Double Header Weekend

The Tailgate traveled to Boulder Colorado for the Thursday night game to witness the Colorado Buffaloes taking on the emerging ASU Sun Devils and Coach Todd “This is my dream job again” Graham. The Tailgate was joined by Tailgate Tony from the yard, Jeff “Ice Cream Man” Porter and West Point Wiggins. There is much history to be considered when the Buffaloes are mentioned. Coaching legends such as Fairbanks and McCartney (after the Beatles broke up) and players such as Byron “The Whizzer” White, Darien Hagan, Kordell Stewart, Michael Westbrook, Rashaan Salaam and of Course Mork from Ork back in the late 70’s.

Mork back in the day he graced the gridiron at Folsom Field.

Since the mid 1980s I have always wanted to tailgate and attend a game at the University of Colorado and the venerable Folsom Field. I can remember watching the Buffs take on OU in the 87 season with a promising young Quarterback named Sal Aunese who would be taken from this world way to soon 18 months later stricken down with pancreatic cancer. I always remember how festive the night games looked with the students and alumni packing it in and Ralphie the Buffalo running on to the field. Back in 1988, current offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy was a star running back for the Buffs. While watching a Thursday night game that year with my soon to be bride the future Mrs. Tailgate, the announcers kept calling his name: Bienemy to the left, Bienemy to the right, Bienemy up the middle, Biememy with the catch, Bienemy with the score. After about an hour of this, my bride to be turns to me and inquires in her sweet little voice: “who is The Enemy” that they keep talking about?” This explains why I get all my football weekend hall passes to this day.

Several years ago, a customer and friend of mine and CU alumni Rocky Mountain Rich Lawson showed me a picture of this amazing tailgate rig he and some buddies owned and regaled me with stories of his much celebrated Tailgate tradition. So I invited myself to finally attend his tailgate since it lined up perfectly with my work travel schedule. The tailgate rig owned by Rich and a number of his Colorado alumni buddies is named RIG III as this is the third version of a rig over their 20 years of tailgating. Custom made in Texas, almost impossible to haul because of its weight it is stored right outside of Boulder and hauled into the tailgate lot for home games. It is equipped with a 4 tap keg system that pours only Colorado’s finest beer Coors Lite, two industrial grills, a smoker, a large propane tank and generator and is located right next to the stadium on gameday. A DJ and security guards are hired to keep things moving at their Tailgate. Brats, burgers, dogs, sausages, pork tenderloin were grilled and smoked. A vodka bar was also set up as well as a flat screen TV with the MLB playoffs being shown. The best part was coming out at halftime for a refresher! Well done Rich, this exceeded my expectations.

The boyz getting their rocky mountain high on!

Rocky Mountain Rich with the fellas

Rich, Dan and the lone ASU fan at the tailgate!

Guy Fieri and David Wells at the tailgate!

Pauley Walnuts and Dan sampling the local brew on the amazing tailgate rig.

We entered the 88 year old stadium to a crowd that was fired up in anticipation of a Buffalo victory on this cool crisp Colorado night. With the Rocky Mountains and dorms in the back drop, there is no view quite like it in college football. We chose once again to sit in the student section to take in the full ambience of America’s # 1 party school. We were not disappointed as students passed out, fell over benches and unfamiliar odors wafted through our section. The first half had all the excitement you could ask for in a College football game. ASU took a 20 -17 lead into the locker room. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for Coach Todd Graham as they came out on fire in the 3rd Q and ran away with a 51 -20 conquest led by an emerging star QB Taylor Kelly. We were entertained by the student body doing a little “Psy Gangnam Style’ giddyup tango:


Tailgate Tony, a renowned Dodger fan kept whining and wanting to leave early. I had to explain to him that we weren’t yet in the 7th inning so he had to stay later than he wanted. No home win, no storming the field with the students and no running with Ralphie the Buffalo. As an aside, I struck up a conversation with some ASU parents at the airport the next morning and mentioned that their QB was a stud. They replied with well thank you, that is our son!

The boyz enjoying the student section at Colorado

A spectacular stadium

The annual Men of Laurelglen and friends Tailgate took place Saturday morning on the plains of the San Jose State University Stadium lot in preparation for the homecoming battle against Utah State. But first of all, I would like to wish one of our own from Laurelglen, Timothy Wegner a speedy recovery as he convalesces from his hysterectomy he underwent Saturday. Because of the procedure, Tim was not able to join us. Hope you can make it next year Tami…I mean Timmy. As is typical, we got there early and were able to secure prime real estate for our festivities. Tents were erected, tables put together, music blasted, grills fired up, games set up and drinks mixed as the party got rolling. Pre game menu consisted of a Dan original: 36 eggs/ 6 lbs. potato O’Brien/4 Linguiça sausages/2 kielbasa/2 smoked sausage/1/2 1b of 6 cheese mix all scrambled together. Damn it was good! I must add that it paired beautifully with spicy bloody marys. So much food we ended up with our own altruistic efforts and fed half of the Senior class of SJSU with our leftovers. No keg this year but ample bottles and cans were provided for the crew.

I kicked Sparty's butt in beer pong!

The Men of Laurelglen 2012



Gangnam Style Psy!



