Wow, what a fun 24 hour whirlwind. I am up in balmy Green Bay soaking in the rays at my future sis-i-law for NYE. Since I am not ready to jump in the pool, I figured I would put pen to paper. I hope to post some pictures later.
The adventure started quite well. Lara and I arrived early at GYY and packed the plane up. FEW (acronym) met us promptly and we were wheels up by 9A. A giant tailwind threw us to Nashville in under two hours and we were quickly in Ubers and off to the city. (The trip down was interesting, Lara unplugged her headset as FEW and I bored her to sleep talking NU football. Neat guy and we share a lot of similar thought processes. I also learned a lot about inside NU football. Sorry gcg, another guy that does not dislike my content…)
Lara and I checked in at the 21c Museum Hotel. Super cool place – I will go back and stay there from now on. So much to see and do and we had no time. The spinning tops movie room was really cool and breakfast was fantastic.
Anywho, off to the Purple Party with a bit of trepidation and an earful of warnings for Lara. FLAlum met us at the door and was quite welcoming. And talkative. To the point of asking me to curtail my archive use. Nay, nay, I say and awkwardly skirt away towards the food. Which was fantastic. Then I start meeting people from the Board. I remember few handles, though I sat across from Lou V. Not what I expected. Nice enough guy and we had pleasant small talk while I waited for him to offer me a Moderator role…didn’t happen…
Then I notice some fool had picked the name Lara for his tag. Tall, grey, middle aged – not Lara at all. I quickly pointed him out to Lara and waiting for her to take out her whip and snap off that tag. She giggled and they got a laugh out of it and he revealed himself as Purple Pile. A-ha, a nemesis! Actually, nice guy. All in good fun. Artie M – a guy from my class none the less – won some moose ear muffs that had Lara drooling and was nice enough to trade them to her. Another Board member traded Lara this whistling moose stuffed animal that played all night in our hotel room. Thanks Alaska – may your rewards come in heaven… Just kidding, very generous to provide some cool stuff for Jerry to distribute.
Towards the end, in a Seinfeld type moment, a Newman-esque individual beckoned me, ‘Hello XYZ.’ Um, hi. ‘So, what do you think CT will do today?’ Um, play quarterback. ‘How many yards, any TDs, interceptions?’ Um….. {closer examination revealed CoralSpringsCat} As I continued to believe all was in good fun, I say that great weather and plenty of practice time better result in 200-225 with twice as many TDs to picks and a NU victory – assuming the OL keeps him upright. Well, let’s just say CSC was snarky, not all in good fun and definitely not a guy I would voluntarily spend time with in the future.
Another older gentleman approaches and tells me that he appreciates what I bring to the Board. We talk about NU, NU sports, scuba diving and then I bid No Chores farewell. Along with Tampa, NJ and a variety of other good spirited Cat fans as Lara and I depart to meet up with FEW.
Well, FEW got lost, or confused, or just late so Lara and I enjoyed the street fest and the other live music before wandering over to the stadium. Surrounded by Purple fans and very well tempered KY fans, the atmosphere was perfect. Sunny, but cold. Everyone in good cheer.
Our seats were perfect too. Club level (Lara appreciated the heat during pre-game, halftime and breaks), damn near the 50 and right behind a very familiar older Cats fan. I am not sure if No Chores was stalking us, or we both have good taste, but we sat with him and GONUII and spent halftime together.
As fantastic as No Chores was, GONUII is another class act and wealth of NU Football information. I would really like to get to know these guys better as they are fun to listen to their stories and information. In another bizarre Seinfeld moment, the three of us are inside at the half chatting, when out of nowhere, Newman (CSC) appears to say hi to GONUII and give me a glare. I think he blamed me personally for the injury to CT. Weird dude. Fortunately, nobody asked him to stick around for a beer and a chat and he left just as Lara returned with refreshments.
After the game, Lara and I elected the Melting Pot for dinner – she has been dying to go to one so…. It did not disappoint. A super friendly waiter, some wonderful fondue and after a day full of drinking and adventure, we were overdue for bedtime.
The next morning, after a fantastic and economical breakfast at the 21c, we left the hotel a 830A. A snafu at the airport forced us to sit around for a while waiting for the plane to be brought out while FEW empathized for Lara and her hangover. He even gave up the front seat and packed his 6’2” body into the backseats. 20 knot head winds slowed our return and we landed at GYY just after noon. Bidding farewell to my new buddy, we jumped back in the plane and I am now in Green Bay.
