Alabama Disappointed to not be Selected for Hawaii Bowl

By Joe Matheson

TUSCALOOSA - As college football bowl game committees selected the teams that would face off during the 2022 bowl season, sources close to the Alabama football team reported that many players and coaches were disappointed that they did not receive an invite to the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl.

Instead, the Crimson Tide, who finished their season 10-2, will play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

"I felt like we had a strong year and we really felt worthy," said head coach Nick Saban in reaction to the team's bowl placement, "I really felt like we controlled our own destiny, and that was to be sitting on Waikiki Beach drinking a mai tai on an all-expenses-paid trip to Honolulu over Christmas."

"I mean look at me! I deserve a Hawaii vacation at this point!"

The Hawaii Bowl selected San Diego State and Middle Tennessee to face off, a decision that was considered a proverbial "slap in the face" to the Crimson Tide locker room.

"Yeah, I'm disappointed about not getting an invite," said Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, "I have some friends on the Middle Tennessee team, and I'm not looking forward to seeing their posts of them in a tropical landscape with coconut cocktails and sushi. I thought about maybe countering with a post about a beignet, but it's just not the same."

Will Anderson was quick to ponder the reasoning behind the decision. "Maybe it was because we didn't win the SEC? I'm not sure, but it would have been really nice to play there. We always seem to play these games in like Atlanta and Dallas and we're back in New Orleans, again. A change of pace and scenery would be nice."

"Could be worse though," Anderson continued, "Like Georgia is playing in Atlanta. They don't even really get to enjoy traveling to a bowl game."

Meanwhile, the Alabama athletic department breathed a sigh of relief after learning that they wouldn't need to spend thousands of dollars for a Christmas vacation to Hawaii. Said athletic director Greg Byrne, "Honestly, given our financial situation, we wouldn't have been able to afford that."