One is the loneliest number; two can be as bad as one since it’s the loneliest number since the number one.

This week’s blog was written by Rowdy Randy Haberl While Dan is on vacation. Randy is a Bay Area native and father of a Boise State graduate and an all around college football junky like the rest of us. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Blog owner.....but they are pretty darn close...Enjoy!


Who would have thought that Three Dog Night knew they were writing the theme song for the Nov. 17th, 2012 college football weekend? I’m now starting to think Dec. 21st may be for real.



Tailgate Update: When the King of Tailgate, the master of the College Football blog succumbs to pressure from his significant other and the rest of the family, and visits the tourist trap of Hawaii, we can only hope he is sporting a beautiful sunburn for the rest of us low lifes. He wasn’t quite smart enough however to plan the trip around a college football game. Denied he was, to be exposed to the unrecognized powerhouse of the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Wait….. are they still the Rainbow Warriors? Or just Warriors? Here is a brief history I’m sure prompted by some in California.

Prior to the year 2000, the University of Hawaii's men's teams were all referred to as the Rainbow Warriors, complemented by an athletics logo featuring a rainbow. However, in a controversial marketing strategy over which many at the University and throughout Hawaii have misgivings, the school changed its athletics logo to a stylized "H" and allowed each team to pick its own team name. This has led to the current situation, where the basketball, swimming, diving, and tennis teams have retained the team name of "Rainbow Warriors"; the baseball team adopted the name "Rainbows"; and the football, golf, and volleyball teams have adopted the name "Warriors". No wonder they haven’t put a good team together in some time. The mighty team visited the confines of Air Force’s Falcon Stadium in another close 21-7 loss.

Anyway, let’s let Dan enjoy this history making trip while I try and put some sense to blogging and substitute for him. There is no way Danville Rowdy Randy can compete with his writing skills and observations. The questions is, do I do the blog from my home away from home down at Elliott’s Bar, established in 1906, or from the cold and rainy confines of my family room with the family all away. Either way, a great weekend to be by myself enjoying some uninterrupted time watching college Gameday. The pressure of these tasks has left me home alone. A crowd would have thrown me off my game.

Around the Country: The day started with the anticipation to see if the WSU (Washington State) flag is at Gameday. I got up early to tune in and sure enough, even on a very early rainy Saturday in Eugene, the flag was flying high. Wherever Game Day goes, so does the Flag. Someone out there is very dedicated to a hopefully soon to be contender.

The talk this week was the Pac-8, I mean 10, ok Pac-12, and the Big-12 with its 10 teams, and a bit of the Irish. Not so much drama for the rest of the country. What a nice change for those of us on the West Coast. As the day progressed, the feeling of fall was in the air, literally. On a night when the forecaster predicted the sky to drop a large amount of duck points and pile up on the limbs of the Stanford tree making them break, it actually became a hunter’s dream corralling the fleet of feathers for a late night rare delicacy of duck steamed in its own pond. Coach Shaw predicting they have a chance against all other odds makers, finally figured out a Defense to minimize the ducks fast paced attack. When was the last time Oregon was outdone in every category except turnovers where Stanford even minimized the consequences of fumbles and an interception?

And when the prudent didn’t see any obstacles in K-State’s way, there is Baylor who tried to simulate some RG3 moments and stunned the Wildcats with some darts in their side. K-State was totally outplayed right from the start. State proclaimed Heisman Bound higher being was brought back to mortality and is once again just another very good football player. This is why I love College Football where every week seems to baffle the so called experts of ESPN and others.

The luck of the Irish will now be the mythical #1, they’re in the national Championship again and all the little Leprechaun’s are dancing all over South Bend and their large following. Nothing can get in their way can it? Maybe a quarterbackless USC is doable now and Miami reservations can be made.

As the self proclaimed pro league SEC all seem to be playing their late regular season “Let’s don’t hurt our Ranking’s” second tier teams, we will ignore them. I mean no disrespect to Georgia Southern, Jacksonville State, Wofford or Alabama A&M. I know many of us enjoy these games also, and they are often very entertaining. When the SEC romps over these small schools playing for the money, Mark May and others drool on the statistics put upon these dynamic challengers. Some day College Football Live will give some Kudos to the rest of the country and recruiting will be spread out past the confederacy and to the rest of deserving teams.

Ok I can’t ignore the fact that the SEC fairies sprinkled doomsday dust over Eugene and Waco, and we will most likely have another SEC team joining in on the National Championship. The ESPN execs must have slept much better last night. The conspiracy folks believe those fairies paid Coach Chip Kelly buckets of duck feed since he was so calm on the sideline during the lack luster performance his team was displaying. Only once being flagged for complaining to the referee’s.

In other news, Ohio State and Penn State both win and lead the Legends Division of the Big-10, teams that will always be reminded of their appropriately named legacy division. So a 4-3 Wisconsin will represent against the socially awkward and beep-able Bo Pelini lead Huskers from the Leaders Division in another coincidentally named division. Way to go Big-10 Execs. Oklahoma defense must not be very good as they squeak out a nail biter against West Virginia 50-49, and Boise State rolls over Colorado State with only Nevada in their way for being tri-champion of the Mountain West. But Nevada always proposes a challenge to the Broncos.