Dru and Taggert...Brama Bulls

Spartan Stadium

We played beer pong with Sparty the Mascot, the girls from the breast cancer awareness tent next to us, inter-squad scrimmage too and flip cup with anyone that would stop by. We learned that we are a lot more popular when we have a keg. Big Dru did a 24 ounce beer funnel to boot. Speaking of Dru, our resident bachelor from the Laurelglen crew was asked at the Tailgate festivities what kind of girl in this target rich environment he was looking for to share the day with? After much contemplation he responded with the following words: (turn it up and pour yourself a cool one Clarke)


We were given free tickets on our way into the stadium. It was not a glorious day for the Spartans as the Aggies from Utah State put some serious offensive numbers up besting SJSU 49 -27. We did get to perform the Gangnam Style dance craze again (pics above)

Around the country:Mrs. Tailgate and little Gracie Tailgater joined Boise State Rachel for the game in Boise against Fresno State. The Broncos go to 5-1 with a win over a much improved Fresno State squad. It still aint the same without Kellen Moore!

The Tailgate Family

Rachel and Gracie at the Blue Turf

Was there Irish magic and mystique again in South Bend as Notre Dame stops Stanford short in OT for a 20 -13 win? Sparty going down in the freezing rain to the Hawkeyes in East Lansing. Urban going back to Indiana and almost bowing to the Cutters from Bloomington (Think Breaking Away for that reference). Mountaineers could not scale the hills of West Texas and stumbled into a catastrophe in Lubbock. Will ESPN still slobber over Geno this week? The Sooners smelled blood in the water in the red river rivalry and steered the Longhorns right out of the Cotton Bowl in a 63 -21 annihilation. The Sooner nation has now awoken! See the guest post write up by Sooner fan Matt Bolt below. K-State and Colin “Calvin” Klein, went Back To The Future and are now 6-0 for the first time since Coach Snyder was here the 1st time! Klein needs to be considered as a serious contender for the Heisman as the Cats defeated a solid Cyclone team from Iowa State. Gary Patterson asks “who needs ole Casey Pachall anyway?” as TCU thumps Baylor with a sober QB. It is confirmed, Tiger grass does taste good and Coach Spurrier left Baton Rouge a “leetle” red faced. It is the place where opponents come to have their dreams die so sez the mad hatter. Oregon State does not skip a beat with QB Sean Mannion sidelined for a month as the surprise team of the year takes down the Cougs from Promontory Point with ease.

Anybody ever heard of Johnny “Football” from Texas A&M and General Patton from Louisiana Tech? This was the game of the day for those of you that stayed up late like me to watch this. LA Tech came back from like 200 points down to come within a crappy 2 point attempt of tying A&M, falling 59 -57 in the end. Johnny “Football” Manziel the freshman A&M QB is simply “amazable”. This guy will win a Heisman before he is done in College Station, TX. On the other side of the field, General Quinton Patton from LA Tech had a sick 21 catches! I said 21! Heck that is a season for most college wide outs. Mike Leach and the “empty corpses” of Wazoo laid down and died against the Cal Bears late Saturday night in the Palouse. Mississippi State knocks the orange out of Rocky Top and Bama gives Mizzou an extremely rude welcome to the SEC with a Tide whitewash. This sets up nicely for a potential matchup of unbeatens in 2 weeks in Tuscaloosa. Guess who will be there? Hey don’t look now but that real estate mogul John L and his Hogs have just won 2 in a row. SoooooooooWeeeeeeeeeeee!! VA Tech gets back on the winning side of things. BC, it is time for a coaching change. The Eagles where tomahawked by the Seminoles badly on Saturday.

Academy update – After the Tailgate sprinkled good luck On Army last week, the Cadets lay an egg against Kent State (Tin soldiers and Nixon, coming…..). Navy rights their ship again and cruised past the Chippewas in Mt. Pleasant Michigan and the Air Force flew by the Cowboys from Laramie 28 -27.

Sandusky dating again- it’s good to see the sandman is allowed conjugal visits in his cell. The warden at state penn just sent in this new photo from the “it’s just lunch” web site of a his new friend:

Friend of Jerry

Tradition of the week – Ralphie the Buffalo running on the field at the beginning of each Colorado game. I mean the build up to Ralphie coming out of the pen and on to the field has as much anticipation and excitement as the first keg being tapped in Munich at the annual Oktoberfest….ooops that is a whole other story. This beast of an animal is tethered by 4 stout cowboys that run him on to the field at full speed before the start of the game. The fans go nuts! Ralphie goes nuts! The announcer goes nuts! Hell, I went nuts! It lasts less than 20 seconds but it may be the most exciting 20 seconds you will see out of a Buffalo all season this year.

Gripe of the week – What is it with player’s helmets popping off during the game at a record rate? There is this thing called fit and a chin strap. Usually if the fit is right and you use that strap it is pretty hard to knock that noggin container off your melon. Up until this season players thought this must have been cool to do this to get some face time or primp for their posse and fam fam in the crowd. Obviously I am not the only one annoyed with this as the NCAA Politburo came down with a rule this year that forces a player to sit out the next play if their cranial cap pops off. So now it is no longer cute, it is a matter of now letting your team down and could be costly if the game is in a critical state and you are forced to take the next play off. So listen up fellas, strap that thing on properly and play the game!

Guest post by Matt Bolt, Oklahoma University Alumni (Thank you Matt for a great post!)

On Saturday two longtime Oklahoma friends and I continued our annual October tradition of meeting in Dallas for the Oklahoma-Texas “Red River Rivalry” game played over at the historic but renovated Cotton Bowl. While the game is always the highlight of our weekend, our time in Dallas usually consists of us college friends having fun hanging out at bars, breweries, and restaurants in the days and nights before and after the game and this year was no different. I drove up from Houston on Friday morning to meet up with Chris who already lives in Dallas and we later drove over to DFW to pick up Joe who flew in from Memphis.

