Week Four

Event:  Took a road trip back to college

This weekend my College Alma Mater played our #1 Rival in Basketball, so 5 of us decided to live it up like we did 'back in the day' and spend the weekend cheering on our old team in our college town.  We arrived in town around 2:30, starving, having skipped lunch waiting for the much anticipated "Linner" at our favorite deli.  Unfortunately, it took us longer to get to the restaurant than anticipated.  Apparently everyone else was doing what we wanted to do - get a cab ride from our hotel down to the bar district so we wouldn't have to mess with a car.  So we decided to walk the 2 miles to the restaurant.  This, of course, was only a good idea since we knew we could make pit stops to bars along the way to warm up.  First stop, a super dive bar with the coldest beer I've ever had.  And then came the Tequila shots.  You know, Tequila is never a good idea.  Ever.

So we continue along our merry way and finally make it to our "Linner" destination.  It is now 4:30.  Forget Linner, let's call it the early bird special.  We inhale our dinner like pigs on slop, and once our sandwiches were finished, the last chip was devoured and the second order of cheese dip was gone, we sat back, took a deep breath and we were ready to hit the town.  Side note:  I had to unbutton my pants.

We made a couple of stops before landing at our game-watching location, throwing back a couple more brewskies and another shot that cleared my nasal cavity.  Peppermint something or other.  And despite being surrounded by 20-year-olds (making us feel ancient) we actually got carded...twice!  (Then you see the sign on the wall that says "We will card anyone who looks 35 years or younger."  Rats!)

Game time.  The game was about as exciting as you can get with back and forth lead changes resulting in overtime.  During these heated moments I felt it was my civic duty to make sure the crowd at the bar stayed on their toes.  That's why I decided to lead the bar in cheers while standing (and sometimes falling) on my chair.  I love college.  Where else can you get away with jumping on your chair, leading a crowd of strangers in a cheer only to have them cheer you on to do more.  I didn't let my people down.  It was magical.

The game ended with a less than desirable outcome and that's when I noticed a TV news crew was firing up to interview fans.  The camera guy was heading in our direction and one of my friends was asked to be interviewed.  Unfortunately for him, his 4 seconds of fame quickly came to an end as he went on a tangent about the other school's fans saying "this arrogance is typical for these fans..."  Sorry Jon.  End scene.  Fade to black.  Roll credits.  You're done buddy!  That's when I decided to swoop in, flip my hair, tilt my head and say, "Sir, if you need a more positive quote, I'm happy to oblige."  The camera man said, "Ok, let's do it."  So the news reporter comes up and begins asking me questions.  Let me state for the record I cannot recall what she asked me, nor can I recall what I said but let me tell you something.  I might win an Emmy for my performance.  Not only was I articulate (I mean, I've had like 782 beers!) but I was positive Pollyanna about school spirit, great performance despite the loss, this is a building year, yada yada yada.  Whatever I said prompted her to smile and say, "This was great.  It will be featured on our morning show tomorrow."

No autographs please.

The night wrapped up shortly after that, but not before a must-needed midnight stop at Pizza Hut.  I mean technically we hadn't had dinner, right?  Not wanting to end our amazing night at Pizza Hut, we ran across the street to one more bar.  And then we decided it was time to call it a day.  The wait for a cab was an hour, so we bundled up and walked back to our hotel.  Did I mention it was about 2 miles away?  Did I mention it was about 20 degrees outside?  Huddled together, we made it.  With only a slight amount of frost bite.

While getting ready to turn in for the night, I had a vision of waking up the next morning, fearing a scene from "The Hangover".  Luckily, besides the tiger in the bathroom, our group suffered only a few casualties - a lost earring, a minor trip on the sidewalk, skinned hands and knees, the wonderment of where all our money went and the realization that college really was the best time ever.