Coaching news includes the firing of Tennessee’s Dooley, and a talk at Cal with Tedford and the AD after a close loss to Oregon State 62-14 and their 3-9 record. News from Bezerkley should radiate out shortly.

And how could we go this far without the change of Ownership in L.A.? UK-LA romps the Trojans right from the start. Building a big lead and holding off the USC late game efforts. QB Barkley being taken out of the game with a shoulder injury late may have ruined his last hurrah at the coliseum next week. I’m sure he is still thrilled he stayed another year and about his ego ran press conference last year announcing it so. No championship, no Heisman and probably didn’t get lucky last night. Could it be Stanford and UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship? Stanford has to win against them this weekend to force a second game and winner to Rose Bowl. I would like to meet anyone who predicted this one.

Barkley leaving in a sling after getting smacked by UCLA

Talking Heisman, Johnny Football is predicted to lead the way this week with lack-luster performances from Oregon and K-State. Manti Te'o and Braxton Miller are the only one’s left that I can see. Maybe we need to look past a major contender and consider some other great candidates.

Tradition of the Week: Pre-game hype is a wonderful tradition as the bands and the mascots arouse the crowd by displaying their powers and smash the thought that the visiting team has a chance against us. This week the tradition is being challenged as UCLA has told the mighty Trojans that they can’t stab the uck-La logo with a sword in the middle of the field as they do at every game. The threat is that if the Trojans go ahead and do this degrading deed, the band will not be able to play at halftime. Let me take a moment and think which I would rather see as a fan. A blog vote may be needed to decide this one. Makes me think for a moment, does anyone recall what a Trojan warrior does on a turf field? I know the smurf turf gods would display some recourse if they ever visit the landmark.

Gripe of the week: Spending much of my youth growing up down the road from Stanford, they too used to stab the turf with the Indian Chief doing his war dance before the game and spearing the sacred ground. But, the politically correct forced the Stanford Indians to a color and a tree. My color is better than your color, so take that Rainbow Warriors. So why do we still have the Seminoles and Chippewa’s let alone the Redskins and Braves? Please let tradition reign on some things in this glorious country of ours. And lastly, Oregon shouldn’t drop far if there is any reality in the BCS process. They lose a close game while K-State is thrashed. Alabama lost to a lower ranked team and they only dropped 3 spots.

So my feeble attempt to cover for Dan ends, and thank God I hear from everyone he returns to his rightful duties next week.

Thanks to all.

College Football Rules !

Beavers and Ducks and Bears, Oh My!

Tailgate Update - After already deciding to go to the Cal – Oregon game in Bezerkley, The Tailgate, following the National movement of the week called an audible Saturday and did a student body LEFT and headed over the Bay to the Farm in Palo Alto for the Stanford – Oregon State game. Oh don’t worry, we also did the original game later that night for a double header day. The Tailgate was joined by TG Veterans, Dru “no” Manors, Mike “No D” Rabago, Dave “Wannstedt” Quilici,

Quilici looking befuddled

Craig “Buckeye- Wolverine – Illini” Castelein, “Good time” Reinke, Illini Taggert and newcomers former Chico State Linebacker Kenny “Doc Holiday” King, Chris “Dead Head” Desimone, “Sweet Lou” Girvolino and his son “Slinging” Sammy. Pre and post game tailgate in the Grove consisted of Hillshire farm sausages, Sis’s, Johnsonville beer brats and links that were hotz, Monica’s killer mac n cheese and potato salad Calabreeze. Plenty of beverages were on ice and bloody mary’s were nice. We had no green eggs and ham said Dan I am. Tailgate games were assembled and played, tables were cleared, and cups were flipped. We actually got the flat screen TV to work and caught several epic games on it. Great time was had by all. Oh yeah, a killer F-18 fly over to honor Veterans Day made the hair on my neck stand up. Perfect Segue for the Tailgate to give a shout out and proper salute to all of our Nation’s Veterans. Job well done ladies and gentleman!




In the Grove at Stanford Pre Game witht the Tailgate crew



The boyz enjoying modern technology

 

















Stanford ended up winning on a come from behind touchdown pass from Gonzaga Prep product of Washington D.C., Kevin Hogan to local Danvillian Zach Ertz, the Nation’s best Tight End. Did you know they serve rum and coke at Stanford stadium? During the game while many of us were actually in the stadium watching a great game, Dru, Taggert and Reinke held down the fort and befriended about 20, twenty something mooches who drained our beverage supply and trashed my toys. All because of a cute smile and a nice pair of boots! 

Flip cup with the mooches, clearly they cheated

Table cleared for flip cup and other action

Cheers!

After a 2 hour post game tailgate, the crew packed up and half of us headed north to the Peoples Republic of Bezerkley, home of the unwashed and gentle people with flowers in their hair. I am pretty sure cannabis is legal in this city as it smelled like Amsterdam at night. I believe they were still celebrating Tuesday night’s election or something like that. On a cold California night, in a town that was infiltrated with yellow and green Ducks and the Kenyon Barn Burners from the North, the atmosphere was electric. The Bears hung tough for two and a half quarters before the Quack Attack started dive bombing all over the Bears. We lasted a little longer than the Bears did and then beat feet to the warmth of our own bear dens at home. One word of warning to all tailgaters: when your wife gives you a hall pass to pull off an all day double header, make sure you say goodbye to her when you leave. I have learned now that this would have been sage advice. I have also learned that the Oregon fans are the “Nuevo Riche” of college football. Meaning that they have found recent success but don’t present themselves in a sophisticated manner as teams with a tradition of success do. I had an inebriated Duck Fan tell me my Boise State winter cap was the ugliest hat in the stadium and that eating unspeakable matter is advised. Classy. I will now root against the Ducks in PAC 12 play.

