor, little atmosphere but fantastic food; and Crown and Bull in Dunedin, breakfast is particularly good.
 
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Just got a pair of tickets in section 113 from StubHub. It will be my first ever bowl game. I've been holding out for a Rose Bowl, but decided I couldn't pass this up, especially since we bought a seasonal place in Port Charlotte a few months ago, so we'll have a place to stay. We'll just have to head down right after Christmas, instead of New Year's, like we had planned.
 



MGGopher said:
Talked one brother into coming with me, so I just booked my flight from Indy for $259 into PIE. Club level tickets in 206 and 214 seem cheap and plentiful on ticket sites, so I'll probably grab those instead of going through the U. Time to start looking for a hotel!

PS: @Veritas, can you tell me where you'll be sitting during the game? I prefer to stand and would like to plan accordingly in order to prevent discord on this message board.
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Other way around, my wife sitting would never infringe on anyone's enjoyment of a game. You post where you will be infringing, I'll get our seats somewhere else or right in front of you. Either way, have a great game.
 

Past performance doesn't gurantee future results, but when we went to Citrus bowl I finally booked a flight that had a layover in texas than to orlando, and I flew back home out of Tampa for abou ~$600 because direct flights to Orlando were outrageous and going up every day so bit the bullet (I kept trying to find deal, and they kept getting worse). 2-3 days after I booked SC added several routes for much more reasonable fairs and direct flights and few other flights dropped in price too.
 

Spoofin said:
Was looking at 12/30-1/1 on SC last night at $439. Same flight today at $909. Yikes.
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Man, that's brutal. Suppose a bunch of people booked last night OR travel agencies scooped up a ton of seats.

Here's a link to a Google Flights search from MSP and Rochester to Tampa, Clearwater, and Orlando from 12/31 - 1/2. Spirit has a couple options to MCO under $500, and there's an AA flight from RST in the $300's.

Anybody can click on it and then mess with the dates and such. Good luck, Gopher fans! I'll see you there! https://www.google.com/flights#flt=...MCO.MSP,RST,STC.2020-01-02;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f
 

Oh for the warm Sun and gentle Gulf breezes; to Tampa we flee.
 





For the Citrus Bowl a number of Gophers fans actually flew in/out of Atlanta and drove down. Southwest still had a strong post-Airtran presence in both MSP and Atlanta, which made the fares very competitive. Not as much a spread now in cost, but still worth a look. One attraction for Minnesotan's was a side trip over to the Andersonville National Monument and Prisoner of War Museum. It was about 20 minutes off I-75 in south-central Georgia. Takes about 2 hours to fully take in this very historic site. Received a number of positive comments for those who added this to the trip.
 

We're taking the family...flying into Orlando and renting a car to Tampa...got great airfare to Orlando. Also Homewood Suites in Tampa...excellent place for the price.

As for game tickets ... If we order from the U ...we will get stuck with crap seats. Looking elsewhere for game tix.
 



I live in Tampa so I will definitely be there. Waiting to see how ticket prices play out. If you're paying $80 you are better off buying them through the school so they get the credit as opposed to just paying out to a 3rd party
 

Demand is up so pricing is up.

I used miles + cash for wife and I to fly to Orland. Will get a car and stay near Tampa. Have customers in Florida so will expense car, my flight, hotel and some meals. Pretty loose expensing policy at work. Makes this stuff easy when it works out.

We are really excited. Great 5 days away.
 

First time going to a Bowl Game! RI native, hubby grew up near Chokio Minnesota, after high school went into the Air Force.
He went to Jerry Kill's Day Camp and loved it, got me hooked the very first game we went to. Love the atmosphere and fun of college football, not an NFL fan at all :)
We now live in southern Delaware, retired away from the bitter cold of Minnesota. Driving down, got good club level seats.
Can't wait! Row The Boat! Ski-U-Mah! Go Gophers!
 

Will there be any type of pep rally or other get togethers for Minnesota fans? We are planning on going to the parade, wondering what other "official" or unofficial events will be going on. Thank you!
 

I'm not going. With my kids where they are at in their activities and school, it is difficult for me to schedule out of town events over the holidays. I was going to find a way had it been the Rose Bowl or perhaps even a different NY6 bowl. I consider the Citrus Bowl and the Outback Bowl to be worthy New Years destinations if my team is involved but at least for this year, I will continue to hold out for the Rose Bowl. At some point, I hope to have a schedule that allows me to travel to the Gopher's bowl regardless of the date or where it is each year.
 


Auntie Cece said:
Will there be any type of pep rally or other get togethers for Minnesota fans? We are planning on going to the parade, wondering what other "official" or unofficial events will be going on. Thank you!
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The University Bowl Central Page has a list of all events :)
gophersports.com

Gopher Football Bowl Game Central - Outback Bowl Tickets & Information - Official Minnesota Golden Gopher Tickets - University of Minnesota Athletics

Minnesota Golden Gopher Football Bowl Game Information #16 Minnesota (10-2) vs. #9 Auburn (9-3) OUTBACK BOWL Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida January 1st...
gophersports.com gophersports.com
 

Ordered tickets through our ticket office today. Always a bit of a crap shoot but did it through someone with a Gopher Score in the mid 1000's. Hopefully that works out.

Booked a flight to Fort Myers using some miles and cash and it was still over $400 and rented a car on credit card points. Staying in St. Pete Beach with relatives who are coming to the game with me. A bundle by my standards but worth it for a once in a lifetime experience with aging Gopher fan relatives. Saturdays are hard so getting to a game live will be a treat in itself. Really want to come home with a memorable win.
 


Auntie Cece said:
Will there be any type of pep rally or other get togethers for Minnesota fans? We are planning on going to the parade, wondering what other "official" or unofficial events will be going on. Thank you!
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Yes, but folks will be drinking so be prepared to stand at them.
 


Down by the city of the bay
You will find him in the park where Jekyl meets Hyde.
Also on the beach where he will be catching waves
Is where Beavcoon plans to spend his yuletide.


Beavcoon in the room with Dwight Gooden and Aaron Carter.
 
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Beavcoon1 said:
Down by the city of the bay
You will find him in the park where Jekyl meets Hyde.
Also on the beach where he will be catching waves
Is where Beavcoon plans to spend his yuletide.


Beavcoon in the room with Dwight Gooden and Aaron Carter.
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The Beavcoon is back!
 



I'm all over the place with plans.

At first i thought maybe i'd splurge on the gopher travel package thing the U sent out.

Now I'm all "hell I'll just stay at a hotel near a beach, let the kids play, and drive to the game".
 
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