Fast forwarding to Saturday, we were forced to wake up before sunrise after a late night due to the earlier 11AM kickoff and the need to beat traffic to the state fairgrounds on the southeast side of Dallas where the Cotton Bowl is located. Waking up even much earlier than us was my dad who got two game tickets and drove in from Norman, OK that morning starting around 4AM. The four of us headed from Chris’ house to the fairgrounds bypassing all the backed up I-30 fair traffic to get to the much lesser used but very convenient parking in a neighborhood off Martin Luther King Blvd which we discovered about 13 years ago. After a short five minute walk and stop in McDonalds we entered the state fair and the crowded mixed masses of crimson and burnt orange. While this game would yield an ideal tailgating atmosphere if played anywhere else that traditional type of setup is replaced by the carnival atmosphere of the State Fair of Texas that surrounds the Cotton Bowl and is always taking place this time of year. Pregame activities include carnival games, rides, live music, 4H livestock shows, and anything one would expect at a large state fair. In case anyone ever misses breakfast and is hungry at 9AM there is a plethora of fried foods and drinks some more amazing then others and they come up with new and crazier fried items every year. Fried beer, fried butter, fried Snickers, and fried Coke are a few items one can choose from in case he or she is concerned about living too long.

We passed on the food and rides and after spending time checking things out outside we headed to the car display buildings on the north side of the fair. After about an hour of helping Joe get ideas regarding a replacement for his ancient Volvo we walked over to the stadium to join the orange and red shirts filing into the stadium gates. Joe and Chris headed up to their seats in section 102 while my dad and I headed to ours in section 124. Unlike other neutral site rivalry games such as Florida-Georgia the Oklahoma-Texas game has the 92,000+ fans split 50/50 on opposite sides of the stadium with the split line being the 50 yard line. This game atmosphere plus the setting of the surrounding state fair and traditionally higher stakes of this rivalry game are what makes it arguably one of if not the best rivalry game atmosphere in college football . Just watching the stands fill up during warm-ups and band performances is special.

The game this year could barely have been more lopsided. OU quickly jumped out to a quick lead on their opening drive and a 36-2 halftime advantage. Final score: 63-21. A few junk Texas touchdowns in the final minutes against OU’s reserves and an ill thrown pick six by OU’s Landry Jones were Texas’ only touchdowns of the day and the game felt more lopsided than the score indicates. OU finished with almost 700 yards of offense and it was late in the 2nd quarter before Texas ever got a first down. As it was in the blowouts of years 2000, 2003, and 2011 we watched most of the game with half the stadium being full of crimson and the other half empty with only scattered burnt orange faithful remaining. The big question now is whether Mack Brown will return as head coach of Texas next year after yet another embarrassment?

We met up with Joe and Chris in their section before the game ended to watch the tradition of the OU flag being planted at midfield and the Golden Hat trophy awarded to the victors. If it had not been for the incoming stormy weather we would have stayed at the fair longer but we chose to head out and watch West Virginia collapse against the Red Raiders along with other good games on that day. Overall it was another great game and great weekend.

They will literally fry anything at the Texas State Fair!

Boomer Sooner

Next week I had to call an audible and will skip my homecoming at Frostburg State and return to the confines of Tailgate Headquarters. This is a marriage enriching move. Yes, I am deservedly catching heat for this already.

RIP Alex Karras, former Iowa Hawkeye and NFL great. Mongo may you play on the gridiron in the clouds. RIP to Beano Cook, longtime ESPN college football analyst. May your voice still be heard good sir.



Happy Tailgating!

On Brave Old Army Team

Tom's pub.

The Tailgate traveled to the Banks of the Hudson where college football is steeped in tradition, greatness and patriotism. Up until the late 1950’s, Army had been a perennial national powerhouse. under HOF Coach Red Blaik the Black Knights won national championships in 44, 45 and 46 and back to back Heismans in 45 & 46 with Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis and in 1958 with Pete Dawkins. Having been a ROTC commissioned Army Officer, I have always had some loyalty to USMA and the Cadets and the dedication of these young men (My reasons for serving were less noble than theirs as I had a large bar tab to pay off from my college days, and I was influenced by Bill Murray in Stripes). The historic campus is littered with ghosts of great Americans: Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George “slap em and love em” Patton, Omar Bradley, Ulysses Grant and Robert E Lee just to name a few of the greats that matriculated through the Point. The fall colors, the crisp October air, the Alumni swapping stories, the long gray line of the cadets marching in, the pageantry, the pomp and circumstance, the post game singing of the Alma Matter and of course a raucous Tailgate on the banks of the Hudson led to a most memorable experience. I was accompanied by West Point Wiggins and hosted by the Monahan and Kimsey Tailgate crew from the USMA class of 86 in “A lot” right outside the stadium. Lodgings were provided by Tom & Jeri (no lie) Voyteks Pub and boarding house. Friday night in Tom’s pub was just a primer for the Saturday festivities as we drank good draft beer and watched baseball and the Friday night CFB games.

My Version of Duty Honor Country

We started the pre game tailgate on Saturday morning with the appropriate breakfast beverage of choice, a kick starting bloody Mary followed by some tasty PBR suds. No chow before the game as that would be saved for the post game Tailgate. Also met up with my old High school Buddy and former Army offensive tackle Karl “Tiny” Heineman and his clan.

The West Point Tailgate Crew

Tiny Heineman makes me looks skinny

Army was taking on the Eagles from BC, with both teams struggling mightily through the opening month of the season. This would be the opportunity for one of the two teams to right their ship. Army had a special good luck charm join them as their last Heisman trophy winner Pete Dawkins graced their sideline for the afternoon. In a game that saw Army surge out of the gates and then relinquish a lead with players being carried off the field and the air being sucked out of the stadium by halftime. The feeling was that BC would just overpower the smaller Black Knight squad at that point. But as it is often said, the Service Academy teams do not know what the word quit means. Army crawled back into the battle with a tenacious ground attack that BC had no answer for. Down 31 -28 with less than a minute to go, Army QB Trent Steelman ran the triple option to perfection and tucked the ball under his wing and scampered 40 yards down the field for the winning score! This was surely the biggest win in historic Michie Stadium in recent years. The Cadets racked up over 500 yards of offense. I was all set to rush the field with the cadets but noticed that I would have been the only one doing it. I believe such childish actions are prohibited in institutions like USMA and frowned upon. We missed meeting up with the legendary “Pops” Leblanc and his BC crew and doing the traditional Eagle Up pre game shot. However he did send me a nice BC T-shirt that was waiting for me when I returned home.