Around The Country

Pac 12 – Other than the Bay Area action, the Bruins knocked off U of A for their 8th win this year. That is as many wins as Slick Rick Neuhisel had in his last 2 years combined! USC also responds with a win after last week’s Duck thrashing. More importantly Lame Kitten and his daddy were not caught deflating balls and blaming kids for the prank. Listen to Lame’s splaning :


This guy has learned all the little tricks from Cheaty boy Carroll. Cheaty boy just got away with more. Such morals. I actually feel bad for SC fans that they are stuck with this guy. Pat Haden would do the school well by bringing in a man of integrity and brains and whose daddy was not his DC!

SEC - A Legend was born in Tuscaloosa last night as Johnny Football and the Sumlin Aggies shocked Tide Nation and the world with a huge upset win of number 1 Alabama. I am currently on the Tailgate hotline talking my ole friend Alabama Al down off that ledge. Local reporters captured the video of the incident:


The Gator Nation survived an attack from the Swamp People from the University of Louisiana Lafayette. The Gator Special teams chomped down on the Cajun Punter to escape the grasp of the Gator hunters with a win.

Rajin Cajuns trying to elimiate the Gators. Shoot em Liisbeth!

The Bayou Bengals responded with a somber all business like win over Mississippi State in Baton Rouge.

Big 10 -Northwestern can’t hold a 4th quarter lead any better than Romney can as they fall again after leading late to the Dennardless Wolverines. Third loss this year for the Childcats, all in the same fashion of blowing a lead in the 4th quarter. The Corn boyz from Lincoln showered touchdowns (oops, bad choice of words here) on Penn State for an impressive come from behind victory. Okay none of that sounded right.

Big 12 -Colin Klein and the “Little Apple” Wildcats continued to be perfect for the season after clawing their way to a 23 -10 win in the newly remolded Amon Carter stadium in Fort Worth. 2 more wins and we will see them in the BCS championship in South Beach. The Cowpokes from Stillwater gave their ex- OC Dana “Hair Club for Men” Holgersen a rude welcome home by thrashing his moonshiners from Almost Heaven. The Sooner Nation made its loyalists content with an 8 point win over the clawless Bears from Waco. The Longhorns paid tribute to their legendary former coach Darrel Royal who passed away this week by lining up in his trademark wishbone formation on their first offensive play. The Horns completed their Salute to Coach Royal by crushing the Cyclones 33 -7.

ACC- Poor Frank Beamer looked like he wanted to choke his Gobblers on Thursday night after surrendering a game winning TD to the Noles at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg. Not a good time of the year for Turkeys to be Tomahawk chopped! This team lacks the leadership of the likes of former Hokie great and animal rights activist Michael “Pitbull” Vick. Ahh how they long for the good old days of winning games and watching dawg fights.

Could it be that the Wahoos from Charlottesville could make a bowl this year? Two improbable wins in a row for the Hoos after knocking off the Sugar Canes yesterday. Local UVA beat writer and high school buddy, Jeff “The Deer Hunter White” was quoted “ One shot, I try to tell people that but they don’t listen”.

Here is the rest of his story:

http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/111112aaa.html

Clemson crushed the Twerps and the Fighting Irish win unimpressively against a lame duck led BC team. I hope either the echoes wake em up or Brian Kelly’s screaming wake up the Irish before they travel to LA in 2 weeks for the big showdown with SC.

Elsewhere, Boise traveled to Hawaii and did their own Haka dance on the Rainbow Warriors and Lei’d 45 PTS’s on the U of H. The Munchie Legeaux led Cincinnati Bearcats scraped up another win and the Cuze knock the Cardinals from their perch of the undefeated. All 3 service academies suffered losses this weekend. We still thank them for their duty to their country.

Tradition of the week – The Beaver Buzz Saw. When you attend an Oregon State game in Corvallis, Oregon as I did early in the season, you will hear what sounds like a buzz saw cutting through wood played over the PA system throughout the game when the Beavers do something good. The sound is supposed to imitate a Beaver chewing through a tree. After hearing it a few times you will wait in anticipation to hear it again. This drives the opposing team nuts!

