Sun Bowl low on excitement for fans

With students away and a Wednesday morning start time, Beaver Nation was calm and quiet for the Sun Bowl, with some fans gathered over food and drink and others interrupting their regular workday.

Three generations of the Amoth family gathered at McMenamin’s on Monroe Avenue for lunch and pitchers of beer. The restaurant was busy for a mid-break Wednesday, but not packed.

Aaron Amoth and Nate Gerding both took the day off work to watch the game with family, but neither was overly enthusiastic about the Sun Bowl or the still-stinging Civil War loss to Oregon.

“It’s a little bit of a letdown,” Gerding said. “With all the injuries we have, though, I wouldn’t want to be in the Rose Bowl.”

City bus drivers aren’t allowed to listen to the game on their routes, so dispatchers usually report scores over the radio.

“If we get a change, I call it out,” said Brian Maxwell, contract manager for First Student, the company that operates buses for the city. “I’ve got a couple of real die-hard fans out there.”

There wasn’t much to report, however. OSU held on for the win with just a second-quarter field goal to account for the game’s only score.

Tyler Zinsli, an Oregon State University sophomore, took in the first half on the waiting room television at Les Schwab Tire Center on Ninth Street. On the way out to the car for a pre-game breakfast with his girlfriend, Zinsli discovered a nail in his tire and needed a quick fix.

“Good thing they have it on here. And good thing it’s not an exciting back-and-forth game, or she’d have to come down by herself,” Zinsli said with a laugh.

Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or matt.neznanski@lee.net.