College Football is the greatest spectator sport in America. Tailgating is an art form, sampling the local fare, traditions and partaking in a beverage or two is a must. Atmosphere is everything! If you don't attend a game, you can still tailgate right in the confines of your own man-cave. I am on a quest to attend a game and pre- game event at all 133 Division 1 stadiums and much more. Come join me!
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“There I was
standing on the corner in Phoenix Arizona, such a fine sight to see. It’s Jerry
Buck my lord in a rental car ford slowing down to yell obscenities at me.” And
that is how our excursion into the desert this past weekend began as we made
the one hundred mile trek from Phoenix Sky Harbor down to Tucson, AZ for the
Homecoming matchup between the UoA Wildcats and the rising Wazoo Cougars. My
Wingman for the weekend was my college fraternity brother Jerry Buck Hampton
who flew in from D.C. It was my annual charitable act to allow him to ride
shotgun with me, kind of like the Big Brothers of America program. I believe St.
Peter will judge me more favorably now.
Little Jerry goes for a ride
Friday night we were instructed to
investigate the 4th street scene just off campus. We found ourselves
in the Auld Dubliner Irish Pub for dinner and a few samples of solid gold. We
were treated to an exclusive performance by the UoA Band and Cheerleaders who
came into the premises and gave us a great show. Next stop was the famous Frog
N Firkin Pub where I was challenged by an exuberant college kid to a fireball
contest. When will these kids learn? I have professional written all over my
face and I am in mid-season form. This kid literally gave back to the community
what he just took….in his cup….on the bar…etc. He was never seen or heard from
again. After leaving the FNFP we could see the giant bonfire on campus giving
off a magical glow like it was the devil’s postpile in Close Encounters of
the Third Kind. That meant it was time to ring the bell and tap out for the
night. The vibe and the spirit were outstanding on this desert perfect night
before the big game. However no night is complete unless it ends with my
millionaire PBR beer for a night cap and tormenting my Carrie Nation roommate.
Cat scratch fever!
Saturday AM
we made it over to the tailgate area on campus dubbed The Mall. The Mall is a ¾
mile stretch of grass right through campus that was covered in blue and red
tents with great aromas, music and laughter spilling out. Kickoff would be 1 PM
which is very unusual in the desert, thus morning tailgates are not the norm
here. Nonetheless that did not slow the Wildcat Express down from going full
tilt. We were hosted by former Wildcat standout LaMonte Hundley and his cohorts
Stan, Jay and the Original Rich Rodriguez. LaMonte’s brother Ricky also played
at UoA and went on to an outstanding career in the NFL. Cold libations and
fried chicken from Lucky Wishbone, a local favorite was served. Good stories were told by our hosts and we
learned what the slogan “Bear Down means: In 1926, the Wildcats star QB and student
body President John Button Salmon had suffered total paralysis from a car crash
that would ultimately take his life. Shortly before passing away,the legend of Salmon's inspirational
words was born at the next football game. Just before the start of the game at
New Mexico State, Coach J.F. "Pop" McKale gathered his players around
for a pre-game huddle. The coach visited Salmon every day in the hospital and
on his last visit he asked if Button had a message for the team. Button
responded with: "Tell them ... tell them to bear down." Hence as you
walk through campus on Gameday at UoA you will be greeted with the words “Bear Down”.
I suggest you heed that advice.
The real Rich Rod with Dan
The UoA Tailgate scene
Jerry, Dan and our host LaMonte
DFT flag being planted in the Desert with LaMonte, Rich Rod and the crew.
Once we
entered the stadium and took our perch on the shady side, we were exposed to a magnificent
view of the Santa Catalina Mountain range to the East and South of our vista.
A scenic setting in the desert
Arizona Stadium seats about 65,000 people now.
Original construction took place in 1928. Two years ago, an upgrade was
completed filling in the North endzone with seats and a football only training facility
including sky boxes. Hard to beat the fresco of this college cathedral. Coach Rich Rodriguez has breathed life into
the football program at this basketball centric school. Even on the hot side of
the stadium, almost 6,000 students filled up the Zona Zoo section to cheer on
their Cats. The band drummed up some tunes
and the players took the field. Within the first six minutes of action, the Cougs
took a 14-0 lead over a very porous defensive middle from the Cats. We were
warned at the Tailgate to expect this kind of play on the defensive side of the
ball. The Cats clawed their way back into the game as they would continue to do
so throughout the afternoon. Each time, Wazoo would pull away again like a
slinky going down the stairs. The Washington State offensive juggernaut found
no resistance from the Wildcat pass defense all game long. However, in the fourth Quarter with less than
2 minutes left and down by 10 points, the Cats felt they still had a chance.