Gripe of the week Contributed by Craig Castelein, Tailgate Veteran. Nothing is better than attending a college football game on a beautiful fall afternoon. There is energy and anticipation in the air, as you along with 45,000 plus like minded fans watch high caliber collegiate athletes try their very best! The offense is scheming to find every extra yard while the defense tries their absolute best to anticipate their opponent’s next move. And the energy continues to build until it all comes to a screeching halt because of ill placed.......TV TIME OUTS! Are you kidding me? I get up early on Saturday, coordinate with good friends to travel to the stadium, make other friends there, sometimes even clearing a table for them, pay for my ticket and then have all of that interrupted because some fat-ass sitting at home who didn’t pay for crap needs to be explained to as to what beer he should drink or pizza he should eat. Let me tell you something, if you don’t know the answer to those 2 questions without someone on TV telling you than you are an (insert your favorite derogatory comment here and say it loudly!). This actually reminds me of a very similar theme we are seeing across the country, but I will save that rant for a different time and different blog. Ok, I do recognize that there is the business behind publicizing these games and we are often the beneficiaries as it is impossible to attend every game you want to watch in person. However, the timing of when these TV timeouts occur is a real issue. Yes, at the quarter and half breaks and even after scores and change of possession. I get it. But in the middle of a drive and it is 3rd and 2 or when we see an incredible shift in momentum, and then we need to take a TV Timeout because the network needs to catch up on its commercial advertisement schedule.

GIVE ME A BREAK!! GRTPIF. (Ghost Rider the pattern is full!)

Gripe writer Casty and Dan at halftime of Stanford -OSU game

The Tailgate will be on vacation next week taking some well needed time with the family on the Hawaiian Islands. After Thanksgiving, we will be traveling to the Campus of USC for the Notre Dame/USC game. Hope everyone in Tailgate land has a great Thanksgiving. In the words of the great surfer dude Jeff Spicoli "Aloha Mr. Hand!"

Tailgater Dan Spicoli in Hawaii

  Happy Tailgating

Hi my name is Dan, and I am obsessed with College Football..."Hi Dan"!

The Tailgate was deployed to the city of Sacramento for a youth soccer tournament for the weekend. Prior to the convoy up Interstate 80, I did catch the cross town High School Football rivalry Friday night between Monte Vista (our school) and San Ramon Valley of Danville, CA. SRV won by the way. They cheated. Upon check in at the hotel later Friday night in Sac Town, I learned that the Sacramento State Hornets Stadium D1 AA (FCS) happened to be across the street from the hotel and had a 4 PM game Saturday versus Montana State. Sweet!! Could this be serendipity at its finest? After texting one of my friends about this development, he told me his wife said I have serious issues. I said as long as I don’t go to meetings and admit it, I will be fine. However, it turns out I never made it to Sac State due to the Notre Dame/Pitt game going over by 90 minutes and the upcoming Bama/LSU game. Tough decision, but clearly the right one.

Attending the wedding after the party left for their honeymoon!

As it is, I boycotted a mandatory team/family dinner at Bucca di Beppo to watch all the evening action on the TV. When one of my friends at the dinner was informed of my whereabouts, he was quoted as saying “what the hell, friends are forever, there will always be another football game to watch!” But I beg to disagree, oh unnamed friend of mine! There may never be another game as exciting as the classic Bama – LSU Matchup, or the Oregon – USC track meet, or the Kansas State Juggernaut taking on Oklahoma State University. Additionally, there was a Mel’s diner (think American Graffiti folks) across the parking lot that was preparing a tailgate picnic for me. The reality of it is, I probably looked like a pathetic loner knocking back adult beverages, gorging myself with a high caloric intake and flipping channels all by my lonesome in a hotel room.

Around the Country – Before I do the recap of the best weekend games, something has been on mind lately and I want your opinion: who has the cooler name – Munchie Legeaux (QB for Cincy) or Barkevious Mingo (LB for LSU) ? I would recruit both kids on name alone.

Munchie Legeaux

Barkevious Mingo

Okay now to the weekend action: Johnny football and the Aggie Nation acted like they brought their 12th man (see tradition of the week below) to Starkville as Johnny ran the football down the throats of the stunned Mississippi State Bulldogs. This kid is good. Really good. But let’s see how good he will fare in Tuscaloosa next Saturday. Will he be singing “Oh Susanna (that’s his girl friend’s name…seriously), don’t you cry for me, cuz I’ve been to Alabama and got crushed by their D! Speaking of Alabama, if you did not see this game (you pathetic loser), you missed the game of the year. LSU’s young QB played his best game yet as the Tigers really took it to Bama in the 2nd half. Death Valley was rocking. 93,000 + Bayou Bengal fans fresh off a 12 hour tailgate with bellies full of crawfish boil and hurricane cocktails were screaming with excitement as LSU held a 3 point lead with under 2 minutes to go. The Tide’s steady Eddie QB AJ McCarron simply led the Tide down the field on a game winning drive capped off by a completion to freshman sensation T.J. Yeldon who burst 40 yards down the field for the winning TD. The State of Louisiana went from noise being measured on a Richter scale to Helen Keller silent within a nanosecond. AJ McCarron cried his eyes out in a moment of sheer emotion looking like Carrie at the Prom at the game’s end with tears and eye black streaming down his face, and Coach Saban was heard in prayer after the game chanting silently:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;

Thy assistants and thy staff, they corral me.

Thou preparest a game plan before me in the presence of mine enemies;

Thou annointest my head with Tiger grass from the valley of death; My PBR runneth over.

Surely goodness and victory shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the House of Bear Bryant forever.

