Dec. 19, 2008

By Melinda Swenson
Today @ Colorado State

Jack Fenwick, an associate professor at Colorado State University, is an avid Rams football fan. He and his family are traveling to Albuquerque, N.M., this weekend to attend their 11th bowl game.

After arriving at CSU as a faculty member in soil and crop sciences in the fall of 1976, Fenwick waited 14 years for an opportunity to go to a bowl game. (Colorado State's most recent bowl competition had been against Occidental College at the Raisin Bowl in 1948).

"In 1990 we were so excited to be going to a bowl game that we haven't missed one since," said Fenwick.

Hooked on Ram football

That first bowl game in 1990 was "a thrilling victory," said Fenwick. The score was CSU 32, Oregon 31. Fenwick admits he was pretty much hooked on Ram football after that. His family loves the Ram fan traditions. "We sit with the Ram Club members, attend the tailgate parties, and wear the green and gold from head to toe.

"My wife Ann and daughters Brooke (now age 16), Megan (now age 10), and I have used these bowl games as our family road-trip vacation times. Our favorite locations are warm climates and plenty of attractions for family activities. We have played golf, visited museums, and zoos. We enjoy the educational part of our trips. When we were in Memphis, we visited the spot where Martin Luther King was assassinated.

"One of the most striking memories I have of all our trips to bowl games is when we met Bradlee van Pelt in the hallway of the team hotel. He picked up my daughter, Megan, and gave her a big hug. She thought he was really cool."

Leave strategy to the coach

While Fenwick can truly be described as an ardent aficionado of football (Rams in particular), he isn't one of those spectators you'll find shouting advice to the coach from the 50-yard line. "I rely on coach Fairchild and the coaches to call the plays and make decisions. I just sit back and enjoy watching the strategy unfold."