Ed.: Bumped from FanPosts

Clearly that's our reputation, since we've been passed over in the last 3 years in favor of teams that we beat, ostensibly due to our inability to travel well.  So, let's look at the bowls we've been in since 1983 (Holiday, Insight, Independence, Sun, Cotton, Alamo) and see if there is truth behind this reputation.  Are bowl ticket sales hurt by having Mizzou as a participant?

Insight(.com) Bowl - location, Tempe, Arizona.

Missouri has appeared in this bowl one time (1998), our second bowl in 2 years (and, our 2nd in 15 years).  Attendance: 36,417.  Mizzou played West Virginia, so neither team was a regional draw.  This was the lowest attendance at this bowl since 1991 and 4th lowest in the bowl's 20-year history.  Average draw for the Insight Bowl: 42,481.

Holiday Bowl - location, San Diego, California.

Missouri has appeared in this bowl two times (1997, 1983).  Attendances were 50,761 (vs. Colorado State 1997) and 51,480 (vs. BYU 1983)  These are 2 of the 5 worst attendances in this bowl's 31-year history.  Average draw for the Holiday Bowl - 57,809.

Independence Bowl - location Shreveport, Louisiana

Missouri has appeared in this bowl two times (2003, 2005). Attendances were 49,625 (vs. Arkansas 2003) and 41,332 (South Carolina 2005).  The huge discrepancy in the attendance certainly suggests that the closeness of Arkansas provided a big bump to the attendance numbers in 2003.  Attendance numbers are sketchy for the Independence Bowl (I could only find numbers for 20 of the 33 years of the bowl's history), but from what I could find, Mizzou has the 3rd largest attendance and the 7th lowest.  Average attendance (of the 20 years I could find) is 43,020.

Sun Bowl - location El Paso, Texas

Missouri has appeared in this bowl one time (2006).  Attendance was 48,732, and location would suggest that neither Missouri or Oregon State was a large local draw.  This bowl has been around since the 1930s, so I have only looked at the last 25 years (for relevancy's sake).  This ranks 11th of 25 years in attendance, but is only 2500 less than the best year.  Average draw for the Sun Bowl - 47,643.

Cotton Bowl - location Dallas, Texas

Missouri has appeared in this bowl one time (2008).  Attendance was 73,114.  I can only find attendance records for 12 of the last 25 years for the Cotton Bowl, but the Mizzou year was the 4th highest of those 12 years.  Comparing the attendance to the year before is impressive.  Nebraska - Auburn only drew 66,777 people. 

Alamo Bowl - location San Antonio, Texas

Missouri has appeared in this bowl one time (2008).  Attendance was 55,986, which was the 6th lowest in the bowl's 16-year history.  Even taking out teams from Texas, Missouri's attendance is still in the lower third of the bowl's history (6 of 9).  The Alamo Bowl averages a draw of 58,706.

Conclusion

While different factors obviously affect each year's ticket sales, it is certainly easy to see a correlation between Missouri and poor ticket sales.  ESPECIALLY for games that are on the west coast.  I certainly cannot blame a California-based bowl from avoiding Missouri whenever possible.  It should be that ticket sales for the 2000 Insight Bowl (Iowa State vs. Pittsburgh) was about 5,400 higher than the 1998 Insight.com Bowl.