GRAPEVINE – Welcome to Cincinnati Central, Texas version. Here is the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, where University of Cincinnati Coach Luke Fickell has parked his Bearcats since Sunday, and fans can find plenty of company.
The hotel, which only a few days ago was holiday-heavy, is quickly morphing into a UC fan hub. The Gaylord's Christmas Village setup of toy trains circling Christmas trees, plastic reindeer replicas and dozens of poinsettia flowers are now surrounding a popup Bearcat spirit shop and fan station. And everywhere you turn, a Bearcat logo seems to have found a new home – on a sweatshirt, as a window decal, on a fan clutched in the chubby hand of a laughing toddler.
Prater and some of the other team parents are staying at the hotel which gives them ample opportunity to be publicly proud of their children. Sitting at the breakfast bar Thursday morning, Bearcat player Bryce Burton's parents, Franca and Tom Burton, wore matching T-shirts displaying his photo.
The Bearcats left this hotel earlier this morning for last-minute prep for Fridays' Cotton Bowl game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The gathering Bearcat faithful are doing the same, though their Xs and Os look different.
