The cancellation of Tuesday's Holiday Bowl between N.C. State and UCLA is leaving fans shocked and disappointed, with many lamenting that the game was called off only hours before kickoff.
News that the game had been canceled due to COVID-19 issues within UCLA's football program began to spread across social media around 3:30 p.m., about four hours before the matchup between the Wolfpack and Bruins was set to begin at Petco Park in San Diego.
Fans instantly took to social media to express their disappointment and frustration that the game was called off hours before kickoff, and not earlier.
Several fans said they had spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on flights and hotels to attend Tuesday's game, which would have been the first meeting between the Pack and Bruins since 1960.
"UCLA better reimburse NC State for travel. This is a complete disservice to them," wrote one person on Reddit.
Another person replied: "Fans are the ones who really need to be reimbursed but I'll let you guess the odds on that happening."
One person said they knew people who had doled out more than $1,000 just on flights to San Diego. Another person, a UCLA fan, said they had spent more than $500 on a hotel room and train ticket to watch Tuesday's game.
Head coach Dave Doeren wrote on Twitter: "Heartbroken for our players, staff, and seniors. This is a 10 win team and staff."
Wolfpack quarterback Aaron McLaughlin said the team had been away from friends and family for a month preparing for Tuesday's game.
"We have been here for 5 days practicing, we're in a hotel for Christmas just for it to be canceled 5 hours before kickoff? We deserve better," McLaughlin wrote on Twitter.
On top of missing out on the game, McLaughlin said the holidays had been "messed up" for "every single person involved in this, on both ends."
"Get us a game to help us get this 10th win," wrote Wolfpack Wide Receiver Thomas Thayer, soon after the game was canceled.
In a follow-up tweet, Thayer indicated that the Bruins had held a team vote on whether to play Tuesday's game.
"Then why did they have a team vote on whether to play or not. And they voted no," Thayer wrote in a post.
The News & Observer has not confirmed Thayer's tweet.
Debbie Yow, the former Wolfpack athletic director who left N.C. State in 2019, said the issue was that players and fans just received about five hours of notice.
"Earlier notice would have allowed a replacement to be selected, as the NCAA has a list of available 5-7 record teams, who just missed a bowl slot," Yow wrote on Twitter.
One Twitter user pointed out that COVID-19-related issues had impeded multiple Wolfpack athletics, including a national championship in baseball and the NCAA tournament for men's basketball.
