Disneyland, here I come

I had missed Colorado=s first trip to the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim in 1985, but I did not want to miss this one. Plans were made to make the pilgrimage to California, which, of course, included meeting up with Brad. We flew to Los Angeles a few days before the Freedome Bowl, which was to be played the evening of December 29th. Our plans included making several Atouristy@ trips during our five day stay, including stops at Disneyland and Universal Studios. A trip to San Diego was also not out of the question, as the trip was not a long one, and a matchup of Cowboys – Oklahoma State and Wyoming – was to take place in the Holiday Bowl the day after the Freedom Bowl.

Heading off to Disneyland was a natural, being only minutes away from where we were staying. The day after our arrival was overcast and gray, with the temperature in the 50’s. This was fine for Brad and I, coming from colder December weather, and it worked to our advantage. Spoiled Southern Californians, including the two ladies traveling with us to Disneyland, thought the day was better suited for indoor activities. Not withstanding their complaints, we found the lines at Disneyland much reduced in size, allowing us to do more with our day than we might have otherwise been able.

In the midst of the fun (okay, I will admit to turning somewhat green on the Space Mountain ride), I did not realize that I had lost my wallet the very first minute after we had arrived. Thinking myself smart for not taking my wallet into the Magic Kingdom, I pocketed some cash and left my wallet under the front seat of our rental car. Apparently, though, as I reached down onto the floor of the car to pull out an umbrella as we were getting out, I knocked the wallet down onto the ground. I did not notice the wallet was missing until after we had spent the entire day at Disneyland.

A quick trip to Lost and Found produced the predictable – nothing.

That night, between cursing my own stupidity along with the thieves of Southern California, I made calls to credit card companies, alerting them of my status. Brad and I had enough cash to get us through the weekend, but I went to sleep frustrated and disappointed.

The next morning dawned warmer and with more reason for optimism. With a Colorado win in the Freedom Bowl, the 21st-ranked Buffs would almost certainly finish the season ranked (the 1988 season was the second-to-last in which the Associated Press included only the top 20 teams), and would post nine wins in a season for the first time since 1975.

A bowl win would also be a great springboard to 1989, where most of the core group of players which had led the Buffs= to an 8-3 regular season mark would return. Optimism abounded as we entered Anaheim Stadium to witness Colorado taking care of business by dispatching the BYU Cougars in the 5th-annual Freedom Bowl.

(Note: See “Happy Endings” to see how the lost wallet saga ended better than I deserved).

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