Dan and West Point Wiggins in Michie



Serious fuel injection!



The Black Knights doing battle.

Never trust an Irsish bartender!

  

  

On to the post game festivities, all the tailgates around the campus were joined by Cadets as they had a get out of jail pass until 11 PM that night to party with friends, family and even strangers like me. Great chow, as the menu consisted of ribs, burgers, sausages, chicken, and mac salad. Of Course an assortment of beer was also distributed to the troops and tailgaters. At the conclusion of the post game gate we did a forced road march around campus checking out all the historic buildings, epic views, statues and places that scarred the memory of a young Cadet Wiggins where he was hazed, harassed, sharpied, spat on and wedgied some 30 years before. I bet I had more fun at Frostburg State than he did ! After the march, we headed back to Tom’s Man cave pub to catch the late games of the day on his 3 screen set up. Hey Tom, check your basement. I am still there. This is my dream home now. 

Major Tom keeping ground control in the Man Cave

General MaCarthur and Lt. Dan

Around the country: In a weekend that saw big upsets, and three top 5 teams go down, the college football landscape is starting to take shape. Upset of the week for those of you that watched this game, NC State pulled it out in the end to shock # 3 Florida State in Raleigh and the fans did not rush the field? What is this silly trend? Just because they had a 12 foot wall to jump from is no excuse not to storm the field. Are the Irish for real? I know there are a lot of haters and doubters out there but I am more impressed each week with their defense. Against the Hurrilames of the U on Saturday night they racked up some impressive O stats as well in a 41 -3 blowout at Soldier Field in Chicago. Michael Irvin, Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp and other notable former U players (notice I did not say graduates) are planning on disassociating themselves from the school if this happens again. Chancellor Shalala would be so crushed I’m sure. My good friends Snooki and the Sitch attended and sent in a guest photo. The Boyz from the Blue smurf turf traveled down to Hattiesburg, MI and put together a performance reminiscent of the Kellen Moore era by putting 40 up on Southern Miss. Navy saves it season with an OT win over Air Force below the shadow of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs.

The docile puppies from Athens, GA were hounded into submission early and often by a game Cocks squad from the other USC in a decisive 35 - 6 beatdown. The ole ball coach still has a few tricks up hizzle sleeve. “We just came out and peetched it around a bit” he was quoted as saying. Staying in the SEC, LSU and their pathetic offense were exposed for the second week in a row but this time it cost em as Musty Muschamp and his snippy snappy Gators chomped down hard in the Bayou and came away with the W, 14-6. Howz that there Tiger grass taste now Coach Miles? Coach John L Smith is now $40 large large in da hole!!!! That means 7 zeros after the 4! What kind of football coach can get that far in the hole? At least he got a big win against War Eagle on Saturday perhaps saving the Hogs season. Anyone looking for an ex Auburn coach to hire next season? He has good hair. The Teabagging Tide from Tuscaloosa (http://deadspin.com/5948267/alabama-teabagger-gets-two-years-in-prison) had the weekend off and were able to breathe a little easier seeing how things shook out.

 

















Pretty sad when the best team in the Big 10 doesn’t count this year. Urban and the boys from Columbus Bucked up and smacked down T- Magic and the Huskers in a 63 – 38 victory. Militiagun State struggled in Bloomington, IN eeking out a win against Gene Hackman’s Hoosier squad. Only if the Hoosiers ran the “ole swinging gate” play and let Jimmy Chitwood get the glory, they might have won. Northwestern Purple Cats got abused in State College, PA…oops bad choice of words. The Cats were so deflated that they refused to shower after the game. And Coach Dana “Hairless club for men” Holgersen and his offensive Mountaineer juggernaut are just happy that Mac Brown does not know how to run a defense either. WVU racked up its second Big 12 shootout win in a row against teams from the State of Tejas. K- State continued to force Coach Front Butt Weiss to question “what was he thinking” taking the job in Lawrence. It’s Buffet time Charlie, eat up. Bill Snyder is just a brilliant coach. The Sooners rebound with a solid win against the Red RAIDUHS!

In the Pac 12, Stanford had to pull out all their weapons to slide by the Rich Rods from U of A as Josh Nunez showed flashes of Andy Luck. Oregon State stays perfect by continuing to give Mike Leach a proper welcome to the conference. Matt Barkley had a fantastic second half as the Trojans stole one in Utah Thursday night. The Black Mamba and the Ducks flew by the Huskies in their most impressive win of the season. UCLA losing to the lowly Cal Bears? Not good for the conference. Commissioner Scott has to be pleased with the overall level of conference play; Oregon, Oregon State, USC and Stanford are considered elite teams as of this point in the season.

Countdown to Mr. Sandman’s sentencing in 3 days…

Hit of the week:


 

 Tradition of the week – The cadet parade review at West Point and march through campus to the stadium. Nothing will make the hair on your neck stand up quite like it. You can feel the history, the pride and the patriotism go rushing through your blood when you experience this. Only I wasn’t quite there on time to see it due to the fact my co pilot Karaokied until 4 AM Friday night (Very poorly I might add). Man I wish my middle daughter would heed her calling and go the Academy!

