Dec. 15, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -
By Leigh Torbin
UCFAthletics.com
DAY ONE PHOTO GALLERY
Tuesday night in St. Petersburg saw the Knights welcomed to town in Hollywood red carpet style for the player and VIP welcome dinner at Red Mesa Cantina and PUSH, a downtown restaurant and night club.
The Knights and Scarlet Knights of Rutgers were greeted by a red carpet entrance and a dozen or so paparazzi-style photographers before being escorted to private rooms for a scrumptious steak and shrimp dinner with a special welcome by bowl Executive Director Brett Dulaney and other ESPN Regional executives. One of those ESPN Regional executives, Pete Derzis, had some very complementary things to say about UCF in the most recent SportsKnight video update, our second of the day.
After dinner the student-athletes were given a few hours on their own to soak up the city of St. Petersburg. The team will have their first Pinellas County practice tomorrow at Gibbs High School during the day and then the bowl's Party at the Pier in the evening. As usual, UCFBowl.com will be there every step of the way producing more video updates from the SportsKnight crew for your enjoyment leading up to the big game on Saturday night.
Earlier in the day, the Knights made the two-hour ride from campus to St. Petersburg. Coverage of that trip and the team arrival is HERE.