CINCINNATI—As the Cincinnati Bearcats make history as the first non-Power 5 school to make the College Football Playoff, UC fans are planing to make the trip. But after buying tickets to the game, many found that flying to Dallas was out of budget.
What You Need To Know
- UC fans are flocking to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl
- Many of the flights to Dallas from Cincinnati are extremely expensive or are 15-hour travel days
- That’s why UC grads Kelly Frey and Eric Zins are making the drive down with their friends in a rented van
- Cincinnati plays Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal on Dec. 31 at 3:30 p.m.
Kelly Frey already knows what she’s wearing to the Cotton Bowl.
“It’s coming to Dallas!” she said of her beloved Cincinnati vintage sweatshirt.
The 2018 UC grad is going to the game, along with her boyfriend Eric Zins, whom she met at UC.
“I think I’ve been to like four of the games this year,” Zins said. “It’s been a lot of fun watching them play at home.”
They’re both heading down to the Lonestar state with some friends to watch their Bearcats take on Alabama.
“They had texted us and they’re like any chance you want to go to the UC game with us in Dallas? And so we kind of looked at each other and we’re like, let’s do it!” Frey said.
But the couple didn’t realize just how much plane tickets to Dallas would cost.
“Direct flights were extremely expensive and all the other connecting flights would have been a 14, 15-hour day of travel,” Zins said. “That was a detail we’d figure out later. And since then, we haven’t figured out much except that right now, it looks like we’re driving.”
So instead, they’re among many UC fans making the drive to the game.
“Our friends rented a van,” Frey said. “We’re piling six or seven people in there and making the trip up Wednesday night.”
While they’re not looking forward to the long trip, they’re excited to witness history.
“Looking forward to watching UC make their mark in history,” Zins said.
And while all they want for Christmas is a UC win.
They’re already thinking ahead to a much closer trip for the National Championship in Indianapolis.
“So much closer!” Frey said. “We’ve already talked about that!”
