National Tailgating Day (It was the first Saturday of September, a day I will always remember.)

Too much burnt orange can cause CTE

To finish off my whirlwind 12-day adventure consisting of tailgating, football, family and work, I landed in Austin, Texas on 9/7 to celebrate National Tailgating Day. My “side hustle” (as my #1 daughter calls it) Tailgate Connect®, in conjunction with Horn–Ball Tailgate, reached out to Luke Lorick from Tailgating Challenge (Http://www.tailgating-challenge.com) on a grand idea we had. Luke is also the founder of National Tailgating Day and happens to live a mere two hours from Austin. So, with that in mind we invited Luke to join us for the Tailgate of the year in Austin as the ESPN College Gameday crew and the LSU Tigers were invading the city of electric scooters that weekend. Ryan Lepper, the proprietor of the notorious Horn-Ball tailgate was expecting a record crowd for this epic matchup. His expectations were exceeded as everything truly is bigger in Texas.

Guess who's name is Sketchy?

Despite the 103 degree heat with high humidity, the crowd at the tailgate was epic, breaking all attendance records for Horn-Ball. Ryan telecasted the event to all the Twin Peaks restaurants in the Austin area. Luke and his side kick “Sketchy”(love that name) grabbed the mic and set up a few drinking games and awarded the winners with some amazing tailgating related products including a Tailgate Connect package for two to a Texas tailgate in the future. A great mix of LSU and Long Horn fans filled the massive tents creating a sea of purple and burnt orange. One of our hosts from LSU, USMC James Roy and his crew were in attendance as well. Last I saw James, he was feeding from the ice luge. The famed Austin Anthony Felder spun the discs (well, not really actually spinning anymore), the beer and cocktails flowed and the food from Blue Top food truck consisting of brisket and fried shrimp tacos, boudin, jambalaya, catfish and sausages were served at a record pace. I was their personal taste tester throughout the day. Games were played and the infamous ice luge races were run all day. Twin Peaks girls served up shots of Fireball and the envious walked by the affair and wished they could partake. Tailgate Connect hired two San Antonio Spurs Dancers to be our Game Day Ambassadors and sign people up on the street while wearing our logo’d tank tops. I had prior approval from Mrs. Tailgate as she is all about the Benjamíns! In all, Horn-Ball Tailgate set a record with over 3,000 guests. Tailgate Connect also enjoyed its largest ticket sales to date. After a day of too much fun, I departed Austin. 

Texas Rose and Boots, Tailgate Connect has come a long way and the chug off

Tia Maria's salsa up but ...horns still down!

Opting not to pay the hijacked rates for the  LSU/UT game, I instead headed 30 miles south to San Marcos, TX to watch the Wyoming Cowboys take on the Texas State Bobcats. Another new venue checked off the list as Texas State only became D1 A within the last five years after being a D1 AA power for a number of years. The problem with my goal of going to a game at all D1 A stadiums is that they keep moving the goalposts back. When I started, the number was 117 schools. That number has now swelled to 130. It would be like the summit of Mount Everest growing another 1,000 feet after you started the climb. Regardless, Bobcat Stadium is a great recently refurbished stadium that seats around 30,000.  However, it was less than half full as I am sure many people stayed home to watch the Texas/LSU game on TV.  The concession stands served legit brisket, pulled pork and smoked sausage on a stick. As far as traditions go, when the song the Eyes of Texas was played by the band, after the word Texas, the crowd in unison yelled STATE.  Also, there was some sort of an attempt of a Texas yell that sounded more like an ISIS jihad calling. 

Taking in the sights and sounds of Bobcat Stadium

Wyoming coming off a major upset of Mizou the previous week were the heavy favorites. The Bobcats dominated the first half action while leading 14-10 going into halftime. the Cowboys coming down from the high altitude in Laramie found their sea legs and the second half by shutting Texas State down and scoring 13 more points themselves. Final score Wyoming 23, TX State 14. I returned home this AM on a 0600 flight from San Antonio. My dog was at least glad to see me.

Around the Country – The battle in Austin lived up to its hype and Lee Corso’s prediction of a Tiger triumph would come to fruition. Despite Sam Ehlingher throwing for 400 yards, the Longhorn defense had no answer for the Tiger offense and their trio of receivers and stud QB Joe Burrow. All right all right all right! 

This kid will be bullied for the rest of the second grade!

