Georgia's bowl 34 years old

Mention Shreveport, and the geographically inclined will point out it's the third largest city in Louisiana behind New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Yet to Southeastern Conference football fans, Shreveport can cause cringing. It's the home of the Independence Bowl, which in recent years has housed one of the last selections in the SEC's postseason pecking order.

"I guess since we do not have any beaches, palm trees or theme parks, maybe Shreveport gets a bad rap, but we shouldn't," Independence Bowl representative Patrick Meehan said Monday. "The Independence Bowl is now 34 years strong. We are the 11th-oldest bowl game in the country, and great programs like LSU, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Georgia, Alabama and Texas A&M have all played here."

Georgia and Texas A&M will play Dec. 28 at the 53,000-seat Independence Stadium. The Bulldogs (7-5) and Aggies (6-6) did not have banner seasons by any stretch but closed strong, with Georgia defeating Georgia Tech 30-24 in Atlanta and Texas A&M holding its own against No. 2 Texas before losing 49-39.

The participants are scheduled to arrive in Shreveport on Christmas Eve and hold their first practices Christmas Day.

"They're going to experience some of the finest Southern hospitality and some of the best food in the country," said Dick Bremer, the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce president. "There is nothing like Louisiana food. It's absolutely the best, and we look forward to all the Georgia fans and Aggies fans coming.

"It's going to be a fantastic football game, and we fully expect our stadium to be completely sold out."

Bremer encourages fans to visit the Sci-Port Discovery Center, which has a Planetarium and an IMAX theater, along the Red River. He also recommends the Louisiana Boardwalk for leisurely shopping.

Georgia-Texas A&M will be the bowl's final pairing between the SEC and Big 12 for the foreseeable future. The SEC decided in October to replace the Independence Bowl in its lineup with the Gator Bowl beginning next season, leaving the Independence pitting the ACC with the Mountain West.

That wouldn't seem to bode well for the people of Shreveport, but they're a resilient bunch.

In 1975, the Shreveport-Bossier City Sports Foundation sought to lure a postseason game to northwest Louisiana and was accredited by the NCAA for a 1976 game. Its debut coincided with the United States turning 200, hence its name.

McNeese State defeated Tulsa in the inaugural Independence Bowl, which had a payout of $50,000 for each team and had 19,164 fans. The Southland Conference provided the host team for the first five years, so McNeese went three times and Louisiana Tech twice, before the bowl ended that agreement and landed Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in 1981.

The Independence snagged its first SEC team in 1983 with Ole Miss and by 1995 signed a three-year deal with the league to get its fifth-place team. In '97, LSU beat Notre Dame 27-9 before a crowd of 50,459.

Mississippi State's 43-41 overtime win over Texas A&M in the snow after the 2000 season is considered the most memorable Independence Bowl.

"We always have an exciting game, and this bowl means everything to the community," Meehan said.

Shreveport has served as a springboard on occasion. Oklahoma lost to Ole Miss in 1999 before winning the 2000 national title, and a 6-6 Alabama defeated Colorado in the '07 game before going 24-0 the past two regular seasons.

No SEC team begins each season with Shreveport as its destination, but is Shreveport and its more than $2 million payout to blame for that?

"We have heard that in the past, but our Independence Bowl committee does everything possible to make the teams very welcome and the fans very welcome," Bremer said. "They go that extra step to plan interesting events and so forth, so I think the folks will be quite pleased with the way that they're received in our community. We sure want them to come join us."