Boiler Up and Fireball Down!

As is customary for the past four years, I begin my season long journey with my college buddy Jim “Tubby”, “Otis”, “Cousin Eddie” Devine. The past few years we were able to pull off triple headers but this year my vital organs and family said otherwise. We settled on the marquis matchup on opening night, a Big Ten smash mouth battle between Purdue and Northwestern in West Lafayette, IN. Prior to the  football related festivities, I was instructed to grab lunch at the famous Triple X Family diner. Now if that is not a diametrical confluence of two worlds in a name, then what is? I am a sucker for places that have been featured on shows like Man vs Food or Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive ins and Dives. This place was on the latter and I was sold when I saw that they actually take the steak and grind it up in the kitchen to make their burgers. I had to partake, and it met my expectations.

Triple XXX Diner

We loaded up the styrofoam cooler with necessary liquid accoutrements, accompanied by Cousin Eddie’s giant stack of homemade sliders with “reeeeeeeeeeeeal tomato ketchup Clarke!” and headed to our tailgate spot. We were invited to join my high school classmate Patti Lorette Phillips at the Jones Family Tailgate, a mere 20 steps to the entrance of the south end zone. The buffet line consisted of the aforementioned sliders, pulled pork BBQ sammies, mac n cheese, and an assortment of other calorie conscious scooby snacks. It was awesome catching up with Patti as she is that person that has done a great job organizing class reunions and keeping in touch with many of our classmates. We rehashed old class gossip, and “where are they now” and “who have we lost” conversations. We also insisted that when there was a Boiler Up! cheer we toasted with that red hot candy tasting juice that cousin Eddie calls the elixir of life.

 

Boiler Up and Fireball down!

We met the patriarch of the family, Charlie Jones, class of 49 who was nattily dressed in a suit with a Purdue tie while enjoying a Bloody Mary. Charlie, a young 93 year old with all his dark hair still told me several stories about the school, the history, and his involvement through the years. I said to him “Charlie, you have been coming to games here for 75 years, what is your best memory?” He paused, looked me in  the eye and then waved his hand around the tailgate crowd and he said “This is. It’s the people”. With a look of satisfaction, he took a sip of his Bloody Mary as people lined up to say hello to him. It was reminiscent of the scene from the Godfather as they came to kiss the ring. The Drum Corp even came by and played several numbers for which I am told is out of respect for Charlie. I was honored to meet this legend and his daughter Jennifer and her husband Gary Katona who were gracious hosts. Prior to heading into the stadium, we were treated to an up close and personal performance by The Purdue All American Marching Band as they paraded by our tailgate spot. In true Big Ten fashion, the band was large, talented, and spirited, and we applauded heartily.

 

Frostburg's finest with the legend Charlie Jones

Patti and the big heads!

Ross Ade stadium is in it’s 95^th season of existence. Current seating capacity in the horseshoe shaped structure is 57,000. Named after two original benefactors, the stadium has witnessed some amazing history. Purdue likes to call itself the Cradle of Quarterbacks with the likes of Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Drew Brees, Kyle Orton, Mark Hermann, and Jim Everett just to name a few that played their college years at Ross Ade. I would estimate that there were 48,000 in attendance Thursday night and the place was electric. The student section was most impressive as almost all of them stayed until the end. It helps that beer is served in the stadium, good incentive for the kids.

 

Tailgate Connect on the job

Entering the stadium, our seats were in the south end zone strategically located near the all important Beer Garden. Prior to kick off we enjoyed a performance by a jump squad parachuting onto the field with various flags including my favorite; the American flag. I was tapped on the shoulder by a young man two rows behind me and he asked if I had served? When I said yes, he thanked me. That moment again made me proud to be an American. Regardless of what team you root for, what your political stripes are, race, religion or creed, at that moment it reinforced to me how College Football unites us all. I know, cheesy but true.

Northwestern jumped out to a quick 14 - 0 lead in the first quarter as they looked bigger and better prepared to play. Both teams won Bowl games last year and are poised for strong seasons. These are not your father’s Wildcats and Boiler Makers. Purdue was not going to lay down and get steamrolled as they battled back to tie the score at 14 behind the play of true freshman wide receiver Rondale Moore who accounted for both TDs. Northwestern would dominate the second quarter by putting up 17 more points to Purdue’s 3 taking a 31-17 lead into the locker room.

Purdue narrowed the gap by scoring a touchdown and a field goal in the second half. In the fourth quarter with the Wildcats holding on to a narrow 4 point lead, with an apparent stalled drive that would result in 4^th and long, Purdue D lineman Lorenzo Neal made a crucial mistake. After the whistle was blown with the running back wrapped up, Neal log tossed the kid about 5 yards resulting in an automatic first down allowing NW to run out the clock and walk away with a 31-27 victory.

The last chuckle of the night was while walking out of the stadium when I spotted a golf cart with a driver in it and offered him $20 to get us out of the sea of dejected humanity to an Uber friendly pick up point. He drove us to our host’s hotel a mile away where we caught our chariot to Denny’s for a 1 AM Grand Slam breaky.

Around the country

As Saturday came about, we opted for a backyard tailgate to watch the later action. In the ABC game of the week, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Michigan Harbaughs renewed their ancient rivalry for the first time in four years. The Irish prevailed with a dominant defensive performance keeping transfer QB Shea Patterson in check all night. The QB debate at Bama is settled, it’s Tua not Jalen. Just let Michelle ask that question if you want his opinion. In a  defensive battle, Auburn was just a bit better than the Huskies from Seattle and walked  away with a 6 point win. In Charlotte, in a much anticipated battle, WVU left no doubt they were the better team against Tennessee and their new Coach Pruitt. The Kyler Murray era at OU began with a resounding beatdown of the Lane Train and his FAU Owls in Norman on Saturday. Miami was no match on the Sunday night game for the fighting Ogres from LSU as the Bayou Bengals devoured the Hurricanes. On Monday night in Tallahassee, the Hokies gobbled up the Seminoles in a lopsided win.  In more provincial news,  Monte Vista High School put up double nickels to Analy’s “O no you dit int” on Friday night. Frostburg State won its season opener against Stevenson college. Also, former Frostburg State All American defensive lineman Niles Scott has secured a spot on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. Should he get called up, you may finally see me at one of their games.

 

Monte Vista high school representing

Bieber – This week’s honors goes to two so called college football fan friends of mine and part of the local DFT crew. The first honoree, a suspected communist sympathizer Alan “Futbol” Campbell was purported to be seen at the Scottish games in Pleasanton, CA sipping scotch and wearing his Che Guevara t shirt. This was on Saturday during the seminal day of the opening weekend of college football. He later was caught tweeting about a Manchester United Futbol game. He has since taken the offensive tweet down. The second goes to known anarchist Dave Quilici who was found in Portland, Oregon all weekend attending Antifa rallies or Free the trees demonstrations. When Dave was contacted, he had no idea it was even opening weekend of CFB. He was last seen hitchhiking back to Cali on I5 sporting new dreadlocks. In other news, the local East Bay Chapter of DFT is looking to fill two recently vacated spots in its ranks. We only seek loyalty as the main characteristic.

Next Week – Nada, zip, nuttin. The following week, a Carolina double double at Wake and UNC.

Happy Tailgating!