Gripe of the week - I watch a lot of college football shows with so called experts. Many of these shows will have recently fired/disgraced ex coaches filling up the sound waves with hot air. How am I to take them seriously when they couldn’t get it done on the sideline, yet now they have become the omnipotent ones regarding the game they were just pink slipped from? It’s kind of like getting advice from Jimmy C and George B the 1st on getting reelected. Okay, I promised not to be political on the blog because football unites us all, even if you are wrong and don’t agree with me ideologically LOL! Just recently I watched “Coach” Dan Hawkins on the ESPN show called The Experts talk about some team’s defensive miscues. Check me if I am wrong, but isn’t this the same guy who was run out of Boulder like a lady of the night in a monastery? Why should I listen to a guy whose Defenses were as porous as France during Blitzkrieg in WWII? Last year we got to watch Rich Rod slink his way through a season of being a pundit. This was the guy that gives Cheat Carroll a run for his money on ethics and integrity. Do I really want pointers from him. Okay, I will take my meds and go calm down now.

Vintage footage of my brother Brian watching football at brother Billy’s house in 1994:



Next week is a big doubleheader for the Tailgate. We will be taking in a big celebration in Boulder on Thursday night. If the Buffs win, I will storm the field and run with Ralphie the Buffalo. Shades of me in Pamplona in 08 with the exception that I dove over a fence to get out of the street so the fools could get crushed. Right Dru? Saturday is the annual Men of Laurelglen and friends tailgate at San Jose State. We will be doing a big breakfast tailgate as game time is 1 PM.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl Rachel who turns 21 on the 8th!

Happy Tailgating!

Incense and Peppermints

The Tailgate – Joined by, Craig “I am a conflicted Big 10er” Castelein and Dave “Wanstaedt” Quillici and Cal Poly defensive tackle Dru “I have no” Manor meandered through the East Bay Hills and ventured into the Peoples Republic of Bezerkley for a day of trunkgating, bargating and of course the Cal/ Arizona State battle in the renovated Strawberry Canyon. Speaking of Strawberries, as we wandered down Telegraph Avenue, land of the unwashed, tie dyed, rastas and wafting odors and flash point for the radical 60’s anti war movement, that 60’s song by Strawberry Alarm clock was playing in my head:

“Good sense, innocence, cripplin' and kind.

Dead kings, many things I can't define.

Oh Cajun spice, sweats and blushers your mind.

Incense and peppermints, the color of thyme.

Who cares what games we choose?

Little to win, but nothing to lose.”

Very apropos for this day. After an hour of trunkgating, squealing wheels, recycling and jumpstarting a few VW busses in our private lot of Benvenue Avenue, we wandered through Peace Park and Telegraph Avenue to our favorite beer garden and bar. The only problem was, it was no longer there. No, not another change of ownership, the building and the block were gone, demolished, with the exception of a façade that looked like 8 Mile in Dirtroit. I thought I heard the ghost of the renowned Philosopher John Belushi shout ”They took the bar! The whole %$&@ing bar!” So we settled into our new watering hole “Pappys” on Telegraph Avenue in time to watch the game of the year, Baylor v WVU. It was more a case of WVU welcoming the Big 12 to their house than WVU being welcomed to the Big 12. Perhaps the greatest offensive game I have ever witnessed with close to a mile of combined offense and 133 points scored. Geno Smith now takes the lead in the Heisman race and deservedly so. Bloody Marys, Stellas, Ribs and sandwiches were on tap for us.

 We wandered up Bancroft Avenue to the game, scalped 3 tickets for $25 each and sat in what should have been the student section. Only there were not that many students in attendance as they were in their bunkers working on their protest plans for the next Occupy Movement, or Code Pink event. That’s what you get from a Nerd school (I say that with affection)! In fact the stadium was only at about 60% of its capacity. After a year away from the friendly confines of the Canyon, the Bears are back in their redone facilities. I would give the effort a B – as it does not look much different than it did. Don’t get me wrong, it is nice. I was just expecting different. I hear the training section built into the stadium is amazing. I was expecting more based on the amount of time and money spent on it. The product on the field gets a D as they fell to Arizona State 27 -17 in a lackluster performance. IMHO, this is Coach Tedford’s swan song and we may see the likes of Bobby Petrino out here next year. If Tedford changes his QB it may save his job. Maynard G Krebs is not a PAC 12 QB.

We lost track of Dru prior to the game as he did not go into the Canyon with us. In the theme for Hangover 3 after searching high and low, we finally caught up with him as he was spotted becoming one with the vagrants, hippies and flea ridden in Berkeley. Pictures below. He claims something about someone slipping him roofies.




The boyz searching for "Dougie" Dru



We can't make this stuff up!



Dru's new friends in Bezerkeley



Around the country - The UW Huskies fertilized the Stanford Tree Thursday night and lifted their legs in celebration in Seattle. The students rushed the field in the opposite manner of the Packers from the now infamous Monday Night game earlier in the week in the same venue.

The Urban renewal effort continued its impressive revitalization in East Lansing as Ohio State took down Sparty in a brutal defensive battle. My nephew was baffled as to why his poster for College Gameday was confiscated by the sign Nazis. I inquired as to what it said. “Every Spartan Pisses Nails.” Can’t imagine why they did not let that on TV. The other Spartans of San Jose State go to 4-1 with a victory in Annapolis over the deflated Midshipmen. The class of the Big East Cincy knocked out the ACC powerhouse VA Tech Hokies 34-31. The Longhorns roped in the Cowboys in Stillwater as young QB David Ash came of age. In the battle of the old ugly throwback unis, Taylor Martinez and the Huskers squeaked one out in Lincoln over the clawless Badgers. The combination of UGA running backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, affectionately known as “Gurshell” (They still miss him in Athens, don’t they?) had all they could handle with the Vols in a 51 – 44 W. Woof Woof Woof UGA! The Tennessee faithful appeared to be somewhat dismayed.

