It's always more fun to watch the major bowl games on TV when you know somebody who's playing for one of the teams, so this year's BCS contests should be great fun for Metro football fans.

David Parry from Linn-Mar, Ryan Hubbell from Marion and Christian French from Kennedy will be headed to three of the most prestigious bowl games in the country later this month to play for their college teams.

Parry could be starting for Stanford in the Rose Bowl at defensive tackle, Hubbard will play for Louisville in the Sugar Bowl at tight end, and French will be in uniform for Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl and could play at defensive end.

That's a good haul for the Metro and a credit to those players, their coaches and their schools.

Stanford (11-2) will face Wisconsin (8-5) in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, Louisville (10-2) will meet Florida (11-1) in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, and Oregon (11-1) will battle Kansas State (11-1) in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3, so we'll get three straight days of Metro guys in major bowl games.

Parry, a 6-foot-2, 300-pound junior, has started the last two games for Stanford at defensive tackle. By coincidence, both of those games were against UCLA, once in the regular-season finale and again in the Pac-12 Conference championship game.

Parry had five solo tackles and a sack in the first meeting against UCLA. He has 24 tackles this season, with two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss.

Hubbell, a 6-5, 232-pound junior, has played in all 12 games for Louisville with 14 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

French, a 6-5, 242-pound redshirt freshman, has played in eight games this year for Oregon with eight solo tackles and five assists.

Parry was an all-state lineman at Linn-Mar, but he did not receive any attractive Division I offers and decided to join Stanford as an invited walk-on. He's got a scholarship now and has made the most of his opportunity at one of the top academic schools in the country.

Hubbell did not have any D-I offers when he graduated from Marion High School and spent two seasons at Iowa Western Community College. He transferred to Louisville last January and a year later will be headed to New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl.

French was heavily recruited at Kennedy and picked Oregon over the Iowa Hawkeyes. He joined the Ducks as a tight end, but moved to defensive end last spring and contributed to the club this year.

It should be a fun bowl season for Metro football fans who like to keep tabs on local players. First it will be Parry in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, then Hubbell in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2 and French in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3.

Enjoy.