AJ Mc Carrie after the LSU game

For the main afternoon game, parents from my daughter’s youth soccer team assembled in the hotel lobby to watch Notre Dame take on Pitt. Many haters out in CFB football think the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are lucky. If it was any other team they would not be saying the same thing. Was it lucky that Les Miles called 2 idiotic plays for LSU and Bama won Saturday night? The answer is NO! Bama won because the score said so. Sometimes you have to be good to be lucky. I do not disagree that ND played a stinker of a game until the 4th quarter against Pitt on Saturday. But good teams always find a way to win when they should win. People seem to forget that Pitt “got lucky” in OT when Ciera Wood fumbled diving into the end zone. Of course Pitt was “unlucky” that their kicker missed the potential game winning kick in the 3rd OT. Notre Dame was just good enough to win the game in the 3rd overtime. Get over it haters. Next up for the Irish, BC at The Heights in Beantown.

In other action, Kansas State took out Mrs. Tailgate’s OSU Cowboys. Coach Snyder will not tell us if Heisman Leader Colin Klein is hurt since he does not talk about injuries. Kenyon Barner and the Quack attack put 62 duck droppings (I stepped in a few of those by a duck pond on the soccer pitch this weekend) on the Trojans in the LA Coliseum in the best track meet there since Carl Lewis beat that “furriner” in the 84 Olympics. The Cornholers (the tailgate game, now settle down this is not a derogatory term…not allowed at the Tailgate) from Lincoln, NE took out Sparty in East Lansing, MI. In the race for the Commander in Chief trophy, Army shells Air Force at Michie Stadium. Navy sails past FAU 24 -17 Mr. Bob, Navy Al and Brother Radio from the Tailgate were holding court and Q-ing up some tailgate grub and cheering the Midshipmen on to victory in Annapolis. San Jose State beats Idaho at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, ID to become Bowl eligible for the first time in six years. Tailgate loyalist “Big O” was in attendance to cheer on his former team and his daughter’s current school.

The Kibbie dome, University of Idaho

West Point Wiggins and his crew donned the bright mean green colors and went to cheer on the university of North Texas squaring off against “Auburnt’s” next head coach Gus Malzahn. Gus won.

Go Mean Green!

No Gripe of the week, instead this is a great article featuring one of our own from the Tailgate, Pops Leblanc of BC fame. We are not on speaking terms until after the ND- BC game next week.

http://www.salemnews.com/sports/x674154369/Scholarship-fund-aids-North-Shore-BC-bound-football-players

Hit of the week:



Tradition of the week – The Texas A&M 12th Man. Courtesy of  Nissimov, Ron (September 16, 2001), "A Salute to 125 Years: A&M celebrates Corps of Cadets", Houston Chronicle. (This means I did not write this part folks, so don’t accuse of me of plagiarism like Mr. Shea did in 8th grade English (it was the kid sitting next to me, I swear!)

Aggie football fans call themselves the 12th Man, meaning they are there to support the 11 players on the field. To further symbolize their "readiness, desire, and enthusiasm," the entire student body stands throughout the game. In a further show of respect, the students step "off the wood" (step off of the bleachers onto the concrete) whenever a player is injured or when the band plays the Aggie War Hymn or The Spirit of Aggieland. At the end of the Aggie War Hymn, fans sway back and forth, causing the upper deck of the stadium to move. The Aggie War Hymn was named the No. 1 college fight song by USA Today in 1997.

The 12th Man tradition began in Dallas on January 2, 1922, at the Dixie Classic, the forerunner of the Cotton Bowl Classic. A&M played defending national champion Centre College in the first post-season game in the southwest. In this hard fought game, which produced national publicity, an underdog Aggie team was slowly defeating a team which had allowed fewer than 6 points per game. The first half produced so many injuries for A&M that Coach D. X. Bible feared he wouldn’t have enough men to finish the game. At that moment, he called into the Aggie section of the stands for E. King Gill, a student who had left football after the regular season to play basketball. Gill, who was spotting players for a Waco newspaper and was not in football uniform, donned the uniform of injured player Heine Weir and stood on the sidelines to await his turn. Although he did not actually play in the game, his readiness to play symbolized the willingness of all Aggies to support their team to the point of actually entering the game. When the game ended in a 22-14 Aggie victory, Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me." A statue of E. King Gill stands to the north of Kyle Field to remind Aggies of their constant obligation to preserve the spirit of the 12th Man.

Texas A&M 12th Man

Next Week – The Tailgate revisits the People’s Republic of Bezerkeley as the Ducks invade Strawberry Canyon. Tailgate will be grandiose, will last about half of the game and end up in a pub for the other CFB action. I am still looking for someone to take over the blog the weekend of 11/17. Please step up!!!

Happy Tailgating!

