Sure, I get it, it’s popular to slam the bowl games at the end of the college football season. They’re the past. Too many guys are opting out. I hear them all.

The one thing I refuse to let you say is that bowl games are meaningless. We have the most meaningful bowl game of them all right here in Orlando and I urge you to support them. This year, the StaffDNA Cure Bowl again put a great show and football game, not for profit, but to advance breast cancer research. You know someone affected by cancer, of course we all do.

“If it’s not a close family member it’s a friend” Alan Gooch, the President of the Orlando Sports Foundation, and the head of the StaffDNA Cure Bowl tells Pulp City Magazine. “There are individuals that look forward to playing in this game to try to have the same impact and want to help us in our quest, in our mission.”

Over the game’s 10 years, more than 6.5 million dollars has been raised to help find a cure for cancer. That money currently goes to the UCF School of Medicine for its chief cancer researcher Dr. Annette Khaled. The giving is special for Alan Gooch because he played football at UCF all the way back when the school was Division III in the sport. His wife Linda Gooch has won national championships as head of the university’s cheer team and helps with the bowl game. “She’s poured her life into the Cure Bowl right with me” says Gooch.

It’s also a labor of love for many of the players. This year, Old Dominion defeated USF 24-10, giving Coach Ricky Rahne a 10 win season. “My mother is a breast cancer survivor so obviously this means a lot to me and my family”, Coach Rahne said at the introductory press conference. “It’s great to be at a bowl that actually stands for something”. When asked how Mom’s doing, Coach Rahne says she was at the game.

“She’s great now. The real impact here is the fact that there’s some stories that didn’t turn out the right way and the fact that this amount of money can be served to just get one more person like me and have 10 to 15 more years with their mom is a pretty special thing”.

Just ask ODU defensive lineman Zachary Barlev. He petitioned the university administration to allow the team to wear sticker logos on their helmets for the game to honor former teammate and still close friend Elijah Hoskin, even putting together a presentation at exams time. They approved and managed to rush those pink helmet stickers to Orlando and get them on the helmets to show the team cares about the mission of this bowl game.

“I know his mom had to deal with breast cancer and she, again, another good ending to that story, she’s a survivor of it. We have players on the team that have a lot of passion for it too, and I think that’s why I just wanted to be the voice of their passion”