Ole Miss gave Bama a scare …for about 15 seconds until the NCAA’s only professional team kicked it in gear and rolled Colonel Reb and his squad out of Tuscaloosa.

LSU and Towson? Oh come on Mad Hatter, you can do better for competition. This kind of game is a lose - lose for you. We used to beat Towson in Rugby annually. Big rival of Frostburg State. I once got a concussion playing them and proceeded to man up, play on and then lead the team in song in the post game soiree! (Not that that has a damn thing to do with college football).University of Miami fans, as much as I don’t like the Canes, you need to get out and support your team cuz they have an exciting young QB who just broke some institutional records yesterday (No not the Institution where many of your alum end up). In a monsoon in Hattiesburg, MS in Favre stadium the Louisville Cardinals stormed back to win on a game clinching drive. How about those Beavers from Corvallis? QB Sean Mannion throws for over 400 yards as the Beavs scratched and clawed their way to another win in the desert. Boise offense finally gets on track only to be let down by their defense in New Mexico barely escaping with a win. And the Black Mamba and the Ducks win ugly in Seattle against Wazoo and the gun slinging Leaches. The Purple Cats and the Nittany Cats each tally up W’s in the Big 10 leading up to their Cat fight next week in Happy Valley. Clemson rebounds by taking the BC Eagles down in a spirited battle and UCLA goes to 4-1 over the lowly Buffs in Boulder.

Tradition of the Week - This is a new section dedicated to traditions that the D1 A schools have as part of their gameday football experience. I would like to hear from you all on your favorite traditions and a picture is preferable. First two traditions are from Michigan State and Ohio State. Sparty fans walking by each other on game day are known to do the following: One Sparty fan will see another and yell “Go green” and in response the other fan will yell back “Go White”! The Ohio State faithful will yell out “OH” and the response “IO”! Now let’s hear some from you all.

Gripe of the week – Once someone is part of College Football they are always part of College Football, thus making them liable to be the target of my ire in this section. This week’s ire, errr praise goes to none other than the blog’s all time favorite villain or hero, depending on your view. You see once again Coach Pete “The Cheat” Carroll was up to his old antics. For those of you watching this week’s MNF game between the Seahawks and Packers you know what I mean. We saw ole Robin Hood Hizzzself taketh from those witheth and giveth to those withouteth. The Packer DB in the eyes of 99.99999% of the world clearly intercepted the ball. After a ridiculous call on the field and in the replay booth, the Seahawks were awarded a touchdown they did not earn now dubbed “The Inaccurate Reception. I am not going to berate the refs and the worst call in football history. I want to point out the behavior of Cheaty Boy. He ran around the field celebrating the horrible outcome like his boy actually caught the ball. In his interview he could not hold back his exuberance for the fraud that was committed. He is the Judge Elihu Schmaels of football in that you would not want to play golf with a cheater. He was as believable as Nasty Nancy Pelosi telling us that we must feel good about giving to the less fortunate that did not earn what we worked for (Sorry no politics on this forum, but she is a loony moron regardless). Sorry to my USC fans (He is no longer a Trojan so he is fair game) but he showed his true colors again just like when the rat left the sinking ship down in South Central 3 years ago when they were slapped with probation and fines. What a leader, huh? At least Lane Kiffin would never run out on a team….oops, never mind. Here is a little musical tribute to you cheaty boy put together by the Tailgate Nation:


Miscellaneous - Sorry to hear that the Michigan Notre Dame rivalry has been cancelled after next year. The Tailgate travels to the banks of the Hudson next Saturday to watch the Black Knights of Army take on the Eagles of Boston College. Looking forward to all the traditions at West Point such as the flyover, the Cadets marching in, the pomp and circumstance, the history and of course probably another loss.

Happy Tailgating!

Separation Saturday

The boyz takin in some chow and CFB

Tailgate update – The Tailgate hosted its 3rd annual Notre Dame – Michigan backyard Tailgate. Too many people to name but the picture below will implicate all those accused and in attendance. The menu consisted of Tri Tip, Sis’s beer brats, hot dogs, potato casserole, deviled eggs, salad, wine country appetizers, keg beer, Belgian beer and an assortment of wines. The tailgate games were in full effect as my 9 year old kid won a game of beer pong (water substitute of course!) Frostburg State or Chico could be in her future. Although Notre Dame was the featured matchup, Dan’s Bar and Grill had 3 different games going at any one time. Notre Dame’s defense is the real deal led by my Heisman favorite Manti Te’o. They forced Mr. Shoelaces Robinson into throwing 4 picks and no offensive Touchdowns. And the Wolverines were singing TEEEEEE’O, TEEEEE’O, daylight come and me wanna go home! Now the QB issue is a different story with Touchdown Tommy Rees being activated off the bench to lead the Irish to victory. They wuz a partying in South Bend last night as the Irish walked away with a 13 - 6 victory. Hail Hail for ole Notre Dame….Could Brian Kelly be the man to return the Irish to their former glory a la Rockne, Leahy, Parsegian and Holtz?

All smiles after an Irish win!



Praying to the ND flag!





Snooki and Mike "The Situation" Soprano from Jersey.

 


The girls getting their game on!

The kids making their papas so proud!

USC giving back to the community. As I stated at the outset of the season, I am not going to pick on USC anymore. As a matter of fact I want to point out positive things that this team accomplishes on and off the field. It was brought to my attention that USC over the last few years has done their part in reducing our burgeoning national debt by returning precious metals and expensive gems to the U.S. government. Pictures below show their philanthropic efforts. Many thanks to the burgundy and gold again!

