Parents Trap

 

First, my apologies for the delay in this week’s scribing. We were in the great state of Texas beginning our search for the new DFT World HQ the past few days. There was no time to put my foggy remembrances of our weekend in the altitude of Colorado to print. As for the weekend, Mrs.Tailgate and I swooped into Boulder, CO, for Parents Weekend for our youngest DFTer, #3. The capstone event of the weekend, of course, would be the CU Buffaloes game against the Arizona Wildcats. There would also be an NFL bonus on Sunday to be described later. 

 

Thursday night was spent on the world famous Pearl Street in Boulder for people watching and dinner. However, the cold air of the evening kept the unwashed and entertainment to a minimum. Friday evening we attended #3’s sorority red dress gala supporting heart health at the convention center in downtown Denver. With all the adulting behind us, the main event loomed on Saturday with a kickoff time of 1:30 Mountain. The legendary Sink Bar n Grill was calling our name for a morning Mary to kick things off. #3 and her posse corralled us and took us to the Theta Xi fraternity house on “The Hill'' for proper pregaming and collegiate debauchery. This included fireball shots, two-story beer funnels, shotgunning beers and more. After thoroughly immersing ourselves in Theta Xi culture, we made a brief pit stop at another frat house where I swear I saw John Belushi, who said “Sure, come on in, it don’t cost nothing.” Then off to the game it was as we made the ¾ mile walk from The Hill to the stadium.

 

Pre game action on The Hill.

We came. We saw. We conquered.

This would be the third game for me at beautiful Folsom Field on the campus of CU Boulder, but my first as a tuition-paying parent. The stadium setting is one of the most spectacular in all of college football. The Flatiron mountains rest to the west with the bleachers fading into buildings. The north end zone is carved out with unique configurations that give the stadium so much personality. The seminal event for any CU Buffalo game is to watch Ralphie the Buffalo race onto the field prior to each half. This is the first year Ralphie the IV has run. Ralphie the IV is a mere pup weighing in at under 500 pounds. To put this in perspective, the previous Ralphie weighed 1,200 pounds. Regardless, there is nothing as awe inspiring as watching man and beast in synchronization running the field together to the exuberance and cheers of 50,000+ fans. Ralphie the IV did not disappoint on this beautiful fall mountain afternoon. 

 

Beautiful Folsom Field and my handlers.

Both CU and UoA came into the game experiencing down seasons with matching 1-4 records. CU’s defense has been stellar for the most part this season, but with an offense that had not been producing, it found itself on the field way too much. UoA just appears to not have great talent to work with and has struggled in all facets of the game. On this day, we witnessed CU put all the pieces of the puzzle together with a stellar offensive and defensive effort along with special teams. Danville native and All American candidate Nate Landman would lead the defense to a shutout and assist the team in putting up 34 points against the Cats’ zero.

 

Post-game festivities included a trip back to Pearl Street for chow and posting up at a bar to watch Oklahoma behind Caleb Williams dominate a feisty TCU squad. On Sunday, I would host a work event at Empower Field in Denver with a tailgate run by Bullseye Events for the Broncos game against the Las Vegas Raiders. 

 

Statue of old Mile High stadium, Bullseye Events tailgate and the Broncos game at Empower Field.

Around the Country - As the phrase has now been coined, Purdue beat the #2 out of Iowa in the biggest upset of the weekend as the second-ranked Hawkeyes fell from playoff contention. On the Left Coast, Oregon squeaked by lowly Cal on Friday night in Eugene. In ACC action, a resurgent NC State Wolfpack team clipped the wings of the Eagles of BC in Chestnut Hill. In SEC action, Ole Miss topped Tennessee at Rocky Top. Lane Kiffin has grown into one of the more entertaining interviews in college football, win or lose. Mike Gundy and the Pokes went down to Austin and lassoed the Longhorns to stay perfect on the season. Cincinnati is the best Group of Five team period. They absolutely thrashed perennial Group of Five powerhouse UCF on Saturday. In other Group of Five news, Coastal Carolina, SDSU and UTSA still remain undefeated.

