William and
Mary Tailgate Wrap-Up:
My take on the tailgate:
By Bob W.
“Hey! Boss your own wife around!”
Overall:
Finally tailgate season has arrived in Maryland. It has been a long 9 months but finally the college football season has begun. I must say this summer has been especially busy for me (though not as busy as it has been for John apparently (wink, wink)) and I really haven’t had as much time as normal to anticipate the tailgating season, but when I arrived in Lot 1 with all my old friends and plenty of Bud Lights, I remember why we put so much time into something that can sometimes seem so trivial to outside observers. Tailgating for Maryland Football was even more fun than I remembered, if that is possible. Though we were missing the big time match up which can sometimes take up the atmosphere a notch or two, I think we did just fine. The William and Mary tailgate was definitely a great time.
Tailgate Highlights:
Not counting Johns announcement which is another matter all together, the tailgate highlight was the surprise visit of our very own Bix. Not letting the 350 miles from College Park to Boston stand in his way, Bix was able to catch a flight, jump head long into the tailgate and return to Massachusetts all in just over 24 hours. All with out letting anyone know about the secret. Well Done Bix, well done.
But to cast off this article with only one highlight would not do justice to the W and M tailgate. Another highlight was the introduction of Left, Right, Center into our repertoire of tailgating activities. The game in itself not only provided endless hours of entertainment, it also helped raise money for our new official D7 charity (more on that later). So if you go back to 2005, with the “The Great NC State Derby” (don’t forget to check out previous years recaps in the archives) we have added two new gambling games into our tailgating in the last 2 outings. When you stop and think of it, it really was just a matter of time that “Gamblor” joined his brothers “Drunken Mess” and “Senseless Competition”. I mean you can only keep those guys apart for so long, they’re like the 3 Amigos for God’s sake.
One final highlight was Bix and I’s incredible run on the beer pong table. The combination of us two winning 3 games in a row is the equivalent of Bill Ripken winning the batting title. We could have won even more it wasn’t for………..
Tailgate Lowlights:
You know, sometimes I really wonder about our Alma Mater. I get sick of complaining about the same thing over and over, but sometimes things happen that are so ridiculous that you can’t help but talk about them (Think of the movie “Showgirls”). Anyway, once again the cops came by to make sure we didn’t enjoy ourselves too much. Let me get this straight officer, I can drink all I want, but if I try to consume my alcohol in a manner that appears to others as if I am having fun, that isn’t allowed? Do you know how many tailgaters were playing poker in the parking lot? Not that there is a problem with that in my eyes, but allowing cards to be played, but not allowing drinking games is the justice equivalent of arresting a guy for dropping a wrapper on the sidewalk while he’s is standing next to a man snorting coke off a prostitutes bare chest. It just doesn’t make sense.
Flip Cup Results:
Who was the guy during the Rodney King riots who got pulled out of his truck and beaten almost to death on live TV. Well who ever he was, that was pretty much how I felt after the first 10 games of flip cup. I don’t remember who was on my team (though I think both Bix and my wife were there…I think) but we couldn’t catch a break. We weren’t all that terrible, but the other team just couldn’t miss. Strangely enough we were somehow able to bring it all together and capture the last two series. I can’t explain it, but we jelled. Anyway, I was thinking of doing flip cup standings this year, but I finally realized that though that seems like a pretty fun idea to a sober man, once I am 4 hours into a tailgate, that is just entirely not feasible. Oh well, maybe with some encouragement we can organize something, but I’m not making any promises.
The “Save the Terrapin” Drive:
I’ll be honest with you. I really love this idea, and I think it is something all Terrapin fans (both U of M, and the actual turtles) could rally behind and kind of feel good about doing. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this thing would be so successful. Going into 2006 I was hoping we could raise $150 and save 10 Terrapins, so we would get invited to the release party. But thanks to everyone’s generosity and some very generous LRC winners, we were able to raise $100! That’s currently 6 turtles that will forever be spared from becoming Terrapin soup. We are on pace to save 42 Terrapins which is a whole lot of turtles. Keep up the good work everyone.
Tailgate MVP:
Damn this is tough, like I said earlier, this was a great tailgate and several people stuck out in my mind. But you have to give it to Bixler for 2 reasons. First for making the trip down from Boston, and second for introducing the LRC game which was both entertaining and beneficial to everyone’s favorite reptile. So the first 2006 tailgate of the year goes to Bix.
Honorable Mention (in no particular order):
Kristin- I would like to thank my wife who drove me home. It was the first time in a long time that I did not have to show any semblance of responsibility at all on my behalf and it felt nice.
Me- For getting us another Lot 1 pass which cost us a grand total of 0$’s.
J- For getting us another Lot 1 pass, for slightly more, and for also bringing the grill and all the great food that came along with the grill.
Mary- For all the awesome food. The cookies and rice crispy things were great, and that wasn’t just the beer talking.
John- For picking Chris up from National Airport on Tailgating Day, I know I would have made up some lame excuse about car trouble, but you are a true friend.
E- She knows why.
Umm let’s see, is there anyone else? I hate writing these MVP things because I always feel like I am forgetting someone. But needless to say everyone that stopped by the D7 Tailgate was awesome and it was great to see everyone again.
Miscellaneous
Don’t know what to call this section, but hopefully it won’t be used all that much throughout the year, but sorry about the forecast. Not sure how that rain hung back while the storm moved north, but it did and I didn’t see it coming. Looking back I think my forecast was pretty good, and when I saw the sun finally come out at around 6 pm, I knew I just missed the call by a few hours. Had the storm been just a couple of MPH’s faster over a day or two, it would have been a home run.
Conclusion
Next tailgate is in just 5 more days. Until then, don’t forget:
- When you keep all your chips that’s a social
- Gambling fine, drinking games destroy families
- One flip good, 2 flips bad
- A cookie with 5 types of chips > a cookie with only 1 kind
Till then………….