Sugar Bowl Tickets Bargains By Kickoff

Sugar Bowl tickets were a hard sell from the start. Ohio State fans blamed it on the late decision that the Buckeyes would play in the Sugar Bowl, making it hard to plan trips and air fare expensive. Florida State fans blamed it on apathy with the Seminoles making their third trip in four years to the Crescent City.

Tickets, which costs $95 and $75 were being sold at cut rate prices all around the Superdome Thursday night, despite a city ordinance against it. The dealers were hardly scalpers, however. An hour before kickoff one dealer offered two $75 tickets both for $50. Elsewhere people were asking as little as $30 for both $75 and $95 tickets.

“It’s a big drop from last year when Florida and Florida State were here,” one seller said. “That was a great game (for scalpers).”

Of course, that was also for a national championship.

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When it comes to post season bowls, it’s hard to top the Florida State brag chart. The Seminoles hold the record for most consecutive bowl wins with 11 straight from 1985-95. In the last 10 years, Florida State has won the Orange Bowl three times, the Fiesta twice, the Sugar Bowl twice, the Cotton and Blockbuster.

Ohio State has been in 30 bowls including nine straight. Over the years the Buckeyes have played in the Citrus four times, Fiesta, Hall of Fame, Holiday, and Liberty twice each, as well as the Cotton, Gator, Orange, and Sugar Bowl. They have also been to the Rose Bowl 13 times and have a combined 13-16 bowl record.

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Florida State tight end Melvin Pearsall didn’t have much respect for Butkus Award-winning linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer of Ohio State.

Pearsall, who caught 31 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns during the regular season, figured to match up on some his pass routes against Katzenmoyer.

“That will be a good opportunity to prove to myself that I can play against the best,” Pearsall said prior to Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl. “It will be a good matchup, but I don’t feel like he can guard me. I don’t see any linebacker sticking with me when I’m at the top of the game.”

Pearsall also didn’t have high regard for the Buckeye defensive backs.

“They really don’t have any good defensive backs,” Pearsall said. “Well, they have one real good one, that 5-foot-9 guy (Antoine Winfield). He’s real aggressive. I think he’s the best defensive back they have. But I think we can take advantage of the other guys.”

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Florida State defensive end Andre Wadsworth is tired of people putting down his league.

FSU has fueled the disdain by going 47-1 and winning six straight championships since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1992. But the Seminoles’ domination doesn’t mean the ACC is lacking other good teams, Wadsworth said.

Prior to Thursday night’s game, the ACC had a 2-0 record in bowls, with Clemson set to play Auburn in the Peach Bowl on Friday.

“Before we came down here, I heard a couple of guys (from Ohio State) say if played in the Big Ten, we would be have been 6-5 or 5-6,” said Wadsworth, an All-American. “That’s ridiculous.”

Despite their domination of the ACC, the Seminoles have helped the conference improve, he added.

“I think the ACC’s competitiveness and style of play has increased,” Wadsworth said. “The SEC and Big Ten get so much recognition and people think the ACC is just a basketball conference. I don’t think we are. I think we’re a football conference, too.”

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Dave Dixon, the New Orleans businessman who pushed to get the Louisiana Superdome built, was honored during pregame ceremonies at the Sugar Bowl. Dixon’s name was added to the Superdome “Wall of Fame,” joining those of Pete Maravich, Archie Manning, Jim Finks and Rickey Jackson.

Dixon spearheaded the drive to build the Superdome and bring an NFL franchise to the city. For a 10-year period beginning in the mid-1960s, Dixon traveled throughout the state drumming up support for a multipurpose stadium. On Sept. 1, 1966 the city was awarded the Saints and in 1975 the Superdome opened.