 

Don't be this guy, go to www.tailgateconnect.com for a real tailgate!

The Eagle Tailgaters all back in action this fall after a long stint on the DL.Yes, those are Lobstuh tails!

The Roscoe Ross Tailgate cooking up a steer for the OU vs TCU game

Yeti sighting at the San Jose State game,

Ginger -  This guy!

 

Bieber -

The State of Washington and Washington State University have earned the Bieber hardware for their unconstitutional and draconian stance on forcing state employees to be vaccinated or axeinated from their jobs. Just so was the case with Wazu head Coach Nick Rolovich and four of his assistants who chose not to accept the forced vaccine for their own personal reasons. So the Communist Government of the People’s Republic of Washintonia fired all five of these coaches “for cause,” meaning they will not be paid the remainder of their contracts. This is beyond ridiculous and cruel but not surprising coming from the pencil-necked pariahs of public service out of Olympia, Washington, who have never held real jobs and enact lunatic government edicts for sport. So as your gift, State of Washington and the obedient and blind sheep President of Washington State University, you get a lifetime to cuddle with your new Bieber hardware.

 

Next Up - A trip to Bezerkely on Saturday as the Colorado Buffaloes come to town to take on the Cal Bears. Pregaming will commence at 11 a.m. at Raleighs on Telegraph avenue. A slight chance of a bonus game too. :)

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Happy Tailgating!

 

Me and Mini Me

 

October is the greatest time of the year — the leaves change colors, the temperature becomes cooler, the air is crisp and the sun rides a little lower in the sky. For sports fans, there is also no better time: MLB playoffs are underway, NHL regular season is commencing, the NFL is in full swing and college football, with its unpredictability and beautiful imperfections, begins its crescendo for the important stanza of the season. This past Saturday was the Picasso of all college football Saturdays. Upsets, imperfections and chaos abounded across the entire CFB landscape.

The Tailgate stayed in the 925 and had the pleasure of Tailsitting my 10 month-old grandson and mini me. College football is now firmly in his blood. The marquee game at the new DFT World HQ was the Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas, played annually at the iconic Cotton Bowl in Dallas, during the Texas State Fair. The Cotton Bowl sits approximately halfway between the respective schools. The fairgrounds are covered in people wearing crimson and burnt orange for this hallowed event. Grandson, dog and self donned our crimson and cream attire and settled in for a game that will be talked about for generations to come. Texas brought the energy early and often, scoring on their first drive, then blocking a punt and converting the turnover into another quick score. Before Oklahoma knew what hit them, they were staring at a 14-0 deficit. The Sooners would punch one in on a Bart Simpson, errrr I mean Spencer Rattler five yard run. Then Longhorns QB Casey Thompson, son of former OU QB Charles, proceeded to engineer two more scoring drives to put the Horns up 28-7 to close out the first set. The rout was on. Me and mini me took a walk around the hood to reduce my heart rate and control my breathing. It worked. I came back to the house to the news that OU backup freshman QB Caleb WIlliams, who had been in for one play, ripped off a 66 yard run for a score. Two series later, Williams would permanently replace an ineffective Rattler, perhaps pulling a modern day Wally Pipp. A legend was born as Williams led a rejuvenated Sooner squad to an unimaginable comeback by making plays and exuding incredible leadership for a true freshman. He is what has been missing for the Sooners all season: a leader the team will die for. Final score, OU 52 - Texas 45 in another Red River Classic.

Mini Me getting a dose of college football fever

Around the Country - Two boyhood friends from West Virginia met up in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, leading their respective teams into battle. #1 Alabama coached by Nick Saban against unranked Texas A&M coached by his friend Jimbo Fisher. Virtual lock, right? Wrong. A&M finally put all of its talent together and played above their abilities, shocking the indomitable Tide by winning 41-38. The students stormed the field. In Iowa City, Iowa, the Hawkeyes shocked the Nittany Lions of Penn State by coming out on top 23-20 in a prototype Big Ten matchup. Yes, the students also stormed the field. In the Bieber Bowl featuring the two worst D1 AA teams UCAN’T vs. UMESS, UMESS pulled off the upset in Amherst, MA, and…….the students stormed the field. 

