SAN JOSE – While most were sleeping or shopping the day after Christmas, the NIU football team was ready to go.

After leaving Huskie Stadium at 8 a.m., the Huskies departed on a four-day trip that saw bridges, jails, schools, a lot of rain, and culminated in their first bowl victory since 1983.

“The whole experience of going to California and seeing the sites was very exciting,” NIU running back Garrett Wolfe said. “I could’ve never imagined how big of an impact going to the game was going to have.”

As soon as the Huskies arrived in San Jose, so did the practices. Two hours after their plane landed at San Jose Airport, the team had a light workout at Saratoga High School, where they practiced for the entire week.

“The field was the same surface as ours, but when it rained, it didn’t drain well,” Wolfe said. “It was like practicing on a sponge.”

On Monday [Dec. 27] the team made a trip to San Francisco for some sightseeing.

For eight hours the team visited the City by the Bay, touring Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman’s Wharf.

On Tuesday, NIU’s four captains — Lionel Hickenbottom, Jake VerStraete, Josh Haldi and Brian Atkinson – helped make a donation to those serving the country. The four went to the San Jose Air Force Reserve Base to donate 400 tickets that were purchased for the service members, who were scheduled to leave for Iraq in January, VerStraete said.

“It was really nice; they were really excited they got to go to the game,” VerStraete said. “They do more for us than we did for them, but it was nice to do that for them.”

At 3:30 p.m. Tuesday the team attended a banquet with Troy where they interacted with children from the San Jose area. Some players threw a ball around with the kids, VerStraete said.

Wednesday featured a press conference, one final practice and a pep rally to finish the eve of the game.

A 10 a.m., team breakfast kicked off the final day of the trip, as they prepared to win their first bowl in 21 years. Early Friday morning, the team left from the San Francisco Airport and arrived at Huskie Stadium at 8:45 a.m CST to complete the cross-country journey.