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Virginia Tech Tailgate Wrap-Up:

      - Lot 1, College Park, MD 
 

“The Leavitt’s left their (woman’s anatomy) in Calvert County!!”   

-Meagan (the extra “A” is for animosity)                           

Overall:  

First of all let’s give it up to Meagan (the extra A is for Awesome Quote) for being the first girl ever, or at least in a very long time, to score the Tailgate quote of the day.  Let’s face it, we were all thinking it, but only she had the ability to summarize her thoughts so concisely.  This is indeed a historic day.

Anyway, moving on.

And there was one.  Yep, that’s right, with the conclusion of the Virginia Tech Tailgate we are down to one Tailgate left this season.  We’ve also lowered our win total for the season to a best case scenario of 4.  Yeah Football!!  But we are not here to talk about the game or the season.  This is just about the Tailgate, and when you are talking tailgate, there is always happy news to report. 

Yesterday (well Saturday since I’m sure I won’t have this wrapped up before the end of Sunday), was again a great all around experience.  We had some Elkton friends in town, and with the record of the football team, and the amount of alcohol consumed, it really felt like a late 90’s game.  Ahh the old days.  The only thing that made it feel like modern times was that we didn’t forget one key item of the day, though I guess technically we didn’t have any condiments for the hotdogs, so that was sort of a Lot 4 move. 

As you are aware, we once again had a crappy start time for this tailgate, but maybe I should consider that good news.  As the designated driver, while we were leaving 10 hours later, it never occurred to me “You know it’s a shame we didn’t start drinking earlier in the morning, So and So could really afford to be more drunk right now.”.  So in the end it all worked out, but note to Debbie Yow, this does not mean we don’t enjoy a good 3:30 start every once in a while.  (I know enough to not dare dream of a 7:30 game).

So to wrap up the summary, I think the VT game will go down in 2009 as the most beer consumed game.  Or maybe the “Unmentionable Game” since a majority of the stuff I want to write about, I sort of have to skirt in order so that everyone doesn’t loose their jobs!!!  Yeah, that’s it.  We are going with the “Unmentionable Game”.    

Tailgate Highlight:

When your tailgate is good enough for it’s own nickname, you know you had a good one.  To single out any event would be silly. 

Tailgate Lowlight:

The theme of 2009 has been set.  Crappy Football and Crappy Weather.  I don’t know how this happens but every tailgate we are getting rained on.  Even when we don’t get rained on it is still touch and go.   At this point I can only imagine what kind of terrible natural disaster is going to befall us the morning of the BC game.  Mother Nature I’m sure wants this season to go out with a bang.

Another low light was there were actually a bunch of girls in Lot 1 who appeared to be having more fun than we were.  That is simply not acceptable.  I can’t say for sure, but they looked an awful lot like a Bachlorette Party.  If they were, we’ll I just say congratulations to the lucky man who is marrying a girl who spends her Bachlorette Party in Lot 1 at a Maryland Football Game.  Of course those girls couldn’t hold a candle to D7 and quickly flamed out, while we cruised along in our marathon of fun. 

King of the Hill Flip Cup

Pete had a good point as we wrapped up King of the Hill Flip Cup.  We should really have a trophy for this.  But not just a trophy, a trophy with a cup so that the winner could then drink out of it ala the Stanley Cup in hockey.  I like this idea and will look into making something.  The logical idea would be to go to a trophy shop, but then again we need a trophy that we can write on.  So the trick is going to be to make a monument that is worthy of this accomplishment, but can also get wet, and be drank from.  It could be hard, but I will promise to come up with something in 2010.  No idea what, but something.   (I’m inserting this thought after the fact, but I think I know what I can do for this, I’m excited now!!)

Special thanks to Emily for taking notes during King of the Hill.  It was very much appreciated!  And finally, I say this every week, but at the end of the year, I’m going to figure out how to calculate cumulative stats for this.  I’m kicking around some ideas, so stay tuned. 