Pete and Matt giving the Crystal back

Reggi not wanting to let it go

Around the Country -Thursday night’s matchup pitted Boise against BYU. Wow, what an ugly offensive or “O Fence Sive” game, depending on how you look at it. Both defensives were stout with the only score coming from Windsor, Canada’s big #99 “Canadian Bacon” Atkinson on a pick six. Fat guy running alert! Both OC’s and starting QB’s were ineffective. Boise needs to change something and fast. Where have you gone Kellen Moore? The Boise faithful miss you more than you will know. Normally cool Coach Pete went Bobby Knight on the sideline losing his composure just a bit. Boise escapes with a 7-6 win only because BYU went for 2 and did not convert.

Big ole #99 for Boise

The Noles chopped their way to a 12 point victory over Clemson in one of the most ballyhooed and anticipated matchups in recent ACC history. How do I know it was a 12 point win? Because I had $50 small on Clemson +15 and am walking tall today. I will now finally submit and give Florida State credit for being a good team. Welcome back Tomahawk Chop (Obnoxious as it is)!

QB Colin Klein and Coach Snyder continued their miracle run leading K State to a W in Norman against the heavily favored Sooners proving the pundits and prognosticators wrong. It could be a long season for the Sooner Nation and the Brothers Stoops. Hey, B Swizzle in all his minkness is looking for a gig as a consultant…if you so feel the need.

Switzer in all his glory!

Locally, San Jose State goes to 3-1 with a solid victory down at the Murph/Qualcomm/Chargers stadium against San Diego State. Coach Mac is doing great things with the Boyz from Silicon Valley.
Another game NostrilDanus From the Tailgate predicted was a much tighter matchup in Pasadena between UCLA and the Justin Beavers Orange Crush from Corvallis. Oregon State’s front 7 on defense will hit you hard, mean and all day long as they walked out of the Rose Bowl with an upset victory over the previously 19th ranked Bruins. Coach Riley was rumored to have petitioned Commissioner Scott to rename the Rose Bowl the Orange Bowl after that impressive win.

Coach Rich Rod was none to pleased leaving Autzen stadium without scoring a point and giving up 49 to the Quack Attack. The Hokies get back on track with a solid win by gobbling up the boyz from Bowling green. Geno Smith had another big day as the Mountaineers ran past the turtles for a closer win than was predicted. Cal loses again to SC down in the Coliseum. And how about my newly adopted Chippewas from Central Militiagun landing a W against Iowa? LeVeon Bell of Sparty Nation racks up two fiddy plus on EMU. The Hurricanes blew through downtown Atlanta on their way to an improbable comeback victory over the Rambling Wreck from Gawgia Tech! Oh Arkansas, what can I say at this point? You did make the Jersey Shore crew very happy bowing to NJ State. In one of the best games of the weekend, Auburn almost pulled off the unthinkable in Death Valley by narrowly losing 12-10 to the Bengal Tigers of Baton Rouge. The Hat has some serious Tiger grass to chew on after that one. And finally, Colorado lands their first victory over the Cougs and Mike “what was I thinking taking this job” Leach. Long gone are the days of locking up Craig James’ son in the equipment shed and having a smile over it. Man those were the good ole days. It appears that it will be a tough year for our Service Academies as Air Force and Army were defeated yesterday and Navy gets no props for playing a D1 AA team (sorry brother).

Hit of the week – This dude was decleated!


Tailgate recipe of the week – brought to you by Carls’ junior


 
Gripe of the week – The word "REALLY"? This word is as overused and annoying to me as a CFB announcer saying those 2 hated words “In Space” (Go back 2 -3 years for that rant). It is the most overused colloquialism in the modern English language. Especially when an announcer uses it, I have to take my anger management pills (see pic) to keep from jumping through the TV and pile driving the moron who says it. Examples: “It was 4th and 11 and they decided to run a skinny post instead of a sweep! REALLY? Why would they kick it deep when they should have done an on-side kick, REALLY? REALLY, did he just do that? Okay how about this: I would REALLY like to bury my knuckles in your teeth next time you say that? Really, used to be a good and useful word. But people who are not clever, lack wit and are basically morons revert to that word like others short of websters’ terms who use swear words as filler language. Taken in context with football announcers and post game pundits, it becomes nails on a board to me. Watch my favorite fart in a suit Mark May next week. I guarantee he will use it at some point. Ahhhh it feels good to rip my least favorite ex-hog!

Anger Management

Special thanks to my Nephew Nate for sending me a Sparty t –shirt! Thanks to BC Pops, Tinfoil Hokie and others for inquiring if I would like one of their schools’ shirts. Remember, double XXL and I do look good in all colors.


Tailgating Tubby’s son Nick is a junior at Iowa and gets paid to write a college football article. Here is his most recent: http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2012-09-16/muschamps-gators-toughen

Please read it cuz hiz daddy needs the coin to pay off his gambling debts. Prayers to John L Smith after a rough week of losing his brother and filing for $25 million bankruptcy.

Next week, The Tailgate will travel through the Caldecott tunnel to Bezerkeley for the CAL- ASU game. We will be Bargating at Manny’s Tap Room or whatever it is now called, on Telegraph avenue from 10 AM on. Come join us if you are in the area.Check out the new Heisman poll and vote on it.

Happy Tailgating!

When Irish eyes are smiling!

In the prophetic words of the great Herm Edwards “Hello, we play to win the game! That’s the great thing about football”. Herm’s words of wisdom were echoed throughout the hallowed cathedrals of College football on this 3rd weekend of the 2013 college football season.



