Owls arrive in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- It was over an hour late. But when the Temple football team finally arrived here, it received a pleasant surprise.

The Owls were greeted by a Mariachi band and Gildan New Mexico Bowl workers as they exited a chartered plane at Cutter Aviation Wednesday afternoon. They shook hands with bowl representatives before heading to team buses.

Several players, including tailback Bernard Pierce, posed for pictures with the band and shot videos of the scene.

"I like that little band," Temple offensive tackle Pat Boyle said. "We weren't expecting that. That was nice."

Nor did the New Mexico Bowl representative expect the Owls to arrive late.

Due to having to redistribute equipment, Temple's flight was delayed an hour in Philadelphia.

The Owls were supposed to arrive at Cutter Aviation at 11:50 a.m. mountain time. Instead, the plane didn't land until 1 p.m., the time the Owls were scheduled to begin practice. As a result, Temple practiced from 2:30 p.m. to 4:40. And it was late for the bowl's welcome reception that started at 5 p.m.