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Bowl game on an international island is when “ship” happens

Posted at 10:37 PM, Dec 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-21 23:15:55-05

NASSAU, Bahamas -14,000 pounds. That's how much equipment the Old Dominion football program needed to get from Norfolk to Nassau for the 2016 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.

Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, site of the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl

Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, site of the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl

For those who might be geographically challenged, this you need to know: You can't drive an equipment truck to the Bahamas.

"It was a little bit of a process, and it'll be a process after the game," explained ODU head equipment trainer Daniel Cornier.

In his fourth year in his current role, Cornier has been to Idaho and El Paso, but this trip was quite the task.

"We found out that Monday morning we were going to the Bahamas, and then we had to create a shipping manifest in a little less than a week's time," Cornier recalled.  "We had to figure out size, weight, pricing of everything - that was a lot of work."

ODU football team's special helmet for Popeyes Bahamas Bowl

ODU football team's special helmet for Popeyes Bahamas Bowl

By air, by sea, by golly it all made it. So can Cornier now rest easy and enjoy the island?

"We're tracking and we'll get there, but I'll feel a little bit better when everything gets back to the facility in Norfolk," Cornier said smiling.

He tells us they don't expect to have all the equipment from this trip back at ODU's facility until mid-January.