The Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl hosted the Arizona State Sun Devils and Florida State Seminoles on New Year's Eve in El Paso, Texas. Both of these two teams played a hard game, but ASU took home the trophy. Leading up to the big game, El Pasoans happily welcomed Tony the Tiger and the folks from Kellogg's Frosted Flakes as the Sun Bowl took on a new partnership with the legendary company and mascot.

I attended the game and the atmosphere just seemed happier, compared to past games. My guess is the vibes from Tony the Tiger really took over the feel of the game. Yes, many people were here to root for their team but I feel we were all rooting for an exciting game with good people. I honestly think that came from the addition of Tony the Tiger.

This energetic, sports-loving tiger has really captured the hearts of El Pasoans, not only from his Sun Bowl antics but for already giving back to our community. Back on December 12th, Tony the Tiger and Pro-Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson stopped by El Paso's Wiggs Middle School to surprise students with some sports equipment and a $500,000 grant to benefit El Paso middle school athletic programs.

Tony the Tiger Upside Down
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According to Grace from Kellogg's, the first Sun Bowl was played in 1935 to help benefit underprivileged children and finance improvements for the El Paso High stadium, so this partnership with Tony and his Mission Tiger program is nothing but a GRRRRREEEAAATTTTT destiny!

Mission Tiger was created by the great folks at Kellogg's to help empower middle school students by providing the resources they need to "unleash their inner tiger" on a sports team. Many schools around the country are cutting funds for athletics and Tony just can't let that happen. He has teamed up with professional athletes to help him spread the word and let kids know they actually care about their participation in sports.

Going forward, I truly hope Tony and his friends will stick with the Sun Bowl to help keep the Sun Bowl's positive participation in helping out the local community. This year, I felt tons of good vibes in that Sun Bowl and I think I have Tony the Tiger to thank for that.

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