In the much-anticipated rematch of last year’s battle in College Station, the Texas A&M Aggies traveled to Death Valley, SC to face the #1 ranked Clemson Tigers. The final score of 24-10 for Clemson was not indicative of the sound beating imposed upon the Aggies. In what would have been the second biggest upset in Big House history, the Army Black Knights took the Michigan Wolverines to double OT before finally succumbing to them. You could hear Harbaugh’s sigh of relief all the way in Columbus, OH. In a classic Big 8 battle (See who get’s that one) Colorado out pointed the resurgent Nebraska Cornhuskers in Boulder. But why rush the field when you beat Nebraska, the 2019 edition? Is Maryland back after scoring more points in their first 2 games than probably all games combined last year? With a resounding thumping of Syracuse yesterday, will the Turtles be taken seriously this year. And dare I ask if USC has found their next great QB after storming back last night to thoroughly dominate Stanford in a 45-20 win? Also, in the PAC 12, the conference’s hope of a college football playoff may have been already placed in jeopardy as 14^th ranked UW lost to Cal by 1 in Seattle. Utah remains as it’s only hope if they can run the table. 

Bieber Award – I know he is in the NFL and not relevant to college football (he did play at Central Michigan though), but how can I ignore the drama that is Antonio Brown? I will be short in my recap. First of all, he burned all bridges to Pittsburgh with his shenanigans there last year and his bad mouthing of anyone and everyone in the Steelers organization. Then he comes to the Oakland Raiders amidst much fanfare. By the start of training camp, it was determined he could not play because he had essentially burned the bottom of his feet off in an Austin Powers Cryogenics machine in France over the summer. Once his feet healed, he then used the excuse of not wanting to adhere to the NFL’s assigned helmets which were created to mitigate severe head trauma. His Divaness demanded that he wear his tried and true favorite helmet from his days gone by or he wasn’t playing. Raiders GM Mike Mayock finally tiring of his delay tactics and Snowflake mentality, decided to fine him in a private manner. AB as he is known, which I think stands for Ass Backwards, decided to take the letter showing his fine and post it on social media and bitch about it. After this failed attempt to get the public on his side, it was rumored he would finally be suspended, and we were all pleased with the decision. However, super douche Agent Dru Rosenhaus intervened and got AB unsuspended and indicated all was good and he would allegedly play Monday night. No apology from AB. Only a clearly scripted statement he mumbled in an indiscernible language saying he was looking forward to rejoining his teammates. The next thing we know, the Raiders cut AB Saturday morning after having enough of his distractions. Sure enough, the Bill Belicheck Outward Bound Program in New England signed him to a one-year deal so he could hang with the NFL’s other poster boy Josh Gordon. Along with your fine, stupidity, firing and selfishness MR. AB, you have some nice Bieber hardware to comfort you for the rest of your life.  And please stop texting me to hang out and get to work, would ya?


Ginger Award (Badass) – As I mentioned last week, I attended the Collision Course Crew tailgate prior to the Louisville v Notre Dame game. After the haze of the moonshine has finally worn off, I have retraced my steps and pieced my memory back together. I got to meet and spend a good amount of time with one of the founders of Collision Course, Craig Pennington. A mere two weeks prior, Craig lost his wife Sallie to a 14-year battle with that awful cancer. She was 44 years young. There was a memorial board for Sallie inside the trailer with pictures of her, full of life and smiling. Sallie too had been a very big part of the Collision Crew Tailgate. Craig, knowing Sallie wanted him to be at the tailgate and to live his life to its fullest, braved the situation and joined his brethren and many friends to celebrate Sallie and kick off the season. Clearly a very difficult day for Craig, he stood tall like a man and greeted guests and did his best to enjoy the moment. As difficult as the situation was, all his friends would not have wanted it any other way and needed Craig there. For that my new friend, you are this week’s awardee of our heralded Ginger award, that goes to someone for doing something extremely badass, courageous or brave. You checked off all three boxes. Continued prayers for you brother.


Next Week – We will be heading South on Interstate 5 to Pasadena to host a sold-out tailgate and watch the Oklahoma Sooners take on the UCLA Bruins. If you didn’t buy a ticket to the tailgate you can either stand 20 yards away from us and watch us have fun or donate a half a keg for entry. You know who I am talking to. Otherwise, keep moving. We have a bartender, a Deep Eddy bar and ample vodkas, kegs and other spirits, a Chef with an incredible menu, a J Riley Bourbon Distillery pouring bourbons, a ton of tailgate games, Satellite TV theater, raffling off prizes and a tailgate King and Queen award. We have tailgate hosts all over the country in both college and the NFL so go to www.tailgateconnect.com and sign up. If you are on my blog distribution list, use the code FFAN for a discount. Get off the couch and live the tailgating life friends!

