Fiesta Bowl events to extend beyond football this Saturday

PHOENIX — It’s that time of year again, sports fans.

Yes, that’s right — it’s bowl season.

The Playstation Fiesta Bowl is Arizona’s biggest college bowl game this December as the Washington Huskies take on the Penn State Nittany Lions at University of Phoenix Stadium on Saturday.

And make no mistake, there is plenty of things to do before the big game that don’t all include football.

This year, there is a parade and two pregame parties.

Retired Arizona Coyote Shane Doan will be the grand marshal of this year’s National Bank of Arizona Fiesta Bowl Parade.

Doan is the longest-term professional athlete in Arizona history who spent 20 years in a Coyotes uniform.  He announced his retirement in August.

He joins a long list of notable Arizona sports figures to serve as grand marshal, including Arizona Diamondbacks ace Randy Johnson, Phoenix Suns forward Charles Barkley and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner.

The parade starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday and is free to the public with reserved seating available for $25. The route starts on north Central and west Montebello avenues.

The pregame parties start at 9:30 a.m. in the Great Lawn at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The first, the Playstation Fiesta Bowl Fan Fest Pregame Party, is for fans of all ages and will feature pep rallies by marching bands and cheerleaders. In addition, fans can expect to play interactive games along with beverage and food booths.

Admission is free with purchase of a Fiesta Bowl game ticket.

The second pregame festivity is the APS Fiesta Bowl Pregame Party. The APS event is a tailgating party complete with an all-you-can-eat buffet and seven drink tickets. Admission is $100.

On Feb. 17, the fun continues.

Thanks to a partnership between the Fiesta Bowl organization and Blizzard Entertainment, there is going to be more than just football associated with the bowl game.

Four collegiate eSports teams will head to Arizona for the semifinals and championship of this year’s Tespa Overwatch Collegiate Series. The eSports gaming series is a form of an organized, multiplayer video game competition.

A total of 318 schools participated in the competition and now it comes down to just four teams in this year’s Fiesta Bowl Overwatch Collegiate National Championship.

The defending champions, University of California, Berkeley will compete against the University of Toronto, the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, San Diego.

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