Remember the Maine - 10 Days Till Kickoff

People can change. Most don't, but it is possible.

Let's say you're a dyed-in-the-wool Iowa Hawkeyes football fan. You can't possibly ever switch allegiances, right? Well, maybe.

But let's say you are so smitten with the gutty, gritty, savage performance of the Maine Black Bears in their game at Iowa on Aug. 30 that you fall wildly in love with them. How in the world will you afford all those road trips?

Not to worry, future Black Bears backers. The team is offering fans the chance to travel with it to three of its road games from Bangor to Monmouth, Richmond and Delaware.

The following is from the Maine football site at http://goblackbears.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/081808aab.html

Join Maine Football on the road in 2008! Once again this season, Black Bear Club members can be a part of the action when the Maine football team travels. Members are eligible to purchase seats on the team charters and travel with the team, experiencing first-hand the excitement of Maine football. Spots on the team charter are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and include:

**Roundtrip transportation on the team charter.

**Ground transportation.

**Friday evening dinner.

**A ticket to the game.

The cost for each trip is $400 per person. Hotel arrangements are not included and must be booked separately. Flights will depart mid-morning from Bangor the Friday prior to each game and return immediately following the contest. For more information on joining a charter trip, please contact Pat McBride at patmcbride@maine.edu or 207-581-1099.

Available away games are as follows:

DATE ... OPPONENT ... LOCATION ... GAME TIME

09/06/08 ... at Monmouth ... West Long Branch, N.J. ... 1:00 p.m. ET

09/20/08 ... at Richmond ... Richmond, Va. ... 3:00 p.m. ET

10/11/08 ... at Delaware ... Newark, Del. ... 6:00 p.m. ET

Now I ask you, Hawkeye fans, has your team ever asked you to travel along with it to West Lafayette or East Lansing unless you are one of the super-super-super wealthy boosters of the program? No, the Hawkeyes (and all major-college teams) expect you to find your own way to road games. That often means dirty truck stop restrooms, fried fast-food off Interstate exits, and lots of fossil fuels burned.

You don't get to sit next to a Hawkeye linebacker on a charter flight to Bloomington for the game against the Hoosiers. No, you have to pile seven or eight to an SUV and spend several hours looking out the window at ... Illinois. It's a price many of you are willing to pay, but it's a steep one.

After Crafty Jack Cosgrove's uncaged Black Bears bare their teeth in Iowa City, maybe some of you will say "You know what? I don't really feel the need to come back here next week to see the Hawks play Florida International Airport. I think I'll follow these doggone Bears to West Long Branch, New Jersey instead. Via Bangor, of course."

Just 10 days till Maine-Iowa. Sleep is getting more difficult with each passing night.