Happy Tailgating!

Bourbon Trailgating

Year five of my Labor Day college football experience with college buddy Jim Tubby Devine is now in the books. A flight into Chicago and a five-hour drive in a convertible clown car down to Cincinnati kicked off the now annual ritual. With games and tailgates at the Universities of Cincinnati, Kentucky and Louisville along the Bourbon trail over a five day span, pacing ourselves would be key. But then again maybe not.

What's a tailgate without Dad candy whiskey?

First up was the University of Cincinnati matchup up against UCLA on Thursday night at Nippert Stadium on the city campus.  We were hosted by Tailgate Connect® tailgate hosts; The Den and the Red and Black Brigade. The Den had a tricked-out tailgate trailer that has been in the organization for a dozen or so years. They also had a DJ ripping out tunes to get the crowd rocking. The Red and Black Brigade had a great bar set up and one of the few shady spots on the grid on this hot late afternoon. Cold Beer and grilled protein and a sense of excitement not felt since the Brian Kelly era of Bearcat football. Tailgating takes place in the heart of campus called Sigma Sigma Grid. Tents only for the most part unless you were in the tailgate alley row where trailers are allowed. We were accosted by the lovely Cheerleaders (feeling like creepy Uncle Joe again) and entertained by the Marching Band. 

Upper left, Justin Nutting of Red and Black, Brandon Trame of the Den, The Den's rig and me terrorizing a Bruin fan.

Creepy Uncle Tubby

Nippert Stadium which has been around for over 100 years was rocking as the fans and students had high expectations after last year’s 11 -win season. A great smaller stadium nestled in between a number of structures right in the middle of campus provides a perfect college football setting. We entered in time to see their tradition of the Marching Band running down the steps to take the field before kickoff. Not only did they serve beer in the stadium, they had the beer man selling it to you in your seats. The power 5 UCLA Bruins out of the PAC 12 looked significantly larger and meaner. Their fans whom we sat amongst have also set their sights high for the season. This would be Chip Kelly’s second season at the helm after returning to the college ranks. Despite the size difference and alleged talent advantage, the Bearcats thoroughly dominated the action on the field outgaining the bigger Bruins by a large margin offensively. The final score of 24-14 was not indicative of the mauling the Bearcats put on the Baby Bears. Questions abound on whether the game has already passed old Chipper by. 


Day two was a quick hour drive down to Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington for a day of rehydration, a few beers, pool time and a giant steak dinner in order to prepare for the following morning tailgate at Kentucky. Up and at it early Saturday AM, we ubered the 5 miles down to the massive parking lots surrounding Kroger Field at Commonwealth Stadium. Thanks to another college buddy Dino Manzoni (Baltimore Crime Family Member), we connected with Tommy Lynch and his crew for a great morning tailgate in the green lot next to the stadium. Cold Budweiser product including a 10:30 AM beer chug ala John Belushi, live streamed on Facebook, grilled venison and beef burgers, ribs, wings and other great chow was consumed. 

Tommy Lynch, Mike, Jamie and Kim our hosts with the Belushi Twins.

We entered the stadium a little late to catch the singing of My Old Kentucky Home which is the big game day tradition for Wildcat football. The Catz are coming off their first ten-win season in like ………forever! All Americans Benny Snell and Josh Allen have moved on to the NFL leaving major talent and leadership voids. Regardless, this historic basketball school has set the bar of expectations very high for 2019. The Wildcats were facing MAC conference power Toledo in sweltering heat on this day. Toledo jumped out to an early lead and for the most part outplayed Kentucky throughout the first half. The teams went into the locker room all knotted up at 14 apiece. If they sold beer in this stadium, they would have made a killing for this game. I was thirsty! Within 15 minutes, one third of the crowd went to seek shade in the concourse and watch the game from there. A big plus was that the grand old stadium had chick fil A for sale. We took advantage of that. Kentucky’s size and speed were too much for the scrappy Rockets in the second half as they pulled ahead and never relinquished the lead. Final score had the Cats on top 38-24. Back to the hotel pool for rehydration and rejuvenation. 

"They took the bar, the whole 4u@$^ing bar!

It was time to say goodbye to our anchor spot for the long weekend and leave Lexington for Louisville on Monday afternoon. Louisville was hosting Notre Dame for the 8 PM Eastern game. The Cardinals were coming off a disappointing 2018 campaign and coach Bobby Petrino was no more, having been replaced by Scott Satterfield. In 2018, Notre Dame ascended into the coveted CFB CFP. They would be returning 14 starters. On paper this would not be a great matchup. But first thing fist, we went to another awesome Tailgate Connect® tailgate called the Collision Course Crew headed up by Wild Bill jones, Craig Pennington, Bryan, Garrett, Kevin, Justice and a posse of too many great folks.  