Two spectacular catches later with the second one resulting in a touchdown, the
Cats were still in this. We all remember just last week the unthinkable
happened in Michigan, right? The Cats lined up for the onside kick and the
kicker executed his job perfectly. The only problem is the ball landed in the
hands of a heads up sure handed Cougar player. Final score Wazoo 45, Zona 42.
Wazoo improves to 5-2 as the Cats drop to 5-3. This game completes the PAC 12
for DFT, however I plan on revisiting several of them over the coming years.
After the
game we opted to drive back up to Phoenix and have dinner and bivouac near the
airport in order to have a stress free Sunday departure. A special shout out to
my Frostburg Classmate Julie Meeker who owns the Mother Brunch Brewery in
downtown Phoenix. We dined there Saturday night and it is the absolute best
beer and grub I have ever had at a Brewery. All their meats are smoked daily. I
recommend the tri tip French dip and smoked wings. Make sure to stop in if you are
ever in town and tell her you are a friend of mine. Oh and be nice to the
bartenders.
With brewery owner and Classmate Julie.
Around the Nation – First and foremost, prayers go out
to the victims of the tragedy during the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade in
Stillwater. Mrs. Tailgate is an alum of this school, so this hits close to home
in one of those “you never know, the day, the hour or the minute when the hand
of darkness will take you away.”
OSU in State rival OU lowered the flag to half mast for the victims in Stillwater
On
Thursday night we saw the Baby Bears take down the Big Bears in the Rose Bowl
in a PAC 12 battle. #1 daughter witnessed a fired up USC knock off #4 Utah in
the Coliseum. Many had predicted that the Utes would fall in Troy on this day.
They were correct. As much as I like to poke at USC it is more fun to do so when
they are relevant. #2 watched her Boomer Sooners apply a Texas size beat down
on Texas Tech in Norman. I still don’t know how this team lost to the Longhorns
two weeks ago. Alabama struggled to score touchdowns against a talented Tennessee
Team in T Town. Now say that real fast 10 times while standing on one leg and
scratching your ear. Ole Miss got back on the right side of things by dialing
up a great Tailgate in the Grove and a victory over Texas A&M inside Vaught
Hemingway. The Razorbacks turned War Eagle into pig slop in Fayetteville in a
four OT thriller. Coach Al “not so” Golden found himself in deep kimchee down
in South Beach as Clemson put up “fiddy ate” on the Canes as they laid a golden
goose egg offensively. The Golden Boy is unfortunately now looking for work.
Miami is delusional if they think they can get a coach to return them to their
glory days. Put a stadium on campus for starters, the Dolphins stadium 45
minutes away will never work. Another miracle
finish happened Saturday, this time at Dodd Stadium at Georgia Tech: With the
Yellow Jackets and the Seminoles tied at 16 with a few ticks of the clock left,
Florida State lined up for a field goal attempt. The kick was blocked and
traveled about 15 yards down field. Instead of celebrating the block, an astute
GT player (Lance Austin) picked up the ball and rambled 70+ yards down the
sideline for the score capping off an amazing finish and perhaps the biggest
upset of the day. Keep in mind, Memphis, Houston, and Temple all from the AAC
remain undefeated at 7-0 as does Toledo from the MAC conference. Which one will
be playing on New Year’s Day? DFT also says so long to Coach George “Red Cheeks”
O’Leary as he pulled a Spurrier and quit on his UCF team too this week after
the beatdown from Houston.
Fresh out of a night in jail, the Eagle Tailgaters take on Louisville
This may be the best action of the day for the Utes
#2 and her Wing girl getting ready for TTU
Rachel Gervolino taking over for her Pops at the Stanford game
Turn off the heart light at SDSU/Utah State game.
The Margiotta crew at Penn State/MD battle
Rocking the boots in the Grove at Ole Miss
Bieber Award – It’s very simple this time: The
kid who re-gifted his fireball and other stuff at Frog N Firkin Pub. Three
rules to live by in life: 1. Never leave your Wingman (right Jerry, or you might
miss the group picture?), 2. Only fire your silver bullets when you absolutely,
positively have to. 3. Never challenge a Professional. Nuff said, no more
lecturing son. Now go enjoy your new J Beebs hardware and practice up.
Next weekend – I will be taking a well needed
break watching games with friends and family from DB&G. However, I will
post a very unique write up so stay tuned. Please keep sending me your pics of
your Tailgates. No Selfies!!!!!
The author
Thomas Wolfe once wrote… “You can’t go home again.” Well what the hell does he
know? This past weekend I defied Mr.
