El Paso offers great variety of entertainment options

  Sun Bowl Committee The last time UCLA played in El Paso,
Texas, was the 1991 Hancock Bowl against Illinois. Before the
Bruins play this year on Dec. 29, they will have a chance to
explore the city.

By Emily Whichard
Daily Bruin Contributor

With a lot of sun, some sand and a little football, it sounds
like bowl time again. Though it may not be Hawaii or Florida, fans
and players attending the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, have an array
of entertainment options to choose from.

Both teams will have a full slate when they arrive in El Paso,
with outings ranging from a bull fight at Solar de la Paolma and a
golf tournament at Coronado Country Club to a hospital visit to
children at Sierra Medical Center.

“The thing about El Paso is the hospitality,” said
Kristie Medina, a Sun Bowl representative. “We can’t
offer beaches like Hawaii or Florida, but the community stops for
the Sun Bowl Event.”

According to Medina, one of the premiere events is the Rotary
Sun Bowl Team Luncheon, held on Thursday, Dec. 28. Both
teams’ bands and spirit squads will be present to welcome in
the teams. The starting lineups will be introduced, highlight tapes
from both schools will be shown and the head coaches will
speak.

“The crowd enjoys the event because they get to interact
with the coaches and players,” Medina said. “It
provides a more school-spirited feel.”

The event will also pay tribute to some football legends. This
year’s honorees are Vince Dooley, the athletic director at
the University of Georgia, and the late Derrick Thomas. Thomas, who
died in a car accident last year, received the Sun Bowl’s
Most Valuable Lineman Award in 1988 and went on to a career with
the Kansas City Chiefs. Thomas’s mother will speak on his
behalf, in the event MC’d by CBS sports anchor Verne
Lundquist.

On the eve of the game, the Fan Fiesta will provide a pre-game
tailgate for fans of both teams, featuring a battle of the bands
between the Bruin and Badger bands. The night’s festivities
will conclude with a fireworks show.

In addition to hosting the Sun Bowl, the town boasts authentic
Mexican cuisine, bicultural heritage, historic missions, the
University of Texas at El Paso, the Tigua Indian Reservation and
Fort Bliss ““ the largest air base in the Western world.

El Paso native and UCLA student Sara Walker described El Paso as
a great place to live.

“The people are down to earth people and the Mexican food
is great,” she said. Walker recommends The Riviera for a true
Mexican dining experience.

Situated on the Western shoulder of Texas, El Paso rubs elbows
with New Mexico to the West and Mexico to the South, and crossing
the border is as simple as a stroll across a bridge, a short drive
or a trolley ride.

It might not have palm trees and beaches to offer, but El Paso
can promise Bruin fans a unique international experience.