Punt, Pass, and Kick:

I thought this week was going to be different.  I thought there was a ringer among us, I thought there would be more than one letter going on the PPK trophy this weekend…I thought wrong.  David looked like the smart pick in warm ups, tossing the magic bean effortlessly for countless spaces, but as we all know, it’s called Punt, Pass, and Kick, and not just Pass.  Once again, J takes home the PPK trophy.  This time with 42 spaces, which seems to be a common number on the trophy.  J also gets a golf clap for writing his name on the trophy small enough so that I won’t have to add space on to it every three weeks.  Though no body else cares, David came in second.

Miscellaneous

Here is where I remind everyone to check out Chris and mine’s hard work on Raycomsports.com.  I’m having Chris put the link RIGHT HERE http://maryland.raycomsports.com/blog/so all you have to do is click right here to do it.  Then find an article written by either Chris or myself, read it, and leave a comment.  It helps us out immensely.  Also you can win a free T-shirt by doing so (but be warned if you do, both J and John say to get two sizes larger than you normally do since they run small).  Also this does not have to be a one time thing, we will both be writing all through basketball season as well.  And of course don’t forget to visit turtledroppings.com. 

Horse Racing:

Track closed due to the conditions.  We didn’t want any horses to break their legs, and we didn’t want to ruin the cards either.  Hmm the weather seems to be a re-occurring theme here

LRC:

I can just barely remember life before ATM’s, I vaguely remember going to the bank to cash my paycheck every Friday back when I was in High School, or early college.  You would then take that money and use it for spending.  Now we have direct deposit and ATM’s and it has sure made life easier.  But one problem in this new ATM era is that it is damn near impossible to find people with change anymore.  For example, this weeks LRC game, we decide to play for 5$ a game, and everyone pulls out a 20.  After about 15 minutes we finally get change, but not without the occasional dollar made up of quarters.

But I’m glad we got through it because this weeks $35 winner was me!  In what was truly an oversight by the LRC gods.  I had stacks of chips the entire game.  Normally the one with the most chips NEVER wins, but this week, I was able to hold out long enough to break that trend.  YEAH ME!! 

Flip Cup Results:

And here we are.  The main course, the flip cup results.  This weekend was especially competitive.  We once again had over 8 series.  There was so much beer consumed that we actually had to take radical steps to address the problem (that’s all I will say on that).  There were also several games that I know I did not record in the notepad, but they were small and insignificant.  Once again it was cut throat, and once again spirits were broken, yet at the same time we also had joyous celebrations, and congratulatory hugs.  You see there is no middle ground in flip cup, you win or you lose, and when you win, there is nothing better.  And when you lose you could not feel possibly any lower.  That is what makes it so intense. 

The First Series:  I can see why he wanted to do it, but still.  The First Series featured E-town vs. The World.  Now whenever you are representing your homeland you somehow find a way to dig a little deeper, to take it up a notch.  After all you are playing for pride.  But if 8 people from Elkton just happen to find themselves in a MMA tournament, it doesn’t mean we have to fight everyone.  Of course had that last example happened in real life, it would have looked very similar to what did transpire on the flip cup table.  For Team E-town we had Bob, Kim, Getty, Brea, Chris, Matt Pr, Frank, and Matt L.  The world had Pete, Emily, B Lee, J, Surin, David, Matt (StM).  Hmmm, someone is missing from the World.  Maybe this is why we lost.  I’ll have to figure this out later, maybe it was Meagan.  Anyway, let’s just say it was 4-1, but not even really as close as that looks.  Team E-town on this day, truly was overmatched.

The Second Series:  OK, our first real series of the day.  Well use Simpson Characters for this one.  Team Moe vs. Team Apu.  Team Moe was made up of Matt (StM), Matt L, Surin, John F, Bob, Todd, Emily, and J.  Team Apu was made up of Pete, Meagan, David, Getty, Bix, Kim, Matt P, and B Lee.  I sadly can’t remember all the details of this one, but I did note that this was the “Flip Cup Game of the Year”.  If I’m not mistaken, team Moe erased a half table lead to win the decisive game 7.  If this was indeed that game, then yes this was the game of the year.  Of course people on Team Apu may disagree. 