The Tailgate maintained a low profile at world headquarters for the day, testing out the new wireless cable box to enjoy more games at once. I was joined by college football fanatic “Mountaineer McCool” for the Notre Dame and Stanford games. Tailgate Amy said I finally met my match as she witnessed McCool and me going toe to toe like two heavyweight boxers in a battle of knowledge of football De College! Sister Patsy’s Chinese chicken wings (See recipe on the side bar) and assortment of other healthy snacks such as cheese and chips and dips (pure man cave ensemble) and Fosters, “It’s Australian for beer” in the keg. Too many good games on for me as I will note below.

Around the country - Another kicker, another loss as Cal went down in flames to OH – IO State in Columbus in a game they should have won. What is it with kickers this year? See below for more on the subject :) .In the Randy Edsall Bowl, his old team UConn bested his current team the Terps. The Terrapin faithful feel as though they have an Edsol not an Edsall with the perfect politician hair they so coveted. Hey Maryland, Ralph Friedgen is tanned, rested and ready should you get the urge? 



2012 Edsall Bomb



The 1958 Edsol Bomb!

It was good to see Boise get a win with their new regime led by Danville Boy Joe Southwick. Although it was only Miami of Ohio, the boys on the blue turf made great strides in notching their first win in the post Kellen Moore Era.

The Boise girlz doing their pre game ritual!

Reports of the demise of the Pitt Panther football program were a bit premature as they pulled off a shocker at Ketchup field over VA Tech who are being called the Chokies after their performance in the Steeltown. UCLA goes to 3-0 for the first time since John Wooden led them to his last National Championship. Could they win the battle of LA this year? Why would I think that? Could it be because USC got the snot clobbered out of them on the Farm in Palo Alto? And Barkley’s Heisman chances took a big hit. No, again like I said I will not blatantly pick on USC or SUC this year even if they were ranked # 2 in the country and favored by 9 points and lost to a team that barely beat San Jose State.

As much as the talking heads and empty suits on ESPN wanted the Florida – Tennessee game to be epic in nature, it was not. An average Florida team beat a bad Tennessee team in Rocky Top in a battle for two coaches trying to stay off the unemployment rolls prior to the November election. Alabama proved itself again with an emphatic beat down of the Razorbacks in Fayetteville. Rumor has it that Bobby Petrino was spotted riding his hog with a little piglet on the back heading back to sooooo weeeeeeeeeeee land. Tyler Wilson was none too happy with his team’s effort or lack thereof.


Coach Petrino in action!

The Tailgate just received confirmation that the Colorado Buffaloes have applied for and have been denied for permission to play Division 2 for the rest of the season. Division 2 official have criteria of competiveness that the Buffs do not meet after getting thumped badly by Fresno State. What was I thinking when I laid out my live Tailgate Schedule this year when I chose to attend a Colorado Home game in October? I feel somewhat like Don Knotts in the 60’s classic Como – Horror flick the Ghost and Mr. Chicken where he has to spend the night in a house of horrors to win a bet. Tailgate Tony who will be going to that game with me inquired recently about how we were going to get tickets for that game…and I chuckled. Now the question is, who will pay me to go into that house of horrors to watch such bad product? I am a brave man but will only go so far!

In other action keep your eye on K State as they have one of the most exciting players in CFB in QB Collin Klein. Big game next week against the Sooners. In TCU’s Big 12 debut they served up some horned frog bbq to Coach Charlie Front Butt Weiss and the Jayhawks.

Just wrong in too many ways

Just 2 years removed from a Cam fueled National Championship, the War Eagle faithful at Toomers corner in Auburn, AL are calling for a regime change and ouster of Lane Kiffen’s twin brother Gene Chizick. ULM almost had their 2nd win in a row over an SEC club as War Eagle nearly escaped with a 3 point win in OT. BC traveled to Evanston, IL to take on the Mensas from Northwestern and got schooled on Ryan field in a game where a field goal kicker actually did his job! Army loses a close one to NIU at home 41 -40 and Navy was sunk in Happy Valley as the Kittens get their first victory post Jo Pa. Tailgate Brian allegedly attended this game with a friend. But since he did not send pictures as he claims his camera didn’t work, I don’t believe he really went. Instead he and his imaginary friend were probably holed up in his basement playing John Travolta records and donkey kong. In the Holy War, the Utes defeated the Cougars 3 times as the Student body was penalized twice for Premature Celebration. There are pills for that I am told. San Jose State goes to 2-1 after butting heads with the Rams from CSU and taking them down. Am I forgetting anything?..... Oh yeah in other news Notre Dame put the clamps on Sparty in East Lansing as an emotional Manti Teo led the Irish to their best defensive performance since Rudy Rudiger got his sack back in the day. Nephew Tailgate Nate is still wiping his green tears away after witnessing my payback game.

Rudy

Gripe of the week – Kickers. Need I say more? Scholarships should be based for these “athletes” on their ability to do their damn jobs! Having witnessed Boise kickers two years in a row demonstrate the ability to not perform their scholarship duties, I am not a newcomer to this discussion. Ficken Kicker last week for PSU, Cal’s kicker this week missing wide by at least 25 yards, several times. Stanford’s kicker almost handing the game to SC.  The BYU kicker, missing twice with 1 second to go. My 3 soccer playing daughters could do as well if not better than some of these toothpicks in shoulder pads. It seems as though the quality of college kickers is going opposite of our national debt, down, down down!

Hit of the week:



The Tailgate will be at world HQ again next week with a backyard tailgate with Notre Dame Fans and posers like me. Shout out to Manti Te’o for his tough week and ability to still step up and lead his team to a big win.

Happy tailgating!