The storming of the fields! Guess which one is UMass?

 

In another amazing game, Ole Miss beat Arkansas in Oxford 52-51 after the Razorbacks scored and failed on a two point conversion. Katy Perry was not in attendance so the students did not storm the field. Previously undefeated BYU lost a shocker to Boise State at home in Provo beneath the Wasatch Mountains. In the ACC, Wake Forest advanced to 6-0 with an overtime win over Syracuse. Out West on Friday night in the PAC 12, Arizona State and coach Herm Edwards knocked the sap out of the Cardinal from Stanford. Five “Group of Five” teams to watch remain unbeaten after this weekend and in the hunt: Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, SMU, San Diego State and UTSA.

Lucky Irish socks 

 

Bieber -

Goes to our old friend, the holier than thou and higher than mighty, none other than the Urban Cowboy himself, Urban Meyer. The former Ohio State, Florida, Utah and Bowling Green coach seems to have been caught with his pants down metaphorically speaking. Meyer currently is the head man for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. He is off to a dismal start as the Jags are 0-4. So, after their last loss, Meyer was spotted back in his home state of Ohio at one of his bars that he owns. That’s cool, everyone needs a beer or two to blow off some steam. But damn, Urban, you do know what smartphones can do, right? Social Media is this thing where people can post real time pictures and videos of pretty much anything. It’s why I am such a choir boy myself these days. Apparently he does not know better as he was repeatedly filmed getting FUBARed all evening doing shots and cozying up to pretty young ladies a third his age. It’s not the crime, Urban, that you committed, it's your stupidity for allowing the evening to be documented in such a graphic way. Your tenure in Jacksonville was already in jeopardy before your big night out, but this may be the last straw. However, please take solace in your Bieber statue!

 

Ginger- For all those fans all over the country chanting “Let’s Go Brandon” at college football games and other sporting events. It’s really kind of catchy, brave and heroic. (Only a few will get this :) ) 

 

 

Next up - Off to enjoy a rocky mountain high for parents weekend at the University of Colorado with my youngest for the game against Arizona. I will also be attending a tailgate and game on Sunday for the Denver Broncos.

 

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Happy Tailgating!

Take a Bite Out of the Apple

The Tailgate made its way to Manhattan, KS, a.k.a. The Little Apple, for the epic Big 12 clash between the host Kansas State Wildcats and the visiting Sooners from Oklahoma. Coming into the match, the Wildcats had knocked off the Sooners the past two seasons. Could they make it three in a row? I was joined on this leg of my journey by my college buddy and designated driver, Jerry Buck Hampton, who now hails from the State of Virginia. This was my final Big 12 school to attend a game at, thus closing out my third Power Five conference in my quest to pre-game and attend a game at all 129 Division 1 schools.

On Saturday morning we made our way to the campus of Kansas State, parked our car and road marched to the off-campus bar area called Aggieville. Aggievillle is a lively little area with pubs, restaurants and lots of activity on a game weekend. We planted ourselves on two bar stools at Kites Bar n Grill and made friends with both purple and white and crimson and cream clad patrons. $14 all you can eat buffet, cold draft beer, Bloody Marys and TVs everywhere with games on had us not wanting to leave the cozy confines of this fine establishment. Nonetheless, we did eventually leave and made our way back toward the stadium. We made a pit stop at a tailgate hosted by Wildcat fan Luke Pauls and his family and friends. Then it was off to the stadium for a 2:30 kickoff.

Tailgating with the Cat Clan!

