SCHIMMEL: Don't fret; Boise's great

Have you ever been to Boise? Well, you'll love it.

All signs are pointing to the Terrapin football team playing in the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl in the City of Trees. And while an official announcement won't be made until Sunday, now seems like as good a time as any to put together a brief travel guide for those of you who are thinking about making the trip for the Dec. 30 game.

Sure, Boise may not be as inviting a destination as Miami, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Orlando, San Francisco, Nashville or Charlotte, but maybe you should have thought about that before you chose to go to a university with a football team that beats itself at least four times per season.

Still, there is plenty of excitement to be found up in southwest Idaho, and here are some of the important things you should know before you head up there.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: According to the Boise Convention and Visitor's Bureau, "Boise is a delightful blend of traditional and non-traditional sights and attractions."

So it has that going for it, which is nice.

You could visit Zoo Boise, or Boise Art Museum - Idaho's premiere art museum - or the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, where you can apparently "Be inspired to be a humanitarian and learn about how sports can teach you the character traits you need to succeed in sports and in life."

If you visit the WSHHF, you may find a teary-eyed Ralph Friedgen standing at one of the exhibits nodding solemnly and muttering motivational phrases to himself.

And if you're trying to forget you're in Boise, you could visit any of the 28 listings under "Night Clubs and Bars" on www.downtownboise.org, including Dirty Little Roddy's, The Gamekeeper Lounge or Pengilly's Saloon.

FAMOUS BOISEANS: They probably don't live there anymore, but several marginally consequential borderline celebrities were born in Boise, and you can say you spent a few days in their hometown.

Fittingly mediocre former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer was born in Boise in 1974, and actress Kristine Sutherland, who apparently played Buffy's mother in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was born there too.

So were musicians Curtis Stigers, Doug Martsch and Thom Pace, and we all know who they are.

Robert Adler, who invented the wireless remote control for televisions, died in Boise in 2007.

BRONCO STADIUM: If you haven't worn yourself out at the tourist attractions or with the excitement of being in the birthplace of all that starpower, you will get to see a football game at Bronco Stadium, with its notorious blue turf.

The first set of blue turf was installed in 1986, when the Boise State athletic director decided that, if he was going to spend about $750,000 to put turf in for the third time since 1970, it might as well get noticed.

The current surface is the third set of blue turf at Bronco Stadium, and it was installed in 2002.

THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT: I'd been hoping to add a couple more sections, but Boise is really making this difficult.

The Humanitarian Bowl is probably the most exciting event of the year in the entire state.

I guess it's too bad for them the Terps will be playing in it.

schimmeldbk@gmail.com