Sweet Home Alabama....the skies weren't so blue

Tailgate update: The Tailgate traveled to the legendary college football bastion in the heart of SEC country that is the state of Alabama, where the skies are so blue and did you know in Birmingham they love their Governor, woo hoo hoo? The Tailgate was hosted by long time friend the good Doctor, Alabama Al, his wife Mrs. Alabama Al and their wonderful family. I was also joined by another longtime friend from my colorful youth, Tennessee Tony who is a West Virginia fan going to an Alabama game……go figure. The crowning event of the weekend would of course be the Alabama Crimson Tide hosting the undefeated MSU Bulldogs hailing from Starkville, MS in their homecoming matchup. But before we get to that event, I must share with you my indoctrination into all things football in the State of Alabama. There is more than the just the contentious rivalry between Auburn and Alabama and SEC smack talk. Football transcends generations of families, political parties, races and religions in the great State of Alabama….and it starts at a very young age. As we toured the back roads of Birmingham my eye was quickly drawn to placards in front yards with football helmets, a jersey number and a name on it. I just assumed they were for the local High School. Some were but most were for pee wee and junior football! You cannot make a trip to Alabama without also seeing the Iconic Legion Field where Alabama used to play half of its home games and is now occupied by the UAB Blazers. The great Bear Bryant won many memorable games here. It just so happens that Legion Field is also the site of the annual “Magic City Classic” matchup between Alabama State and Alabama A&M, two traditionally all black colleges from the D1 AA SWAC with the game being held the next day. So that meant the tailgating was and had been in full effect for days in the lots surrounding the stadium. The food smells were out of this world! Of course as usual, we were able to sneak into the stadium (act like you belong there and they never question you) and tour it and take pictures. As an added bonus, one of the schools was doing their walk through for the “Magic City Classic” the next day.


The legends at Legion Field



Inside the confines of Legion Field

We followed this up with some local brew at a brew pub and a dinner at Saws Soul Food. Of course to get the full indoctrination into Alabama football, one must attend a Friday night football game. Our host took us to a local rivalry matching up his son’s former team where he starred as an all state back last year and led his team to a temporary #1 ranking in the State. That high school stadium rivals some D1A stadiums I have been in.

Saturday morning came early so we powered down a pre tailgate breakfast and loaded up the tailgate wagon and headed west to Tuscaloosa to the University of Alabama campus. Game time was 7:30 so we arrived by 12:30. However, this being the SEC, the tailgating had commenced the day before. You see, the SEC does not seem to impose any silly rules such as “you can only tailgate 3-5 hours before the game and no tailgating afterwards”. They not only encourage limitless tailgating, there are very few restricted areas to set up on. As was the case in Baton Rouge four years ago, almost every nook and cranny of green space and then some was absorbed by tents, grills, generators, flat screen TV’s and shouts of ROLL TIDE and the sounds of Lynard Skynard banging out that little ditty about the state of Alabama…so listen up Neil Young you unwashed freak…these are some good folk!

The good Doctor, concerned that I put on a few lbs. since he last looked in on me, insisted that in conjunction with tailgating that I needed some cardio work. So he baited me into seeing the sites and traversing the campus with a promise that I could load up my pockets with adult beverages in the event that I became thirsty. I did. It was a classic SEC weekend carried out in Big 10 weather as the thermostat hovered below 50 degrees during the day with skies not so blue. Along the trail of tears, we walked through the quad (the main tailgate area), stopped at Denny Chimes Tower (where all Alabama football Captains have their hand and cleat prints engraved in the cement a la Grauman’s Chinese theatre, and visited the Bryant Museum where the accomplishments of the legendary coach are displayed. One can feel the spirit of the Bear throughout the campus on gameday as fans are clad in hounds tooth attire and his memory is invoked and his ghost called upon in times of need. Okay maybe not the last part, but this guy is as close to a human God as one can get in this part of the country. You will find his statue and plaques throughout the campus. We also caught the homecoming parade and the walk of champions where the players enter the stadium. The history of Alabama football is unrivaled. The program was founded 120 years ago by a carpet bagging Yankee (not to be confused with the tea bagging fan now in prison). The school boasts 14 National Champions, more hall of famers and future NFL stars and legendary coaches than I can count. Even Forest Gump played here and earned All American honors. “He must be the stupidest SOB alive, but he sure is fast”! You will see signs of their success throughout campus. The name Crimson Tide was derived from an early name when they were called the Crimson White based on the school colors. After a game in 1907 where Bama played Auburn in a sea of mud, a local sports writer said they looked like a crimson tide in all that red mud. So there ya go…some new knowledge for ya’ll. Roll Tide! But I still don’t get the elephant mascot named Al.

The Bear and the boyz

Bryant Denny looming in the background

The good doctor carrying extra medicine

We were joined by the Alabama Al’s family, Birmingham Burt and his wife Cheryl and His brother named Blue who wore a Red jacket and had a lot of green. Spicy chicken fingers, sandwiches, chips, dips and fruits and an assortment of cold beer were on the tailgate menu for the day. Not only does the SEC hold the reputation on the field as the best football conference in America, they have the best tailgating bar none in the country! I wish all schools could tailgate like the SEC does. Tailgating is beyond an art form here, it is a life style! The fans are super knowledgeable so bring your A game if you want to play some cfb trivia with these folks.



Flock of Seagulls lead singer Tennessee Tony



The Tailgate crew





Seneca Vallley class of 81



Mr. and Mrs. Alabama Al with Dan



Everybody's All American Mark Rector with Dr Alabama

Homecoming in Tuscaloosa

Bryant Denny stadium is as beautiful of a stadium as you will see anywhere. With its recent additions, the cathedral seats close to 102,000 passionate fans. You can see why so many top high school players choose to play here; simply awe inspiring. As far as the game goes, the Tide silenced the cow bells of MSU early by racing out to a 21- 0 lead and cruising to a 38 -7 victory led by a dominant defense and a steady offense commanded by AJ McCarron. As interesting as the game was, many tide fans found it equally entertaining keeping tabs on Auburn getting thumped at the same time by Texas A&M. Oh the joy it brings them to see their neighbors from the East suffer so.

