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| Drupacabra |
Tailgate Update - The weather in the Bay Area along with familial and fraternal obligations kept the Tailgate grounded for the final regular weekend of the 2012 season. As such, I spent Friday in the company of Petey the Greek, UCLA fanatic and Vegas odds breaker watching the PAC 12 championship game. The perfect storm occurred in a bad way for the PAC 12 as far as fan interest goes. If you watched the game, which by the way was a great one with all the elements of a classic, you noticed a lot of fans disguised as empty red seats. The crappy weather, the 5 PM Friday start time and the fact that UCLA and Stanford just played 6 days earlier all had an adverse effect on fan attendance. It was disappointing to see for the country’s second best conference this year. Stanford ended up pulling out the title in a great battle down on the farm in Palo Alto to secure a trip to Pasadena on New Year’s Day.
After attempting to put up the outside Christmas decorations on Saturday, I smelled rain in the air and opted to head over to the brand new Buffalo Wild Wings in town to watch the afternoon’s CFB action. 100 TV’s of pure heaven and joy, ample draft selection and some seriously hot wings made for great table gating for the day. Joining the Gate were “Beam me up” Scotty Lehner, Marty Blabermouth (not sure he even knew we were watching football), Good time Reinke and Drupacabra. We took the atomic wing sauce challenge and lived to tell about it in the latest “Dan versus Food” challenge.
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| Man Versus Food |
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| Inferno hot sauce with warning labels |
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| The new Buffalo Wild Wings commercial |
SEC- in one of the best games of the year, the nation watched the Tide roll away with the vaunted SEC crown after a hard hitting battle with UGA and the Dawgs. The last play of the game by Georgia has many people scratching their collective heads. Was it coach Richt’s fault, Aaron Murray the QB, or the receiver who caught the ball at the 5 with the clock winding down? Nonetheless, Bama will meet the Irish in South Beach. I am still seeking a reasonably priced ticket. Lodgings and airfare are secured.
Big 12 – Congratulations to coach Snyder and Colin Klein on winning the Big 12 title by knocking off the Horns and a befuddled looking Mac Brown. Doesn’t Mac kind of look like Mister Sir from the Movie Holes?
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| Long Horn Head Coach Mister Sir |
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| Calm, cool and collected |
The Sooners knock off the Horned Frogs in the stockyards of Fort Worth and the Cowchokes lose to Baylor in the Mistako in Waco. And how about the fine job coach Weiss did in Lawrence Kansas this year? Anyone care to comment? The other fat coach fit in much better in Jayhawk country. Do you miss Mangino now? Oh well, it is basketball season.
Big 10 - hardly worth mentioning this as a game since it was sheer humiliation and an utter embarrassment to the Husker nation as they gave up retirement age plus 5 to the Weezcansaan Baaaaadgers in the Big 10 Championship game.
In other games Boise State captured a share of the MWC title by downing the Wolfpack in Reno. Northern Illinois secured the MAC conference title with a win over Kent State Friday night. Little did we know that their coach would bail the next day for NC State to begin the “Coach Poach season”? Florida State slips by Georgia Tech, barely in the ACC championship game. Arkansas State and Gus Malzhan win the Sun Belt title with a victory over MTSU. Last, Thursday night’s game with Louisville winning over Rutgers puts them in a BCS Bowl as "The Big Least" representative. Will coach Strong head for greener pastures before that game? QB Teddy Bridgewater played through multiple injuries to inspire the Cardinals to victory.
Heisman Update - It comes to down to three in this year's popularity contest: Johnny Football, Manti Teo and Colin Klein. Who will your choic be?
Memories & Musings
What are your best memories of college football as a kid? I remember watching Ohio State on a Saturday afternoon in November of 1968. Rex Kern was their quarterback. I also remember the infamous game between Notre Dame and USC in the early 70’s when Anthony Davis ran roughshod over the Irish in the 2nd half. Watching all the classic college football rivalries such as Oklahoma/Nebraska, Texas and A&M, USC and UCLA over Thanksgiving weekend was just part of the holiday ritual for me that I looked forward to with great anticipation. I have vivid recollections of the Irish v Bama and Ohio State v USC bowl games from the early 70’s. I watched the “Game of the Century in 71 when Nebraska led by Jerry Tagge and the original Johnny football, Johnny Rodgers knocked off the Sooners in Norman, OK. Watching all the bowl games on New Year’s Day on our black and white Zenith TV was always an annual highlight in our household. Johnny Ham and Jonny Lamb Joneses dazzling the old SWC and Russell Erxleben kicking for the Horns bare foot. I also recall the distinct voices of Keith Jackson and Curt Gowdy calling out the names of College football towns as if they were some sort of exotic Meccas: Ann Arbor Michigan, East Lansing, Michigan, College Station, Texas, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lincoln, Nebraska, Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Pasadena, California to name a few. I was enamored with the College bands, cheerleaders, student sections, school pride and all the excitement around the games. The traditions that many schools have and the pageantry, the pomp and circumstance and the true meaning of student athletes sealed the deal for me. Those are the things that drew me to the addiction I now suffer in my mid life years. See the first step is admitting there is a problem and know how you got there.
Video of legendary BC Tailgater and friend Pops Leblanc on his scholarship fund and tailgating tricks. His wife Peggy is a saint and she needs to coach my Mrs. Tailgate.:
http://bceagles.cstv.com/allaccess/?media=354912
Next Week – The Tailgate will set up camp at the Army/Navy game in Philadelphia. We will be joined by an assortment of friends and family from my past. Looking forward to a great Tailgate and game.
Happy tailgating!
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