Wolfe and returned to my Alma Matter of Frostburg State University in
Frostburg, MD for Homecoming. Frostburg is a small hard scrabble town in the
heart of the Allegheny Mountains in Western Maryland about 3 hours from Washington
DC. During the school year the town population almost doubles. Frostburg to me
is a magical place that provided the foundation for what I have done in life
since graduating 29 years ago. This would be my first Homecoming since 1988.
Friday night was the private party dubbed “Fifty
Shades of Frostburg” at the watering hole called Gladstones (AKA the Tap
Room) I tended bar there in 1984. This is the same place after returning from summer
break, I sat down with the owners over a beer to discuss my work schedule for
the upcoming semester. They chuckled and then Vito the male owner said “well Dan
you delivered on your promise of increasing the patronage of the college
students and going through more kegs, but dammit to hell we lost money on the nights
you worked!” Not really sure how that happened nor would I ever admit to it. I
felt I had done an admirable job bringing Townies and College Kids together
over a common interest; beer. The Toy
Factory Band, named after my Rugby house at 118 Maple Street and led by
old roommate George Harvey, played throughout the evening. During the course of
the night, I was able to catch up with many old friends, acquaintances, and
people I can’t even remember. You see, I was very active in College attending
Mass on Sunday’s, being the Captain of the Rugby Team, doing the Fraternity thing
(KZX), soldiering in ROTC, holding the position of President of the
International Relations Club, writing for the school newspaper all why maintaining
my stellar 2.3 GPA. Dean Wormer would be
proud. Contrary to popular belief, I was only a student there for half a decade
not a full one. Therefore, it was mandatory that I have a few clinks of the
glass with many of these former classmates from these circles to reminisce
about the good ole days. Saturday morning we arose to attend the traditional Bloody Mary
bash at the Frostburg Inn (Formerly Al’s Motel). After getting properly warmed up, we made our
way to the Tailgate lot at Bobcat Stadium for the big homecoming matchup against
the College of New Jersey.
The best part of waking up is a Bloody in a cup!
That was then....
.....this is now, 29 years later same three peeps.
Who says you can't go home again?
Frostburg
has been playing NCAA football since 1961. Bob Maddox and Moise Fokou are the
only Bobcats to go on to play in the NFL. During the Strike season of 1987, FSU
grad Sean McEnerny led the NFL in sacks during the strike period while on the
Bears scab team. However, many of my old KZX Fraternity Brothers and Rugby
teammates were standouts and several are even in the Bobcat Hall of Fame: Greg
Shockey, Rich Prather, Marcus Wooley are HOFers. Bo Bo Grega, Killer Johnson, Tank
Reeder, Guido Voso, Horsey Van Orden, Bibbles Schreiber, Bird Canaday, Nutso
Stultz, Sluggo Johnstone, Eric Jenkins all suited up for the mighty Bobcats.
Bobcat Stadium is a typical Division III field surrounded by a tartan track
with the large home bleachers on one side and the visiting team on the other. I
once won the midnight, barefoot, “beer in hand” Olympics on that same track
during my senior week. So I digress. The last time I Tailgated here was at
Homecoming 86 one week prior to my departure to go work full time for Uncle
Sugar. I think I had a pretty good time from what I am told. Frostburg State
was also home to the Redskins summer camp for a few years before they landed at
their new home.
Bobcat Stadium
Due to the
fact that our Tailgate in the 35 degree weather with occasional snow was so
much fun, I only made it into the game for the second quarter. As the great philosopher
Carl Spackler from Caddyshack liked to say, “I was unavoidably detained”. Frostburg dominated the action throughout the
afternoon with a stout Defense limiting TCNJ to a mere field goal. The Cats
scored two touchdowns and booted two field goals of their own handily winning
19-3. With the victory, Frostburg improves to 5-1 on the year in the midst of
one of their finest seasons in decades.
The Brothers of Kappa Tailgate
Benny Hill and the ladies.
HOFer Greg Shockey
Why is it snowing in October?
This guy should be taking a nap
The men of Kappa
Mrs. Turner is rooting for the wrong team.
Try sneaking that flask in the game.
Around the Country – A lot of changes and activity this
week in the World of CFB. The Tailgate says so long to the Ole Head Ball Coach
Steve Spurrier and his visor as he shocked Cock Nation by retiring on Monday.
Maryland really did get an Edsol as they finally said adios to the lemon that
is Randy Edsall after three and a half years of underperforming. However, he
still does have good hair. In fact he should run for Congress. Do ya’ll miss
Ralph Friedgen yet? North Texas gave walking papers to Head Coach Dan MacCarney
after a pathetic start this year concluding with a 62-7 waxing at the hands of
FCS school Portland State last weekend. The biggest news of the week of course is
our boy Cutty Sark who is no longer surfing the beaches or fraternity houses in
LA. More on that below. We also saw Florida Gator starting QB Will Grier suspended
for a year for “roiding up”. Didn’t anyone notice he was out benching the O
lineman during team workouts? Lastly, former Texas A&M five star wide receiver
Thomas Johnson got bored and knifed an innocent jogger to death in Dallas for
no reason. These are surely the signs of End of Times as predicted.
