Steve Young decided he was not going to miss N.C. State playing in the Holiday Bowl, and he would do whatever it took to be in San Diego for Tuesday’s game against UCLA.
Yes, airline tickets were pricey. He would be running solo. The logistics were bad, with flights at odd times and lengthy layovers.
But Young, a 1991 NCSU graduate who lives in Holly Springs, N.C., was determined to make it. He just doesn’t miss many Wolfpack football games.
Price tag: $700 for the round trip, Young said.
“And if you wanted good flying times that most sane people would want ...,” Young said.
All that for a game that was not played. Four hours before game time Tuesday, UCLA announced it could not play the Pack because of too many COVID-19 issues in its football program.
“A huge disappointment,” said Dave DeSilva of Charlotte, N.C. “We were all excited to see N.C. State beat up on a West Coast team.”
DeSilva went the pricier route with the airlines. He bought game tickets through the Wolfpack Club — at $189 apiece, he said — and arranged a few extra days at the Hyatt, the team hotel, as a graduation present for his son, Ethan, who graduated from NCSU in May.
DeSilva said his son received a text from some friends Tuesday as news spread of the cancellation.
Young, a Wolfpack Club member, first learned of the cancellation like many other Pack fans — on Twitter.
Bruce Feldman, a writer for Fox Sports and The Athletic, tweeted at 3:15 p.m. ET that the game would be canceled. He reported that the Bruins’ defensive line had been “decimated” by COVID-19.
Other media outlets, including The News & Observer, quickly confirmed the report: game called.
“The more I read on Twitter the more upset I got,” Young said. “I read this was a possibility for the last couple of days and that (UCLA) had held internal discussions. ... It just got me more and more mad.”
Nearly as mad, he said, as being in Omaha, Neb., at the 2021 College World Series. Young was in Nebraska when he awoke to the news one morning to learn the Pack had been ousted from the event for too many positive COVID-19 tests.
“I was there the whole time just to get kicked in the face,” he said of the CWS.
So was former N.C. State wide receiver Don Buckey. He said Tuesday he had flown into San Diego via Los Angeles and learned of the cancellation just as he arrived at his hotel.
“Omaha all over again,” Buckey said.
Enjoying the bowl experience
One saving grace for Young on Tuesday was that he had not yet bought a ticket to the bowl game. He said he was waiting to find something on StubHub or buy a ticket at the stadium, so he won’t need to get a refund.
A saving grace for the Wolfpack players, if a small one: they were able to make the trip to the West Coast, many for the first time, and were able to enjoy much of the bowl experience.
Except for playing the bowl game, of course.
“They enjoyed themselves and they had a great time,” Young said. “A lot of money was spent for a first-class trip. But they wanted that 10th win. Bowl games might not mean a lot to some teams, but I think this bowl meant a lot to these players. They really like one another and wanted to win for one another.”
DeSilva said he and his son were around a number of the Wolfpack players the past few days at the hotel, noting everyone was polite and friendly.
“It seems like they did have a good time,” DeSilva said. “I saw some of them after (the cancellation) and some were disappointed. But young kids will recover.”
Young said he spent Tuesday afternoon as a San Diego tourist, although he noted, “I couldn’t even find a Holiday Bowl shirt.”
Young did have a fleeting thought for his return trip back to the East Coast. What if re-routed his Wednesday flight through Miami? The Wolfpack men’s basketball team faces the Miami Hurricanes in an ACC game.
But Young quickly reconsidered.
“Not going,” he said. “With my luck it would be canceled.”
