Pregame Buildup
The inaugural Music City bowl marked the first meeting of Alabama and Virginia Tech on the football field since 1979, when the No. 1 Crimson Tide defeated Virginia Tech, 31–7. Prior to the Music City Bowl, Alabama had defeated Virginia Tech in all 10 meetings of the two schools, and some Virginia Tech players cited that record as motivation in the game. For American General, sponsoring the game was part of an overall marketing strategy intended to boost the company's national profile. Spread bettors favored Virginia Tech to win the game by five points. In exchange for appearing in the game, each team received $750,000, minus expenses. Media coverage in the weeks leading up to the game focused on Virginia Tech's tough defense and Alabama's recovery from NCAA-imposed sanctions.
Read more about this topic: 1998 Music City Bowl
Famous quotes containing the word buildup:
“I think those Southern writers [William Faulkner, Carson McCullers] have analyzed very carefully the buildup in the South of a special consciousness brought about by the self- condemnation resulting from slavery, the humiliation following the War Between the States and the hope, sometimes expressed timidly, for redemption.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)