That hasn't kept Patrick Steenberge from doing his best to make a slice of Tanzania feel like a field at any small midwestern college on a fall Saturday,carrera occhiali, sparing no effort for what's believed to be the first college football game to be played on the African continent.
The game's organizer got a makeshift American gridiron built on a soccer pitch east of Mount Kilimanjaro,oakley sconto, fitting it with pylons,occhiali oakley, goal posts,carrera occhiali, a manual scoreboard and arched entranceways of exquisite Tanzanian roses that players from Drake University and a Mexican college all-star squad will burst through before taking the field.
He also lured a referee from January's BCS title game to work the "Kili Bowl" on May 21 and helped convince the country's largest private TV network to beam the spectacle across the continent,occhiali carrera outlet.
About the only football-related item Steenberge can't get to Arusha,carrera occhiali, Tanzania,carrera occhiali da sole 2013, is a play clock though he hasn't given up on finding one.
"We're still looking in Tanzania,carrera occhiali," the former Notre Dame quarterback said. "Track and field is big over there,oakley, so we're trying to get a clock like that. It would count up rather than down,ray ban, but it would still work out. It's just that,oakley, at 15 minutes the quarter would be over."
The backward clock isn't the only aspect of this "bowl" game that's different from its American counterparts,oakley. college football teams around the world for 14 years,carrera occhiali prezzi.
Creighton had long wanted to bring the Bulldogs,oakley jawbone, a non-scholarship FCS team from Des Moines,carrera occhiali, to Africa. He'd partnered with Steenberge to bring his teams at Wabash College to Austria and Panama.
Drake athletic director Sandy Hatfield-Clubb supported Creighton's vision,carrera occhiali sito ufficiale, though the difficulties in bringing a pair of teams to Africa nearly prevented it from happening.
Steenberge spent roughly seven months looking in vain for an opponent to join the Bulldogs in Tanzania. Just three days before Creighton's self-imposed deadline to find one,occhiali ray ban uomo, Steenberge called to tell him that a group of all-stars from the CONADEIP Conference,occhiali ray ban, a collection of private universities in Mexico,ray ban, was eager to go.
"I lost it,carrera occhiali, man. It was just overwhelming,carrera occhiali prezzi," Creighton said when he heard the trip was on. "I've had more than the one moment like that,occhiali da sole carrera champion, and this week is just full of (them)."
Each of the 65 players Drake is bringing to Africa has raised $4,carrera occhiali da sole 2013,000 to pay for the trip,carrera occhiali, holding fundraisers and getting donations from family,carrera, friends and supporters.
The players said the chance to help build an orphanage,carrera occhiali, interact with players from a foreign country,ray ban sito ufficiale, experience life in Africa and scale Kilimanjaro will be as fulfilling as the game itself.
"It's kind of like a humbling experience in a way,occhiali carrera online, because you don't understand how big it is until it's getting closer,carrera occhiali negozi," Drake defensive tackle Paddy O'Connell said. "You're starting to realize that it's not just something that you're dreaming. You pinch yourself and it's still real,occhiali ray ban, and I don't think any of us will understand the gravity of the situation until we actually land in Tanzania."
Steenberge is hoping the game draws a sellout. Most seats will cost 3,carrera occhiali negozi,000 Tanzanian shillings,occhiali oakley, or about $2,ray ban, though at least half those tickets will be given away. Native dancers and acrobats will serve as halftime entertainment,carrera occhiali, and Steenberge wants to get local kids on the field before the second half to play with the roughly 1,occhiali oakley,000 footballs he's bringing over from North America many stashed in the players' luggage to give away.
There's also a game to be played,carrera occhiali, of course. The Bulldogs insist they're not going halfway around the world to lose,occhiali ray ban, though it'll be difficult to focus solely on football surrounded by 20,ray ban 4147,000 bemused Tanzanians in the stands at Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium.
"I'm going to want them to look around before we kick off and soak in the moment,spaccio oakley," Creighton said. "One of the most incredible experiences of their lives. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,carrera, broadcast,carrera occhiali, rewritten or redistributed.Related articles:


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