I hope the football team goes to the Mainstay Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Shreveport. Man, what a town. It is so 21st Century.

I swear, if I have to watch another bowl game played in a professional stadium, I’ll make the bowl director field my 3-wood approach shot.

And really, isn’t it a bit clich‚ to have a college bowl game on a college campus?

That’s why I love Independence Stadium. It’s located on the fairgrounds.

There’s no need to watch where I walk, because I’m sure the smell only lasts a few hours.

And even though the stadium isn’t by it, I can’t wait to visit the Louisiana State University in Shreveport campus.

I love a college town’s night life.

And I’m sure all 4,500 of LSUS’s students will be ready to party it up with me.

Man, I also love a college town with some history.

And LSU has churned out some of Shreveport’s finest since 1972.

Wow, I wasn’t even born yet.

But I don’t plan to spend all my time in college town. I want to see what the city itself has to offer.

Let me tell ya’, it offers a lot.

According to the city’s Web site, some of the “major” projects initiated last year included: a Target, a Marriot Residence Inn and a Lincoln-Mercury dealership.

Target.

Charles Wilson is the director of the center for the study of southern culture at Ole Miss University, and he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

He says northern Louisiana, where Shreveport is located, doesn’t have the flair of southern Louisiana. “And it still doesn’t,” he says.

What?! “It doesn’t have the tradition of an upscale economy [like in southern Louisiana],” he says. “North Louisiana’s often been economically depressed.”

Economically Depressed? Hello, Mr. Wilson. How many people do you know driving around in a Mercury Sable?

That simply can’t be. This is a town on the rise. I mean, look at Shreveport’s population: 200,145 people live there, according to the 2000 Census.

Look out Bismarck, North Dakota. You’ve got some competition.

The game is on the 27th of December, so I’ll be sure to stuff all my Christmas presents into my suitcase before I leave for Shreveport.

According to the 2000 edition of the “Places Rated Almanac,” which ranks 354 metros across the nation in a plethora of areas, Shreveport’s crime, which is ranked by its violent crime rate (murder, robbery, aggravated assault) and its property crime rate (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft), is ranked 320th best.

No need to worry about my mom and sister walking the Shreveport streets at night, that’s for sure.

And by day, when I see those little Shreveport kids enjoying their winter vacations, (playing that silly game of Hide, Or I’ll Shoot) I’ll know the break has been well earned.

According to “Places Rated,” Shreveport has the 258th best education system.

And when those kids move into the real world, they needn’t move far. Shreveport’s job growth was ranked 213th best by “Places Rated.”

Yet, it’s amazing that Shreveport has the 29th lowest cost of living, according to “Places Rated.”

Golden City, I marvel at thee.

I hate to say it, but the Independence Bowl, like every other, has succumbed to corporate sponsorship.

But only the finest have represented the country’s finest bowl.

I think the Independence Bowl’s Web site summed up its first sponsorship best: in 1990, “The Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl became a reality.”

Amen, brother.

But, alas, Poulan/Weed Eater would move on. In 1998, the Sanford Independence Bowl moved in.

I don’t know what exactly Sanford does or if it’s still around, but I do know Sanford’s based in Bellwood, Illinois.

Enough said.

After three years, Sanford too, hit the road. It stopped at the Columbus, Ohio fourth-grade chess tournament, where it is thriving.

December 27th will be the first year for the Mainstay Independence Bowl. Mainstay is the subsidiary of New York Life.

Raking in the dough.

Shreveport.

Did I mention it snowed at last year’s game?

I can’t wait.

Paul Kix is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Hubbard.