On Thursday night
the nation witnessed the coming out party for its newest superstar Easy Ed
McCafffery of Stanford. McCaffery put on a one man rodeo against UCLA as the
Cardinal pounded the UCLA Bruins for a 56-35 triumph. In one of the best
rivalries in the history of College football it was the USC Trojans turn to
travel across country and face their arch rival the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
in South Bend, IN. After a week of turmoil in Troy Nation, the Trojans were
fired up and refocused to take on the mighty men of South Bend. After falling
behind 31-24 in the second half, the Irish scored 17 unanswered points pulling
away for a 41-31 victory. All you USC fans that bet me, I expect payments to be
rendered immediately. I know some people. The Oklahoma Sooners rebounded from
their disappointing loss last week by de-clawing the K State Wildcats double nickels
to zippo. Iowa remains perfect at 7-0 with a resounding beat down of the injury
riddled Northwestern Wildcats. The top 5 teams in the Nation all won by wide
margins on Saturday (Ohio State, Baylor, TCU, Utah and Clemson). All five remain
undefeated at this point in the season. Down in Death Valley Baton Rouge. Leonard
“Man Child” Fournette and the Bayou Bengals hold on for a 35-28 win over the
Florida Gators. Alabama traveled to Bryant College Station, Texas and sucked the
air out of the refurbished Kyle Field by taking down the Aggies 41-23. Ole Miss’s
season appears to be spiraling out of control as the surprising Memphis Tigers defeated
the Ole Miss Rebels with a 13 point margin of victory. In the much anticipated
battle of the State of Michigan, we all saw perhaps one of the craziest plays
to end a game in recent memory. Michigan protecting a 3 point lead with ten
seconds left elected to punt the ball away from their own 38 yard line. The
Michigan punter Blake O’Neil mishandled the snap and scooped the ball up and in
Garo Yepremian fashion pitched the ball to a Spartan player who raced in for
the game winning score. The Big House fell deathly silent. The DFT Council of
Elders is now recommending any Kicker or Punter that loses games for their
teams should have their schollys revoked.
One lucky guy!
Tailgate Brian and Laurie at Shepard College game
Tulane AAD Roger Dunaway gave us a tour of Yulman Stadium on Wednesday
Bieber– Pat Hayden and Steve "Cutty Sark" Sarkisian – get to
share the honors this week. Let’s start with the Rhode Scholar and his awful
comb over first. He was brought in to clean up the sleazy mess that Mike Garrett
and Cheat Carroll had left behind (Lordy do I miss Cheaty boy). Many of the
things Hayden has done shows a lack of class and maturity. For starters, the
manner in which he fired Stain Kiffin was bush league. Then the disrespecting of Ed Orgeron when he
did a great job as the interim coach by not considering him for the permanent
job. Hiring a mediocre Steve Sarkisian from conference rival Washington was his
next blooper. Then who can forget last year when he won Bieber honors for
storming down onto the field at Stanford to dispute a call with the referee when
he was beckoned by a potentially inebriated Coach Sark to do so? Now the latest
appears to be his lack of institutional control by turning a blind eye to
Sark’s addiction issues. Addiction is no laughing matter, being the son of an
Alcoholic I get that, but it must have been part comical and quizzical to the
players watching him show up or not for games, practices, flights, speeches
like he himself was John Belushi in Animal House. Apparently Mrs. Sark was not
too keen with his chasing of the lovely Song Girls or for that matter anything
sporting a hemline. She was last heard saying in Eddie Murphy’s voice “I want HALF Stevey!!!!!”The preseason slap on
the wrist for his drunk presser is laughable at best as we see now how bad the
situation really is in LA LA Land. In order, I hope SC gives Hayden his walking
papers as he gets off a plane, Sends Sark to Betty Ford now that he has ample
time on his hands, and place the New Bieber trophies where the vacated National
Championship and Heisman trophies used to sit. Congrats, you earned it.
No more Sark attacks in SoCal.
Next Week – The Tailgate will make its way to
Tucson, AZ for the first time for a conference Cat fight between the Wildcats
and Cougars from Wazoo. This will be my final PAC 12 school where I have
attended a game. It will be the first D1A conference that I have completed.
Joining me on the journey will be Jerry “Buck” Hampton of Frostburg State fame.
