A bowl game in Baghdad, for the troops - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

A bowl game in Baghdad, for the troops

Tommy Bowden will miss his father's final game at Florida State, with good reason.

Bowden will be among a group of accomplished football players and coaches who will begin 2010 by bringing a taste of what a New Year's Day bowl game is like to American troops stationed in Iraq.

The "Salute The Troops" bowl will be held Jan. 1 at an U.S. military installation in Baghdad, a game where Bowden and Barry Switzer will serve as coaches and former star players such as Bruce Smith, Rocket Ismail, Ty Detmer and Tony Casillas will line up alongside soldiers.

Bobby Bowden says he "wishes he was over there with" son Tommy, who agreed to participate in the game with soldiers before it was known that his father's career at Florida State would end on the same day in the Gator Bowl.