The C3 Crew

We were given a tour of their amazing refurbished tailgate trailer complete with a full bar and four flat screen TVs. We were honored to be asked to sign their guest plaque that was affixed to the wall. There was also a full bar outside, a DJ and more food than your grandma could force you to eat. Pulled pork, wings, ribs, brisket an assortment of sides were served up as well. We were treated to beer, bourbon and ball dropping apple pie moonshine. I still can’t see straight! The Collision Course Crew recently lost two very important people tragically. They were given a toast and a tribute by one of their members. We met their super fan who covers himself in body paint and paints a beak on his nose and wears a big bird wig. We talked with so many people that have great stories about their passion for tailgating and Cardinals football. Once again, we have made some new friends for life.

The C3 rig

Jello world!

Sights and sounds of the tailgate

Wild Bill Jones and a stray Irish fan

Tubby and Bron Bron

Birds of a feather

As Dusk started approaching, it was time to make the trek into the stadium along with 59,000 other people. It was announced that this was the largest crowd in Louisville history. It was black out night in Cardinal stadium (formerly Papa John’s) to add to the already loud buzz in the air. Notre Dame received the kickoff and scored easily on its first possession. However, Louisville answer right back with a scoring drive of their own. Much of the rest of the first half was like an Ali/Frazier match with each side punching and counter punching and staying in the fight. Although Notre Dame was heavily favored, Louisville under new management was not about to roll over for the Fighting Irish. It was not until late into the third quarter that Notre Dame took full control of the game and went on to win by a score of 35-17.  Hail to Hail to Old Notre Dame……..

With the game ending after 11 Pm at night, that meant the long epic weekend was over and it was time to return to our parallel universes.


Around the country - Old Macky is back in town! Ancient Coach Mack Brown stepped back onto the gridiron for the first time this decade at one of his former schools, the University of North Carolina. He succeeded in getting a big rivalry win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. He cried afterward and even attempted to dance doing his geriatric gyrations in the locker room. It was also good to see the Mad Hatter Les Miles chewing blades of grass again, this time in Lawrence, KS. He too earned a victory for the Jayhawks. Upset of the day goes without saying, whereby the 25-point favorite Tennessee Volunteers lost at home to lowly Georgia State. Boise State’s come from behind win over Florida State in Tallahassee was reminiscent of the Broncos of years past. Choke of the day was Oregon surrendering a significant lead and losing on the final play to Auburn. Jalen Hurts was simply amazing in his debut with Oklahoma and his potential run for the Heisman. Jake Fromm was steady as usual in UGA’s conference win over Vandy.  Many Power 5 schools dropped games to non-power 5 schools putting blemishes on their prestigious conferences.

Mrs. Tailgate with Everybody's All American Cristian Luciano and #3 at UW game

Don't let this happen to you, go to www.tailgateconnect.com!

Bieber – Pretty easy choice for me. Do you have that one friend who talks a big game, but never actually shows up at anything? Then they have the nerve to criticize you all weekend long on social media from the secure confines of their safe space? Kind of like the guy who makes fun of all his friends on the dance floor but is too afraid to go out there himself (oh wait, that would be me. I hate dancing and it is fun to rip on those dorks). Well anyway, I digress, the days leading up to our epic Labor Day trailgating adventure, college roommate Chip Shrek Hayden threatened to join us. He then proceeded to make very “my dog ate my homework” excuse in the world to not go. All we heard was blah blah blah. So as predictable as day turning to night, once again the repeat offending Ogre did not show. Instead, he took shots at us all weekend on Facebook and even made some lame attempt to encourage us to come to his home state for college football. Why would we do that knowing he wouldn’t even be allowed to go to those games? Along with some crayons and playdough we are getting for your safe space, Sir Shrek you will take possession of this week’s Bieber hardware. Own it with honor son!


Ginger – goes to the Jackson State Mascot. After a tussle for the ball in the end zone between players from Bethune Cookman and Jackson State, the mascot decided to take matters into his own paws. A JS player had apparently scored a touchdown, but the BC defenders tried wrestling the ball away from him. The Mascot, a Bengal Tiger was having none of it. The large predator bull rushed the pile and starting mauling helpless Jackson State Wildcat players. After the Cat fight, the big Tiger was given an unsportsmanlike 15 - yard penalty. He then proceeded to preen and purr for the camera. A hate crime investigation is now underway. Mr. Tiger, your team may have lost but you my furry feline friend are this week’s badass of the week!


