It is
tradition that I visit my kids in college at least once per season… err once
per fall semester. This past weekend I made my way back to the plains of Oklahoma for
the third year in a row to watch what had been billed as the game of the year.
“THE” Ohio State Buckeyes and Urban Meyer were bringing the scarlet and gray
Buckeyes to play the crimson and cream Sooners in Norman, OK. Ohio State was
coming in as the 4th ranked team in the land and Oklahoma was
sitting at 14. These two teams are arguably considered two of the five “Blue
Bloods” of College Football along with Alabama, Notre Dame and USC. The two schools have combined for 15 National
Championships, 82 Conference Championships, two of the highest winning percentages
and 12 Heisman Trophies between them.
The passion
and pageantry for the weekend would be one of the highest witnessed in Norman
ever. Throngs of Buckeye fans started setting up shop in their RV’s as early as
Tuesday in anticipation of this rare event. Aside from winning, both schools
are known for spectacular Marching Bands, great game day traditions and two of
the most loyal fan bases in the nation.
Friday
kicked off with my annual pilgrimage to the home of the gold standard for pork
Ribs; none other than Van’s Pig Stand in Norman. Friday night had me
taking a tour of some of the many hot spots in Norman: Chimmys, The Mont (home
of the famous Swirl), Jax, The Library, Logies and O’Connell’s. This was by no
means my own doing as my daughter and her roommates insisted I see the sights
of the town. Only later was I smart enough to figure out why, as my wallet
(more on that later) was significantly lighter than it had been. It was a good
thing that Saturday’s match up would be a night game.
 |
| Boomer Schooner? |
Saturday began with a
batch of DFT traditional Bloody Mary’s. Then it was off to the Mullica Tailgate
hosted by Lauren and Mike Mullica and attended by Mrs. Tailgate’s family and
friends. Great BBQ from Billy Sims was the main course, pared with ice cold
Schlitz and chased by a wee bit of Fireball. At approximately 4:30 PM, the
heavens opened up and brought us a traditional Oklahoma thunder boomer with
Noah style flooding turning our tailgate into the floodgate. Being under a tent
and with the Dish Tailgater Satellite working it only made the scene more cozy
and festive. A message was sent out that the game would be delayed 90 minutes
due to the lightning. Oh darn, so I guess I just had to enjoy the tailgate a bit
longer.
 |
| Bad Influences! |
|
 |
| The hostess with the mostess |
|
 |
| Cousins |
 |
| Gulliver and his minions |
|
 |
| I'd keep playing if I were you... |
|
 |
| I don't think the heavy stuff is coming down for a while yet! |
|
 |
| This sez it all. |
It turns out
the ticket I had was a student ticket so I was prepared to do my best Rodney
Dangerfield Back to School impression if I was questioned. Apparently my vigor
and immaturity superseded my grey beard as there were no questions asked. So
now off to the rowdy and wet student section to stand for the whole game and
make noise. I was honored that my daughter and her friends wanted me to stand
with them and partake in the festivities. However, no weekend is complete
without me losing something and this time it happened to be my wallet. After
searching and talking to “Authorities”, it was nowhere to be found. However my
credit is now good in Pakistan and Singapore. It is a good thing I lightened
the cash value of that money vessel the night before. No biggie, this wasn’t my
first rodeo where this matter is concerned.
 |
| Back to school |
|
 |
| Old School |
|
The Sooners
had decided to stripe their beautiful Gaylord Memorial stadium with every other
section wearing either white or red. I wore gray to match my goatee. As an
added bonus, OU had just completed the addition of the new South end zone that
is now bowled in and topped off with a state of the art giant jumbotron. It exceeded my expectations as I have been
coming to the this stadium for 30 years and am always intrigued with the upgrades
that have taken place,
As the
Buckeyes took the field, the outnumbered but loud and boisterous Buckeye
faithful made a big racket only to be drowned out when the Sooners took the
field. The Sooners led by one of the most potent backfields in the nation
behind QB Baker Mayfield and running backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon would
win the coin toss and take possession of the ball first. After an impressive
drive stalled inside the 20, the OU kicker pulled a “Brotzman” and nailed the
uprights. The Buckeyes would take over
and score and score and score again. The only bright spot for the Sooners in
the first half was Mixon’s electrifying kick return for a touchdown. In reality,
the score should not have counted as Mixon “Deseaned” it and dropped the pigskin
before crossing the goal line for pay dirt. Urban Meyer’s Offense led by
talented QB JT Barret were no match for “Screaming” Mike Stoops’s Defense. On
the ground, up the middle, around the ends or through the air, the Sooners had
no answer for the Buckeye machine. Coupled with two interceptions thrown by
Mayfield and two drives that ended in only 3 points, the game was never close.
This old student said his goodbyes with ten minutes left and headed to Uber
world for the ride to the in laws to get in a four hour sleep before heading
back home. Ohio State will most likely be playing in the final four and OU will
now be playing for the Big 12 Title.
 |
| Me and Lil Tailgate |
Around the Nation:
Not a good
day for the DFT family as Notre Dame was soundly beaten in South Bend by
Michigan State. My MSU Nephew is now out of my will. In fact, he will pay for
my funeral. The two bright spots were Mrs. Tailgate’s Cowpokes beating Pitt in
Stillwater and Texas losing to Cal.
Alabama got the Rebel Monkey off their back by defeating Ole Miss in
Oxford for the first time in three years. Stanford and Christian McCaffery sent
USC home with another loss. Perhaps the
biggest surprise of the weekend was Louisville’s trouncing of Florida State 63
-20. Army goes to 3-0 for the first time in modern history with the demolition
of UTEP in El Paso and Navy keeps pace with a victory over Tulane. FCS
powerhouse North Dakota State knocked off another ranked FBS opponent squeaking
by Iowa 23-21.
 |
| RTR! Doctor Rector and daughter at the Grove |
|
 |
| Flash Gordon and clan at PSU |
|
 |
| Chris and Megan Razorback |
|
Bieber Award – Many Candidates to choose from
this week: Penn State for honoring Joe Pa perhaps a little too soon, any
posterior crevasses in the country not standing for the National Anthem or the “walking
deads” on ESPN supporting their actions, my cousin for allegedly being passed
out on the couch at 1 PM on Saturday after watching his Bison win. But one
school continues to be the gift that keeps on giving and that is my favorite
institution known as the University of Spoiled Children aka USC. Yeah, I know
half my readers are SC fans but you give as good as you get. This time it was
the arrest of serial rapist Sophomore Osa Masina for allegedly raping the same
woman after she was passed out in two different states, two different times. As
a side note, former AD Mike Garret was also charged with sexual misconduct two
weeks prior. What is in the water down there in Glitz City? Well there may be
vacated Heisman and National Championship hardware in the trophy case but they
have been replaced by numerous Bieber statues. These are much more permanent
than ones that have been removed. It’s like a good foot fungus that won’t leave
you.
Next week
the DFT crew makes its way to the birthplace of College Football as Rutgers
hosts Iowa. We will be joining the Tailgates of competitive chef Frank Scarpa
and Rutgers most famous tailgater Frank Hundley. Happy Tailgating!
No comments:
Post a Comment