BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — There are officially 12 days until the Quick Lane Bowl. And Bowling Green is looking for its final win of the season.
"It’s going be great to go up and play in that great stadium," said BGSU football head coach Scot Loeffler. "It’s a great opportunity to send our seniors off in the right way yet also catapult into '24.”
But preparing to face Minnesota isn't the only thing the Falcons have been up to this December.
Thursday marked the sixth annual Holidays with Falcon Football, an event created by a former BGSU player to give back to kids in the community during the holiday season.
"We're delivering presents to kids who maybe aren't fortunate enough to have an awesome Christmas," said Darren Anders, a senior linebacker and the leader of this year's event. "So we contacted the parents about a week ago, asked them what their kids wanted for Christmas. Then we went shopping at Walmart, spent $150 on each kid and got them as much as possible that we could that they wanted on their list. And now we're here today giving them their gifts."
Players held a sign with their kid's name up as they walked in and watched as they opened their presents.
"My heart sunk," said Amber Connerton, a mom of three kids participating in the event. "We walked in and they were told to find their name and they got so excited and they got to see Santa first, so they found their spot and got to open all their presents and they were just so happy to have all the stuff that they asked for."
Dontrez Brown, a senior lineman, said his experience as a gift giver perfectly captures the holiday spirit.
“It feels amazing just putting a smile on these people's faces," he said. "The parents love it, the kids love it and that’s what the holidays are about, so it feels pretty good.”
Anders said the event shows the football program as a whole how much they can impact the community that attends their games and cheers them on.
"It puts a lot of things in perspective for our players," Anders said. "It just allows our players to see how much their community service is doing and bringing joy to them."