Next week – headed to Austin, TX Saturday AM for National Tailgating Day at the famed Texas Horn- Ball Tailgate. We will be joined by 3,000 guests wearing purple and burnt orange along with our friends from Tailgating Challenge. They will be live streaming on social media throughout the day and raffling off prizes. I will leave the tailgate in Austin and make my way down to San Marcos for Texas State’s home opener against the Wyoming Cowboys.

Happy Tailgating!

Dan

2019 Season Primer

In the off season of the explosion of the “Transfer Portal” phenomena, we have finally entered the month when the real games begin again. Veteran QBs will be suiting up for new teams all over the country. I am okay with the rule for grad transfers, but not for underclassman being able to transfer and play right away at the FBS level. I think it plays to the snowflake mentality of “oooooo I can’t start here, so I am going to quit and try somewhere else and find a safe space and get a participation trophy.” Oh well enough griping and on to more important topics like the upcoming season, off season Bieber and Ginger awardees, and the DFT 2019 Schedule. 

I have been very busy working with the team at my venture Tailgate Connect® in the off season. We have taken the company to a whole new level since the end of last season. In addition to adding to our college markets, we have added 6 NFL markets and are working on a seventh. Please remember to check our website before you go to a game to see if we have a Tailgate to accommodate you!

  www.tailgateconnect.com

New Canopy for games I will host

I have been given the moniker of a college football polygamist since I have multiple teams I root for: Born a Notre Dame fan, adopted Oklahoma in the 80s when I lived there and reinvigorated my passion for them when #2 matriculated through their hallowed halls, became a Boise fan when #1 went there during the Kellen Moore era, Army since that is my branch, and of course my Alma Mater, the now Division 2 mighty Bobcats of Frostburg State.

Bronkos Boathaus, University of Minnesota

 

Here is this season’s ambitious schedule along with 7-10 Monte Vista high school games. 

·       8/29 – UCLA at Cincinnati

·       9/1 -Toledo at Kentucky

·       9/3 – Notre Dame at Louisville

·       9/7 – LSU at Texas tailgate /Wyoming at Texas State game *

·       9/14 – Oklahoma at UCLA

·       9/28 – Colorado State at Utah State

·       10/3 – GA Southern at South Alabama

·       10/7 – Cleveland Browns at Sn Francisco 49ers

·       10/12– Florida at LSU

·       10/17 – UCLA at Stanford

·       10/26 – Notre Dame at Michigan

·       11/2 – Boise at SJSU

·       11/9 – Penn State at Minnesota

·       11/16 – Last Chance U, Laney at Chabot

·       11/30 – Notre Dame at Stanford

·       12/14 – Army v Navy

·       Bowl Season – games TBD

Horn-Ball Tailgate in Austin, TX

Bieber Award –

The off season gives us much in the form of Bieberiety and that makes it hard for the Bieber committee to select just one awardee. Nonetheless the beat goes on and this off season we must focus on the mythical transfer portal for underclassman that allows them to play right away. In the past, when an underclassman transferred to another D1 A school, it was mandatory to sit out that next season. With the transfer portal (Beam Me Up Scotty), we have now created in essence college football free agency. Moreover, we have encouraged the participation trophy generation to pack up their toys and go elsewhere if they are not getting their way. The message that is being conveyed is, “it’s okay to quit and give up” with no repercussions. You get to go and play right away wherever you want. Just remember, Tom Brady was a backup at Michigan for a chunk of his career. How did that work out for him? Just this week, everyone’s favorite spoiled brat Tate Martell who ran away from Ohio State at the smell of competition to Miami, has now lost out to be the starter there. Watch him transfer again. He is the Justin Bieber of college football! In total, this off season, there were several hundred players in this mythical transfer portal.

Kocka Tailgate at LSU

 

Ginger Award – 

For someone doing something badass or just being a badass.

Off season Ginger goes to my good friend John Wintersteen who left this earth on July 27^th of this year. John was an avid follower of this blog and a big college football fan. John was a Marine who during the height of the Iraq war started a non-profit called Project marine Care. His organization sent thousands of care packages to our men and women serving our great country on foreign soil. The responses and letters he received was so telling as to how much his efforts were appreciated. John was one of the most selfless individuals I have ever met, and he will be missed dearly. John you simply were a hero and badass in your life and you touched all who knew you. Semper Fi Marine!

LCPL John Wintersteen, 2nd from R

Happy Tailgating!