AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Air Force linebacker Drew Fowler isn’t just concerned about collecting tackles. And coach Troy Calhoun isn’t just dwelling on the X’s and O’s for the Falcons’ first bowl game in five years.
The Falcons opened their preparation for a New Year’s Eve appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl, with both Fowler and Calhoun looking at the big picture. Their stated aims are to improve Air Force’s bowl-game reputation on the field and in fan support.
“It’s really key that we get as many people into the stands as we can,” Fowler said. “All bowls are about money because they are a business. We want to show we can get the kind of following that would make any bowl want us in its game.”
Calhoun has been on the pulpit since the 9-3 Falcons became bowl eligible, suggesting that anyone connected with the academy should get on the bandwagon and head to Fort Worth, Texas. He said Saturday after practice that he’s looking for 18,000 blue-and-silver clad Air Force fans at the game. Air Force’s opponent hasn’t been determined, but it likely will come from the Pac-10 or Big Ten.
“There’s the opinion out there that Air Force can’t bring a big following to a game, but I don’t buy it,” Calhoun said. “First and foremost, it’s on the shoulders of our graduates to support our program and I’m a graduate.”
Fowler noted Calhoun already has put his players to work drumming up fan support. They’ve been working the telephones, calling family and friends to put Fort Worth in their New Year’s plans.
Air Force hasn’t been to a bowl game for five years and hasn’t won a bowl game in seven. The Falcons’ last postseason victory was a 37-34 triumph over Fresno State in the 2000 Silicon Valley Bowl. They lost 30-13 to Virginia Tech in the 2002 San Francisco Bowl.
Fowler and Calhoun noted that Air Force wasn’t considered highly by either the Las Vegas Bowl or the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, the first two in the selection order for Mountain West Conference teams, even though Air Force finished second in the conference with a 6-2 record. Air Force played in the 1997 Las Vegas Bowl, losing 41-13 with only 21,514 in the stands.
The Poinsettia Bowl avoided Air Force by bringing in Navy and then noting it’s against its policy to have rematches from the season. Navy beat Air Force 31-20 in the fifth game of the season.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