My game thoughts:
I am happy for our squad to reach 10 wins. I think CT will be out until November – maybe all season. That injury was ugly – count me among the ACL and MCL tear believers. If Fitz was to ever drop his arrogance and surround himself with smart game day coaches, he could become legendary. As it stands, I believe that Fitz thinks he is always the smartest guy in the room. And as a result, he has hit his ceiling. I wish Coach Brown the best. I think he was a pretty good coach, but far more important chemistry guy. I hope his departure and the new extra coach will lead to some juggling. I will be happy if somebody else is coaching the OL next year and two recruiting all-stars join the staff. Count me among the group that wants a coach from the Vandy, McG options and another from the outside that is young, hungry and has an impressive track record.
In closing, I am glad I went. Glad I went to the Purple Party. Glad I met a few of you. Now that FEW has proven that flying with me can be a joy, I hope I will meet a few more as Lara and I travel to watch bball this winter. (And, many of you can confirm that she is real and pretty darn similar in appearance to Ms. Croft)
The adventure started quite well. Lara and I arrived early at GYY and packed the plane up. FEW (acronym) met us promptly and we were wheels up by 9A. A giant tailwind threw us to Nashville in under two hours and we were quickly in Ubers and off to the city. (The trip down was interesting, Lara unplugged her headset as FEW and I bored her to sleep talking NU football. Neat guy and we share a lot of similar thought processes. I also learned a lot about inside NU football. Sorry gcg, another guy that does not dislike my content…)
Lara and I checked in at the 21c Museum Hotel. Super cool place – I will go back and stay there from now on. So much to see and do and we had no time. The spinning tops movie room was really cool and breakfast was fantastic.
Anywho, off to the Purple Party with a bit of trepidation and an earful of warnings for Lara. FLAlum met us at the door and was quite welcoming. And talkative. To the point of asking me to curtail my archive use. Nay, nay, I say and awkwardly skirt away towards the food. Which was fantastic. Then I start meeting people from the Board. I remember few handles, though I sat across from Lou V. Not what I expected. Nice enough guy and we had pleasant small talk while I waited for him to offer me a Moderator role…didn’t happen…
Then I notice some fool had picked the name Lara for his tag. Tall, grey, middle aged – not Lara at all. I quickly pointed him out to Lara and waiting for her to take out her whip and snap off that tag. She giggled and they got a laugh out of it and he revealed himself as Purple Pile. A-ha, a nemesis! Actually, nice guy. All in good fun. Artie M – a guy from my class none the less – won some moose ear muffs that had Lara drooling and was nice enough to trade them to her. Another Board member traded Lara this whistling moose stuffed animal that played all night in our hotel room. Thanks Alaska – may your rewards come in heaven… Just kidding, very generous to provide some cool stuff for Jerry to distribute.
Towards the end, in a Seinfeld type moment, a Newman-esque individual beckoned me, ‘Hello XYZ.’ Um, hi. ‘So, what do you think CT will do today?’ Um, play quarterback. ‘How many yards, any TDs, interceptions?’ Um….. {closer examination revealed CoralSpringsCat} As I continued to believe all was in good fun, I say that great weather and plenty of practice time better result in 200-225 with twice as many TDs to picks and a NU victory – assuming the OL keeps him upright. Well, let’s just say CSC was snarky, not all in good fun and definitely not a guy I would voluntarily spend time with in the future.
Another older gentleman approaches and tells me that he appreciates what I bring to the Board. We talk about NU, NU sports, scuba diving and then I bid No Chores farewell. Along with Tampa, NJ and a variety of other good spirited Cat fans as Lara and I depart to meet up with FEW.
Well, FEW got lost, or confused, or just late so Lara and I enjoyed the street fest and the other live music before wandering over to the stadium. Surrounded by Purple fans and very well tempered KY fans, the atmosphere was perfect. Sunny, but cold. Everyone in good cheer.
Our seats were perfect too. Club level (Lara appreciated the heat during pre-game, halftime and breaks), damn near the 50 and right behind a very familiar older Cats fan. I am not sure if No Chores was stalking us, or we both have good taste, but we sat with him and GONUII and spent halftime together.
As fantastic as No Chores was, GONUII is another class act and wealth of NU Football information. I would really like to get to know these guys better as they are fun to listen to their stories and information. In another bizarre Seinfeld moment, the three of us are inside at the half chatting, when out of nowhere, Newman (CSC) appears to say hi to GONUII and give me a glare. I think he blamed me personally for the injury to CT. Weird dude. Fortunately, nobody asked him to stick around for a beer and a chat and he left just as Lara returned with refreshments.
After the game, Lara and I elected the Melting Pot for dinner – she has been dying to go to one so…. It did not disappoint. A super friendly waiter, some wonderful fondue and after a day full of drinking and adventure, we were overdue for bedtime.
