DFT Labor of Love

 

Well, I survived another Labor Day trifecta of tailgates and games at three universities I got to visit for the first time. A few additional firsts during this annual ritual: banana pudding moonshine, a tailgate host in a kilt, “tealgating,” and a young man attempting to hit 60 college games this year! When this trip was scheduled, the highlight was to see three QBs that are on the Davey O’Brien watch list. As luck would not have it, two of the three QBs were injured and did not suit up for the game. As always, my wingman for this annual ritual was my college buddy, Tubby Devine.

Game one:

First stop was at Wake Forest University for their matchup against FCS opponent VMI. Wake Forest is in the City of Winston Salem, NC, most notable for Reynolds Plantation, the home of the original American tobacco king. We linked up with my high school buddy Tony Pifer and his beautiful bride Edna. They put together a fine tailgate for us with a main course of smoked chicken wings. Our tailgating neighbors invited us over to sample the aforementioned banana pudding moonshine. Talk about dangerous! 

 

The Pifers threw out a mean pregame spread

"Wakegating" with banana pudding moonshine!

 

Wake Forest All American QB Sam Hartman did not suit up as he is battling an undisclosed illness/injury that the school has been mum about. The rumor is possible blood clots. We at the Tailgate wish him well and a speedy recovery. 

Wake Forest is one of the smallest power five schools in the country with an undergrad enrollment of 5,400 students. The stadium now called Truist Field holds approximately 31,000 fans and is the smallest amongst all the Power Five schools. Nevertheless, it is a fine piece of architectural genius! There were ample beer stands throughout the facility which was a huge plus as it was warm … and we were thirsty. As far as the game went, it was basically a snooze with Wake dominating all facets. VMI was scrappy but clearly outmanned and outgunned. Final score: Wake Forest 44-10. We made it back to the hotel to watch the final quarter of the Backyard Brawl where Tony’s WVU Mountaineers lost to their old rival Pitt in a close match.

 

Taking in Truist Field at Wake Forest

Game two:

We said goodbye to the Pifers and traveled 90 miles to the Queen City of Charlotte for the University of North Carolina Charlotte “UNCC” 49ers match against another FCS opponent, William & Mary. Our hotel was literally on campus, so post game transportation or the threat of a DUI were stricken from the equation. 

We were hosted by Rob Dibble’s Normbulance tailgate at the entrance to gate #2 of the stadium. Why Normbulance, you ask? Well, Norm is the Charlotte mascot, and a green and white ambulance is the centerpiece of their tailgate. Not only is Rob the host of this lively tailgate, he is one of 10 people responsible for bringing football to UNCC. In 2005 he and the other nine people forced the issue with the administration, and eight years later they had a team. 

The first two years, the 49ers played at the FCS level and then promptly moved to the FBS level. The cathedral, Jerry Richardson Stadium, is a 15,000+ seat venue that meets the FBS minimum requirements for number of butts. It is designed to build capacity, and in fact, they are looking at adding 20,000 seats in the south side in the next few years. I was ecstatic to find plenty of beer stands and Bojangles chicken throughout the stadium concourse. 

 

Bet on your shot!

Host Rob Dibble in the lower left

 

Pick axe....like a shot ski!

This was the second game in a row where the Star QB was sitting out due to injuries. Chris Cox, who had an amazing 2021 season, was banged up in Charlotte's opening loss to FAMU the week prior. Thus, he did not suit up for the game. The first half of the game was exciting with both teams battling back and forth to a 17-17 halftime score. Charlotte came out of the locker room with a quick TD to take the lead. However, they would not score again, and Bill ‘n Mary added 24 more points to the board for a 41-24 victory. The game decided, it was time to head back to the hotel bar for a nightcap.

 

He broke his hand messing with his face diaper!

 Game three:

 

After catching the first half of ESPN’s now politicized College Gameday on Saturday morning, we made the three hour trek to Conway, SC, for the Coastal Carolina/Army battle. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers began their football journey 20 seasons ago as an FCS school until the 2017 season when they jumped up to D1A. Brooks Stadium sits in the middle of campus and holds 21,000. Ironically, it is named after the former chairman of Hooters! Given some of the local entertainment, this is not surprising. 

This was the first time I ever “Tealgated” in homage to the host team’s primary color of teal. We joined up with some of my family, Patsy, Barney, Judy and Sean, and their friends, Mitch Chaney USMA class of 72 and his wife Barb. We had an amazing tailgate of chicken wings, pasta salad, burgers, dogs, numerous snacks and cold beer to combat the humidity. We were all supporting the Army Black Knights but have immense respect for the Coastal program. 

 

 

Tealgating!

 

Nothing better than pregaming with family!

 After breaking down our tailgate, we force road marched approximately one mile to the stadium for the third 7 p.m. kickoff of our weekend. By far, this was the best game of our trifecta. Coastal was led by the highly touted Senior QB Grayson McCall who did play on this night. The Chanticleers were favored, but it is never easy to stop the Army ground game. In addition to the Black Knights’ ground attack, they threw for two long passes including one touchdown. The squads would fire back and forth at each other all night until the team in teal pulled away midway through the fourth quarter. Coastal came out victorious over the rugged Army team by a score of 38-28. McCall threw for three touchdowns on the night in addition to running one in for six. 

Around The Country:

In notable action, Ohio State bested the Fighting Irish 21-10. LSU got chopped down by a much improved Seminole team from Tallahassee. The Tigers scored a potential game-tying touchdown as time expired only to have their extra point blocked. Brian Kelly’s Irish eyes were not smiling. (Can you tell I am still just a wee bit angry about his departure from South Bend?) The resurgent Florida Gators took down the Pac-12’s top ranked Utah Utes in a nailbiter that ended 29-26 in the swamp. In perhaps the wackiest game of all time, the Appalachian State Mountaineers scored 40 points in the fourth quarter only to still lose to the in-state Goliath North Carolina Tarheels. Old Dominion once again knocked off VA Tech in the commonwealth of Virginia, which happened five seasons ago as well. Blowout of the weekend goes to defending national champion Georgia who declared open season and shot down the Ducks of Oregon 49-3.

The Maddalon Tailgate at UNR

Roscoe Ross entertaining #2 and Squatch at the OU tailgate

Bieber:

 All World Texas Freshman QB Quinn Ewers won his first start as the Longhorns new signal caller. The Longhorns defeated cupcake U in a snoozer. But that’s not the real news. The real news is what happened to the boy’s porche during the game. Apparently, since daddy’s car didn’t come fully equipped with proper parking passes for certain locations, the mighty Quinn got ticketed $200. Wherever he parked his “legal” vehicle, he had the wrong or no parking permit in his window. This cost his daddy two Benjamins to pay off. I am sure the Quinster will be able to pay him back with his NIL proceeds or his trust fund shekels in due time. If he gets desperate enough, he can also sell his new Bieber hardware and use the proceeds to pay daddy back.

Ginger:  Ginger goes to young Ben Chase who we met at the UNCC Tailgate. Ben has promptly quit his job and will live out of his van for the next four months. Why would he do that, you ask? Duh! He is attempting to go to 60 college football games across the country. The current record is 50. He will also become an ambassador for Tailgate Connect™. We offered up Ben plenty of encouragement and hope he makes it through. There are 16 weeks in the season for him to tackle this feat. That means on average, he will need to hit four games per week unless he also accomplishes some of this through bowl games. Good luck on your adventure, Ben!

Next Week:  DFT will be beachgating at Dune Allen Beach off 30A. Next game will be on 9/17 when the University of New Mexico takes on UTEP in the ABQ.

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