Taking in one of America's best cathedrals 

Liliybelle and the girlz!

Around the Country – The Fighting Irish stormed into Norman, Oklahoma (land of my In Laws and their extended family) and did as Nostrildanus predicted: they won by three scores and stifled the high powered Sooner offense. Manti Te’o had a monster game. He is second right now in my mind for the Heisman. I won a few bets on this game, but I will not spike the football and celebrate. Instead I will do this with class and integrity and stay professional…….(darn this is hard to be so grown up). The Irish have three winnable games coming up followed by the big showdown at USC on November 24th. (The Tailgate will be there if you want to join us). I will not get ahead of myself, but how cool would a championship matchup between the Irish and the Tide be? Kansas State and Heisman leader Collin Klein obliterated Texas Tech. Hey guess what, the Mountaineers did not give up 50 + point this week! Oh right, that’s because they had a bye week.

The Florida Gators got chomped at the World’s Largest Cocktail Party by UGA and the Dawgs. UGA the dawg said “Gator meat tastes like chicken!” The lack of offensive imagination finally caught up with Muschamp’s swamp rats. For those of you watching the South Carolina- Tennessee game, you witnessed one of the most gruesome injuries since LT broke Joe Theisman in half. The Tailgate sincerely wishes Marcus Lattimore a speedy recovery and hopefully we will see him at the next level on Sundays. And the biggest news out of Baton Rouge this weekend involved the Honey Badger in another off field incident. You see, when the Honey Badger (he really don’t care) plays in the weeds, he becomes Honey Boo Boo. Do you think he will look good in a tiara in the loseiana state penn? Say hi to Maurice Claret for us in your future endeavors. Bad Bad Badger!

    + Po Po  =














Congrats to the University of Misery as they score their first SEC win against the lowly Kentucky Mildcats.

Over at the Big 10 in the Probation Bowl, the Bucks clipped the Nitts at the Shoe. Sparty gets it back on track with a mild upset over the other Badgers, and Dennard goes down as do the Wolverines to the Corn Shuckers. In the PAC 12 Oregon rolls over the Buffs, OSU loses its first game and Rich Rod and the Wildcats shock USC and Lame Kiffin with a win in the desert. I will not point out how badly Lame Kitten was outcoached as others may stoop to do. See, I am staying mature on this embarrassment. Elsewhere, BC gets win # 2 over Randy Edsall and the lemons from College Park, MD. The Boise State Broncos take in the rarified air of Laramie, Wyoming and bucked the cowboys 45 -24. Hey Coach Christensen, how did you enjoy watching the game from home…mister integrity my arse. San Jose State is one win away from becoming bowl eligible with a win over Texas State (right I know, who the hell are they?).

Tradition of the week – The typical greeting in the state of Alabama as I heard it all weekend was a simple “roll tide”; response back was “roll tide”. I can’t quite get the accent down but it become more entertaining to hear the more beverages people consumed and then yelled it out.


Hit of the week:



Gripe of the week – Where is this “conversation” being held that the pundits always talk about? I hear about so and so “should now be part of the conversation” for the Heisman race. Such and Such a team should be part of “the conversation” for the National Championship. Coach X should be part of the conversation for the Vacancy at State U. I am really upset because I want in on this conversation….I have searched high and low, far and wide, to the ends of the earth and back for the location and people of this “Conversation”, but as it turns out, it is merely a figurative mythical conversation that has never been, is not, and will never be held. It is just more predictable speech from un-original pundits in the world of CFB who can only regurgitate what others have already said. Yeah that’s right; I am calling you out on Gameday and Fox Football and of course the schmucks on CBS and ABC. What happened to inventiveness and originality? Did it disappear with the deaths of Warner Wolff, Vin Scully and George Michael? Or perhaps Chris Berman & Keith Jackson may be the last original talking heads of our time. Okay, now that I have alerted you to this annoying issue I have a game for you to play: Every time you hear a talking head next Saturday utter the words “In the conversation” I want you to take a drink of scotch. Let me know the next morning how you are feeling. It should be fun and a good social ice breaker at whatever scene you are into!

Next week the Tailgate will be in Sacramento tending to my daughter’s youth soccer (partially) and locating a good table in a sports bar to catch all the action. I will not be making the trek to Boise as was previously planned.

I am looking for a guest writer to take over the blog the weekend of 11/17 as I will be on Vacation that weekend surfing, parasailing and scuba diving. Or I may just be sitting on the beach with a few libations. Nonetheless, I need someone to cover for me. Give it a shot, it’s a hoot.

Happy tailgating!

Tailgate Grounded

Tailgate HQ on Gameday

The Tailgate maintained a low profile and tended to family activities for the weekend which of course meant fitting in 15 or so games on TV as well as Gameday at 7 AM. Mrs. Tailgate wants you all to know this was not her request, it was mine solely. The HQ den was adorned with 3 separate screens going at once as well as an additional 1 in the bar. Featured games were Texas A&M v LSU, Notre Dame v BYU, Boise v UNLV, Bama v Tennessee, K- state v West Virginia. Oregon State v Utah and many more.