The next morning, after a fantastic and economical breakfast at the 21c, we left the hotel a 830A. A snafu at the airport forced us to sit around for a while waiting for the plane to be brought out while FEW empathized for Lara and her hangover. He even gave up the front seat and packed his 6’2” body into the backseats. 20 knot head winds slowed our return and we landed at GYY just after noon. Bidding farewell to my new buddy, we jumped back in the plane and I am now in Green Bay.
My game thoughts:
1. We won.
2. The guys played hard – nothing flat coming out.
3. Hartage is a liability.
4. JJTBC is my favorite player ever and maybe the best RB in NU history.
5. Larkin will not allow us to forget JJTBC, but not force us to lament his departure.
6. The OL is still not B1G quality.
7. The refs were horrible – and that targeting ejection had to be a make up call.
8. The video board replay made the refs look even worse – right down to the operator circling the football on the screen on that last 4th down play to suggest Alviti made it – then the refs say no.
9. Fitz may be the worst professional game day coach in football. No, wait, that award goes to the KY HC. In the second half, we had no offense, no kicker, a good defense and an extra point and OT probably gives KY the game. That decision was plain dumb.
10. The stadium was loud for both sides at expected times – both schools were vocally represented. And lots of student aged fans for both sides. Location was quite fair for both schools to draw their fanbase.
11. Fitz called the game the way you expect a fan too. Then I watched WI play last night. Short yardage plays – they handed off to the FB, RB and their OL made the plays. WI is not OSU, MI, Bama – yet, they play big boy football. In the Orange Bowl. This is directed to you, Mr. Rice, from another thread. Big boy teams do not always QB sneak and do not resort to trick plays on short yardage, 4th down plays.
If you are going to risk it on your side of the field, late in the game, then the B1G teams make it – due to their OL, sometimes their QB, but also with the FB or RB.
Fitz should not be calling plays. Recruiting, shaking hands, kissing babies and trying to learn from strong, successful, experienced game day managers is what he should be doing. NU stole that time for learning through experience by making him HC at 31. Too bad that he is too proud to find a way to get that education regardless.
2. The guys played hard – nothing flat coming out.
3. Hartage is a liability.
4. JJTBC is my favorite player ever and maybe the best RB in NU history.
5. Larkin will not allow us to forget JJTBC, but not force us to lament his departure.
6. The OL is still not B1G quality.
7. The refs were horrible – and that targeting ejection had to be a make up call.
8. The video board replay made the refs look even worse – right down to the operator circling the football on the screen on that last 4th down play to suggest Alviti made it – then the refs say no.
9. Fitz may be the worst professional game day coach in football. No, wait, that award goes to the KY HC. In the second half, we had no offense, no kicker, a good defense and an extra point and OT probably gives KY the game. That decision was plain dumb.
10. The stadium was loud for both sides at expected times – both schools were vocally represented. And lots of student aged fans for both sides. Location was quite fair for both schools to draw their fanbase.
11. Fitz called the game the way you expect a fan too. Then I watched WI play last night. Short yardage plays – they handed off to the FB, RB and their OL made the plays. WI is not OSU, MI, Bama – yet, they play big boy football. In the Orange Bowl. This is directed to you, Mr. Rice, from another thread. Big boy teams do not always QB sneak and do not resort to trick plays on short yardage, 4th down plays.
If you are going to risk it on your side of the field, late in the game, then the B1G teams make it – due to their OL, sometimes their QB, but also with the FB or RB.
Fitz should not be calling plays. Recruiting, shaking hands, kissing babies and trying to learn from strong, successful, experienced game day managers is what he should be doing. NU stole that time for learning through experience by making him HC at 31. Too bad that he is too proud to find a way to get that education regardless.
I am happy for our squad to reach 10 wins. I think CT will be out until November – maybe all season. That injury was ugly – count me among the ACL and MCL tear believers. If Fitz was to ever drop his arrogance and surround himself with smart game day coaches, he could become legendary. As it stands, I believe that Fitz thinks he is always the smartest guy in the room. And as a result, he has hit his ceiling. I wish Coach Brown the best. I think he was a pretty good coach, but far more important chemistry guy. I hope his departure and the new extra coach will lead to some juggling. I will be happy if somebody else is coaching the OL next year and two recruiting all-stars join the staff. Count me among the group that wants a coach from the Vandy, McG options and another from the outside that is young, hungry and has an impressive track record.
In closing, I am glad I went. Glad I went to the Purple Party. Glad I met a few of you. Now that FEW has proven that flying with me can be a joy, I hope I will meet a few more as Lara and I travel to watch bball this winter. (And, many of you can confirm that she is real and pretty darn similar in appearance to Ms. Croft)
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