The Humanitarian Bowl is getting a new look that's refreshingly old. The December game has been renamed the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl after the state's most legendary crop. The Idaho Potato Commission signed a six-year deal for naming rights to sponsor the game in Boise.
Call it a throwback jersey for college football.
A lot of fans older than Justin Bieber remember a time when college bowl games weren't named after giant corporations like Capital One or GoDaddy.com. In fact, a lot of the original bowls weren't named for sponsors at all. Their monikers paid homage to something local, often times food. Go back far enough and you won't find a business name anywhere near the college football post-season ...
• The Poi Bowl ran for four years in Honolulu starting in 1936 and paid tribute to the native food made from the taro plant. It was renamed after the pineapple in 1940 and continued until 1952.
• Fresno, California, hosted the Raisin Bowl from 1946 to 1949.
• Back in December of 1964, a little game was started in Abilene, Texas, and named after the state tree -- the Pecan.
• Even as recently as 1985, the humble cherry had a two-year run as a bowl topper in Michigan.
Not all of the old names have vanished. The Orange Bowl still pays tribute to the Florida fruit, albeit in addition to a tribute to FedEx.
Granted, the Idaho Potato Commission is a state agency, but it's a lot closer to the originals than the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.
So on December 17, when you tune in to watch the best of the WAC and MAC face off at Bronco Stadium, raise a handful of French fries in honor of the way it used to be.