The Third Series:  The third series was a run it back series.  Team Apu was looking for revenge, and revenge is what they got.  This one didn’t need 7.  Apu took games 1 and 2, fell apart briefly in game three, then rallied to take games 4 and 5.  Much like the 1983 World Series this was a decisive 4-1 drubbing.    

The Fourth Series:  What about mixing it up every once and a while?  The fourth series AGAIN featured the same teams, except this time Meagan swapped in for Matt Pr.  This one looked a lot closer on paper.  Team Moe came out and won game 1.  Then struggled losing the next two.  Pivotal game 4 went to Moe to tie it up, but that would be all as Team Apu put games 5 and 6 on ice.  I don’t remember the specifics of this one, but I did write “That was Humiliating” in my notepad.  So something bad must have went down.

The Fifth Series: Finally a shake up.  For this one we’ll do the classic Team Bart vs. Team Lisa.  Team Bart featured J, Emily, B Lee, Matt (StM), Colleen, Bix, Getty, and Jason (Hey welcome to the Tailgate!). Team Lisa featured Bob, Justin, John F, Surin, Pete, Kim, Meagan,….and I’m missing one person.  I know, I know, but this is still the best damn D7 Tailgate Recap on the market (God bless monopolies!).   Lisa jumped out to an early lead winning game 1, but Bart answered taking games 2, 3, and 4.  Like a horror movie monster, Lisa showed a little bit of life when you thought she was dead, but just like the movie, that last scare is usually quickly extinguished.  After taking game 5, the Lisa’s couldn’t contain the Barts and this one was over in 6.      

 The Sixth Series:  Talk about attrition, the numbers are starting to dwindle.  Game 6 featured the Homer’s vs. the Marge’s.  Team Homer was made up of Jason, Bob, Getty, Emily, Jon, and Deb.  Team Marge consisted of Pete, John, Justin, Bix, and Kim.  This one was pretty competitive, not game 7 competitive, but close.  Homer took game 1, then Marge took the next 3, then Homer rallied in the 5^th, and then Marge won in the 6^th.  You know, this is the same exact outcome as the 5^th series.  By the way in case you are counting, my record up to this point is 1-5.  I’d like to say I was on some unlucky teams, but eventually all these losses have to break down to a common denominator.

The Seventh Series:  On to Series Seven.  For this one we had Santa’s Little Helper vs. Snowball II.  Santa’s Little Helper was made up of Bob, Colleen, Kim, Jason, Meagan, Emily, Surin.  Snowball II was made up of Bix, Getty, John, J, B Lee, Justin, Matt (StM), and Pete.  The notepad strikes again, I am missing someone off of Santa’s Little Helpers.  Anyway, this one had a little give in take to it as we finished the first four games tied at 2-2.  However the second half of the series wasn’t nearly as close as Snowball II took the final two to claim the victory.  Afterwards they each filled up their solo cups and “Poured one out” to Snowball I. 

The Eight Series:  It’s good to end the day on a gimmick.  Afterall we started with Elkton vs. the World, why not finish with a nice old fashion Boys vs. Girls.  The girls team had a much more graphic name for this series, but I’ll stick to my PG version.  On the Men’s side was Bob, John, Pete, Bix, and Jon.  For the ladies was Getty, Deb, Colleen, Emily, and Kim.  Ahh for God’s sakes once again I’m missing someone.  I suck at writing this stuff down.  Anyway to make a quick story even quicker.  The men dispatched the ladies so quickly that there wasn’t even enough interest in a game 4.

So below are the season standings for Flip Cup. Just a couple stellar weeks to point out.  Bix finished 6-2 which is probably his best day ever.  Pete also finished 6-2 to take the co-player of the week award.  Of course Pete also won the King of the Hill, so that probably gives him a slight edge over Bix.  Of course Pete doesn’t read these things either so we’ll go back to Chris.  Oh and so J can keep his job for another pay period, David came in with a solid 3-1 record for the day. 