Visited Spanos stadium at Cal Poly earlier last week

Around the Country: In the PAC 10 the much anticipated matchup in Tempe turned into a one sided desert tsunami sustained by the Sun Devils. Coach Graham couldn’t catch his breath until the Ducks had put up 43 on ASU…….in the first half! In the Big Lame in Berkley, the Stanford Tree and its ridiculous Band walked out of Strawberry Canyon with a non controversial win on the 30th anniversary of “The Play”. Oregon State remains perfect in an ugly win over the Utes in Corvallis in the rain at night. Congratulations to “Snap” Barkley for setting the PAC 12 passing record against that Division III school from Colorado.

Big 12 - TTU and TCU played perhaps the game of the day (that I did not see) a triple OT win for the Red Raiders in Fort Worth. T2 (Tommy Tuberville) has the Red Raiduhs playing some serious ball! Baylor and Texas scored a whole bunch of points on each other. Does anyone remember the Alamo? Those Texas teams could use a defense of the likes of what Davey Crockett, Travis, Bowie, Houston and John Wayne did in 1854 defending that plot of land in Texas against Santa Ana.

Texas Teams should remember the Alamo!

The Cowpokes earned a mild upset over the Cyclones that were planning on storming through Stillwater and the Sooners hasten the involuntary retirement of Charlie Weiss with an annihilation of the Jayhawks in Norman. Kansas State marches into Morgantown in a showdown of Heisman favorites. It was not even close. The Mountaineer faithful are devastated. It was rumored that they hired a Medium to invoke the ghost of Senator “Klan Boy” Byrd to appeal to Congress for defense funds. Bill Snyder and Colin “Optimus” Klein were heard singing on their way out of Morgantown. Take a listen below and turn up volume:


SEC - Bama silences 107,000 orange clad fans singing Rocky Top and filling their troughs with orange liquid (It’s true). AJ McCarron remains perfect on the year, 16 TD’s and 0 Ints. How can you not put him in that proverbial Heisman conversation now? Mississippi State takes care of bidness over MTSU setting up my dream of an undefeated SEC game in Tuscaloosa next week. Look for me on TV in my hounds tooth hat. Here is a little video I put together to mark the journey:




Ahhhh and Johnny Football had the air let out of him as the Bayou Bengals christened Kyle Field into the SEC. Okay, I will finally give the Gators some props as they shut up the "ole ball coach" and his loud mouth soup in the swamp convincingly.

Big 10 - Don’t look now but State Penn is 6-2 after delivering a knockout punch in Iowa City to the cleverly clad fans wearing Sandusky fashioned pin stripes. In the battle of the glove state, too much Dennard and his shoelaces in the end as the Patrick Swayze led Wolverines take down Sparty. Northwestern was caught napping in the 4th quarter going down to the children of the corn at Ryan Field. There was more red than purple in the stands.

The Purple Cats taking their pre-game nap

Urban and the Buckeyes continue to live dangerously as they eek another one out against a school from the state of Indiana for the second consecutive week.




The angry Castelein sisters with Brutus at the OSU - Indiana game. Their Mom is way cool!


ACC - Bedlam in Durham as the Dukies become Bowl eligible for the first time since the Ole Ball Coach graced the sidelines in Kryzewskiville 20 years ago. The students stormed the field, albeit somewhat awkwardly as this is a new ritual for them. The other Death Valley in Clemson, SC killed the dreams for the Hokies having another 10 + win season and Florida State disabled the Canes in the battle of the Sunshine State.

Other - The Fighting Irish continue to live dangerously staying undefeated by sprinkling some Leprechaun pixie dust on the Cougars in South Bend. The Irish are poised to take on the Sooners in Norman, OK next week along with the ESPN Gameday crew. Any of my Sooner peeps want to wage a side bet? In a Blackout on the Blue Turf in Boise, the Broncos put some black and blue marks on an improved UNLV squad. Locally San Jose State sieges the Alamodome for a runaway win. One more win and the Spartans are Bowl eligible. Navy battles Indiana to a 31 – 30 victory, Air Force scores a direct hit with a win over New Mexico. Sadly, Army gets blitzed again by EMU on the road.

Tradition of the week - In Norman, Ok after every Sooner score, the Sooner Schooner (covered wagon for you metropolitanites)traverses the field and the Boomer Sooner song plays over the loud speaker with 80,000 Okies thoroughly enjoying the ritual. I am just hopeful we won’t see much of this ritual next week when the Irish come calling.

Boomer Sooner

Hit of the week – Turn your sound up, pretty funny. This kid will take up theatre now.


Gripe of the week – oh what the heck, Mark May. I still can’t stand him and he has grown more pompous than ever. This is the first repeat “Gripe of The Week” in the history of the Tailgate. His likeability rating has to be the worst on ESPN, next to Colin CowTurd. This week, the big baby stormed off the set when he lost a decision to Lou Holtz on their little mock court. It doesn’t help him that he despises every team I like. Here is what the Boise faithful think of you May Day!

Next Week – The Tailgate will be hosted by Alabama Al in Tuscaloosa and joined by Tennessee Tony to partake in all the festivities of the Bama - MSU game at the historic Bryant Denny Stadium. Was thinking of buying a checkered fedora and a red sports coat for the occasion. Thoughts?

Happy Tailgating!