Plot Synopsis

As the first college football bowl game to be played at Fenway Park and the first Division 1 FBS bowl game to be contested in New England, the 2021 Wasabi Fenway Bowl was set with Southern Methodist University (American Athletic Conference) taking on University of Virginia (ACC) -- but the game was cancelled just days before kickoff because of a COVID outbreak amongst Virginia players, making the team unable to travel. The 2020 game was also cancelled because of COVID, but well before teams were selected for the event. When it finally debuted, the first Wasabi Fenway Bowl was played on Saturday, December 17, 2022, featuring Cincinnati and Louisville playing on ESPN at 11am ET/8am PT. The inaugural game made Fenway Park the third Major League Baseball stadium to host a bowl game that year, joining the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at the Arizona Diamondbacks' Chase Field.