And there you have it.  The Battle for the 2009 Flip Cup Overall Championship is basically down to J and Pete.  This has been the year of J and Pete as they have come up against each other in several King of the Hills.  But now it comes down to the BC game.  I figure J needs us to play at least 6 series to have a shot.  He might want to look into getting a Designated Driver. 

What Brea wrote in my Notepad:

Not the most original name for a segment, but it gets the point across.  The following is a sampling of what Brea wrote in my notepad on Saturday:

-J did ht have prupae for mg hot dug

Translation (I think):  J didn’t have propane for my hot dog.  You can’t see it, but the funniest part is that she dated it 11/14.  You know so I wouldn’t get it mixed up with the last time J didn’t have propane for her hotdog.  Hmmm was this from the time J didn’t have propane for her hotdog in September of 2007.  Oh no, the date is right there, this is from November 14, 2009. 

The “Save the Terrapin (tailgaters)” Drive:

Just a reminder, we are trying to put together an end of year check for Chris’s cousins child and wife.  Since I have been keeping the tin in Brian’s car this year, I don’t have a current count, but I think we should be at least at 50$ and with a little bit of luck and generosity we may finish around $100.  At that point we will cut a check from D7 to go towards the fund set up for the family.  Let’s face it in 2009 this very well could be the most positive thing to come out of this season.

Tailgate MVP:

I will say that I had to be talked into doing this.  I did not feel like the Tailgate MVP last Saturday.  In fact, you could make a case that I was actually the Tailgate wet blanket.  I mean I couldn’t even make it through King of the Hill Flip Cup and I also stopped drinking.  Throw in my 2-6 Flip Cup Record and that isn’t exactly an MVP performance, but in this bizzaro world of tailgating, not drinking makes you extremely valuable. 

I’m still not comfortable with the decision, but after a couple of “MVP” chants started by those who I was going to be driving me home, I decided I had to do it.  I also decided that there is very little I wouldn’t do when presented with an MVP chant.  Eat a bug…sure.  Charge into a towering inferno…you bet.  Hug a Dukie….well let’s not get carried away.

Reminder:

I don’t think I need to remind everyone that in two weeks we wrap up the 2009 Tailgate season.  Wrapping up the 2009 Football season, I’m all for, but ending the Tailgate year just makes me sad.  I hope everyone can make it, we plan on having a turkey if Meagan (the extra A is for appetizing) comes through.  Also we have to shake out the final flip cup standings.  Not to mention have a few more sessions of “Remember when we had a good football team” which are also followed by “Remember when our football team sucked just like this.”.  So I hope to see everyone there. 

Conclusion

I feel as though I say the same thing every single time.  But once again I had a great time.  It was nice to see a lot of old friends from, heck as far back as Elementary and Middle School.  It is also comforting to know that they have not changed much since Elementary School or Middle School.  Then again, I don’t remember any of them taking a wiz in the parking lot back then, so technically they were probably more mature 20 years ago.  But anyway, if there is ever an excuse to act however the heck you want. We have found it, so don’t feel bad!  The tailgate is a celebration of all things fun and irresponsible.

Anyway thanks to everyone who came out.  Notice there is no honorable mention this week in the tailgate recap, that is because there were really too many people to mention.  A lot of people handled bringing food, a lot of people graciously share their beer (and other’s beer) so I couldn’t find any one thing to single out.  It was great to hang out and I look forward to doing it again on Thanksgiving Saturday.  Until then, just a few loose ends:

·        Apparently I’m very huggable.

·        And I’m definitely a sucker for MVP chants

·        Had we wanted we could have sold our table for $450 on Saturday

·        If the Terps played football in the summer, Maryland farmers would forget what the word “drought” meant.

·        You don’t have to be a dude to pee in the woods

·        You don’t have to be a dude to pee in the parking lot

·        Justin and Jason look an awful lot alike

·        Getty has sticky fingers

·        David is a heck of a guy, and any child should be proud to call him “Dad”

·        Even manned flip cup doesn’t happen as much as you’d think party like it’s 1996!!

That's all for now, Next game we party like it's 1996