The skies had darkened and the air had cooled considerably with the threat of thunderstorms by the time we entered the stadium. Speaking of which, the stadium is named after legendary coach Bill Snyder and his family. In fact, the highway into Manhattan is also named after him. Coach Snyder taught this university how to be relevant in the sport of football not once but twice. He built an incredibly strong and consistent program that spanned parts of three decades over two stints at the helm. The structure of the stadium is a beautiful, intimate cathedral that has seen many upgrades in recent history. Although it is not enormous, it retains the crowd noise and makes it one of the loudest in the Big 12.

The venerable Snyder stadium and Kites Bar N Grill

The Kansas State faithful were excited on this day as their sixth year super senior QB Skylar Thompson was returning to action after being injured since week one. The student section was hopped up on purple kool-aid infused with goodness and remained loud and engaged throughout the day. The stadium was near capacity. Our seats were strategically located just below one of the in-stadium beer gardens, which I would become well acquainted with throughout the day. Kansas State came into the match with a 3-1 record and Oklahoma 4-0. Both fan bases would have you believe that neither team has played up to their potential yet this year.

The game started with KSU putting together a long drive that ended on the OU 11 yard line with a fumble that was returned by Nick Bonito all the way to the KSU 19 yard line. OU would only get a field goal off of the turnover. Skylar Thompson would lead the Cats on two scoring drives for a 10-3 lead with momentum on the side of KSU. Oklahoma would respond with 10 more points of their own to take the lead and momentum into the locker room at halftime. The much maligned OU QB Spencer Rattler put together his best performance of the year by completing 22 out of 25 passes for two touchdowns on the day. The game remained competitive throughout the second half, but OU’s offensive weapons more than made up for their own porous defensive secondary. Final score: Oklahoma 37, Kansas State 31. We made haste for our strategically located Batmobile and set course back to Kansas City.

 

 Stadium action

Around the Country - The three games that the college football world built up to be the best games of the year turned out to be snoozers with a combined score of 103-34. What three games, you ask? Alabama put down Ole Miss 41-21, UGA destroyed Arkansas 37-0 and Cincinnati topped the Golden Domers 24-13. Notable upsets saw Oregon go down on the Farm at Stanford along with the hopes of the PAC 12 making the CFB playoffs. Too bad there were no fans there to witness the Cardinal win. In the Bluegrass State, the Wildcats of Kentucky took a bite out of the Florida Gators’ season by beating them at home for the first time since Reagan was El Presidente. The Old Pirate Mike Leach and his Mississippi State Bulldogs got the best of the Aggies from Texas A&M in College Station, TX. Wake Forest behind the arm of QB1 Sam Hartman remains the only undefeated team in the ACC after slipping past the Louisville Red Birds. SMU led by Sooner transfer QB Tanner Mordecai are another Group of Five team to keep your eye on. They improved to 5-0 after dominating South Florida 41-17. In Stillwater, OK, the mulleted Mike Gundy and his Cowpokes knocked off the Baylor Bears in a battle of undefeateds.

DFTers at tailgates and games at Boise, Navy and Oregon State

Ginger -

Goes to Gavin Adcock, fifth year senior defensive lineman for Georgia Southern (GA SO), for grabbing a beer out of the air, thrown by a fan, while standing on top of the team bus and chugging it. More importantly, this was during the team’s entrance to the stadium before their game with Louisiana. If that doesn’t fire up a crowd, I don’t know what will. In fact, Webster's needs to put his picture next to the word “badass” in its good book. However, GA SO AD, Jared Benko, who happens to be Adam Schiff’s doppelganger, didn’t agree with this herculean feat. He promptly kicked Adcock off the team and was so reactionary he fired the head coach after the loss. Mind you, GA SO Head Coach, Mark Lundsford, had led the team to three straight bowl games the past three seasons. He would probably still be employed had Schiff errrr I mean Benko not have gone all “woke” on the situation. For this egregious act, Gavin gets the prestigious Ginger for doing something so cool, and Benko-Schiff gets to adore his Bieber trophy.

Next up - Couchgating with my grandson on Saturday for the Red River Shoot Out. The following weekend is Parents’ Weekend in Boulder where the Buffs will host Arizona.

 

Happy Tailgating!