Gary Pinkel will lead the Tigers to their sixth straight bowl game (UPI/Bill Greenblatt)

On Sunday evening, after the Missouri Tigers announced they received an invitation to the Insight Bowl, University officials made the plea and sales pitch to Tiger fans to show up for this bowl game.

It was last year’s Insight Bowl committee that rejected the Tigers and chose Iowa State because of the reputation of Cyclone fans to travel well. That decision sent Mizzou to the third tier of bowls down in Houston to the Texas Bowl.

Now, Tiger fans have their chance to show the nation that they are loyal followers and can support their team. Head coach Gary Pinkel said the time is now to stop talking about it and actually do it. Coach Pinkel was kind enough to give me a few minutes to talk about the upcoming bowl game and the challenges he had personally as a coach during this impressive 10-2 season.

Bill Pollock’s interview with Gary Pinkel (3:33 mp3)

Follow Mizzou football right here all month.