Bowl season is my second favorite time of the year. Although March Madness barely eclipses this annual winter festival on my favorites list, I can’t wait for bowl season to get under way.

Growing up, I was taught at an early age that Christmas meant the Aloha Bowl was on.

I was told to not stay up all night for the New Year because the Rose parade was on the next morning. At the age of five, instead of writing wish lists for Santa, I filled out Bowl pool picks. I’m not even joking.

When I was seven, I won one of my parents’ office pools by a margin wider than the Ames mayoral race. After a three year run of winning the pool, I was told I could no longer participate.

Instead of wrestling with questions such as, “Will I get the GameBoy Color or Playstation Game Gear for Christmas?” I wondered, “Can Jake the Snake Plummer lead his explosive Sun Devils past Joe Germaine and the solidly consistent Ohio State Buckeyes in the 1997 Rose Bowl?” Instead of sugar cookies and milk for Santa, I was more concerned with the Sugar Bowl and Florida-Florida State. I still have a fiery dislike for Danny Wuerrfel.

The bowls take a lot of heat for some of the matchups that could be considered unappealing. Who in their right mind would want to watch the “San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl” where Colorado State and Navy square off? The answer: me. That game will be spectacular. Two contrasting styles from small conferences in a fight to the death.

Navy’s quarterback Lamar Owens is a shorter, less athletic version of Michael Vick and Colorado State’s gunslinger Justin Holland has one of the best arms in the country. I can’t wait to see that one. In case you were wondering, Colorado State will win by four.

See, every game is worth watching. People say there are way too many bowl games. Are you kidding me? There should be more games.

I would die for Arkansas State and Washington to suit up in the “Lake Minnetonka Carnival Cruise Boat Bowl.”

The concentration will be focused on the big game. Yeah, it’s kind of a big deal. But, can the Rose Bowl boast the potential of the GMAC bowl? Toledo and UTEP’s national appeal make the Rose Bowl look like . well, let’s not get carried away, the Rose Bowl will be ridiculously good. The GMAC bowl, however, has some nice storylines.

UTEP’s quarterback is the brother of Carson Palmer and Toledo’s signal-caller’s first name is Bruce.

Plus, I’m sure ESPN will show captivating pictures of the city of Mobile, Ala. That’s entertaining enough.

In all seriousness, a playoff sounds like a great idea and would alleviate any controversy surrounding the national champion. But, the bowl season has something special to it that a play-off wouldn’t.

Watching the Emerald Bowl and dying with every play because I need Utah to win so I can increase my substantial lead in the bowl pool, makes the holiday season a joy. It also means, in all likelihood, I need therapy.

In the next couple weeks as you flip on the TV and accidentally come across the Meineke Car Care Bowl, take a minute and watch because everyone knows Bob Barker and the Price is Right can’t match the intensity of the South Florida Bulls.

– Brent Blum is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.