It’s a sad day for college football fans who love (largely meaningless) bowl games named after Australian-themed American chain restaurants.
RIP to the Outback Bowl and all the bloomin’ fun it once was because it’s now… the ReliaQuest Bowl. Doesn’t exactly have the same spicy signature bloom sauce-like smoothness of its predecessor.
It’ll still be in Tampa and still at Raymond James Stadium. But gone are the days of bloomin’ onion and coconut shrimp mascots on the sidelines of SEC versus Big Ten/ACC postseason matchups.
Originally, the bowl game was named the Hall of Fame Bowl from December 1986 through January 1995. And then in April of ’95, it became the beloved Outback Bowl, filled with fun, chaos, occasional disappointments and often free food giveaways. It’s one of the most popular bowl games in the crowded field.
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The Outback Bowl was the official name of the game until March, when it temporarily became known simply as the Tampa Bay Bowl Game. And now, it’s officially the ReliaQuest Bowl, as the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported on Twitter not long before the bowl tweeted the announcement itself.
We’re so excited to announce Tampa-based @ReliaQuest as our title sponsor!! A global company doing amazing things. The perfect partner for us! Welcome to the @ReliaQuestBowl!🏈
Read release here: https://t.co/QdxkIc6tTg#ReliaQuestBowl #ReliaQuest #TampaBay pic.twitter.com/DqG51sCb23
— ReliaQuest Bowl (@ReliaQuestBowl) June 9, 2022
Will the ReliaQuest Bowl have the same Outback Bowl feel? Will it be boring and less chaotic? Will fans even stop calling it the Outback Bowl? What happens to that bloomin’ onion costume? What’s associated with ReliaQuest that can be dumped on coaches’ heads in a celebratory moment of triumph?
Who knows, but it doesn’t change that it’s the end of an era. And many college football fans aren’t too pleased with that.