Taken out to the Swamp!!

So..it took me a few days to get over pictures like this...

... and put up a few of my own.

The trip to North Central Florida is always a fun one. You never know what you'll see in such beautiful places as Ocala. (Wesley Snipes is totally right about that town!)

And even when you get to the stadium, things don't get any more normal.

From these guys outside...

To the geography lesson inside the stadium...


... to (I swear!!) the Pledge of Allegiance. I know I include this in my photoblog everytime I go to the Swamp, but it's just SO weird!!


Anyway, we weren't there to salute our flag, we were there for some football. I was shakin with excitment by the time the game started, because I "had a feeling" about this one. (I also had that song in my head b/c they played it non-stop. )

The fans we met only made me want the game worse, especially THIS kid, who's hideous Gator costume ("A Chistmas Story" bunny, anyone?) took up most of Gina's leg room.

It wouldn't take long for 90,000 to learn what I already knew, that this would be no cakewalk.

Hogs scored first....

...and even gave us reason to smile...

... as the clock ticked down.

Unfortunately, they've got a pretty good QB...

... and they'd climb right back into it.

I kept yelling for the Hogs to call a proven winner (the famous Head-Knee play that worked so well for Kentucky)...

.. but it never happened.

I like this picture. The team huddled talking specifics, and Bobby P. staring down the enemy as we head to clutch time. If only we could read his mind!

You all know what happened next. This is the last picture I took before burying my head in my hands, refusing to watch the winning FG.

In the end, there's no way to be too disappointed, and I can't wait to see the Gators again.... next year in Atlanta! (I told their fans that, too.)

Annual trip to Mississippi is off, but I can already start planning for a November trek to Death Valley! (and maybe I'll throw in a UCF photoblog or two between now and then). You know the drill, leave your comments below!

Get Ready Gators!!

So, this week is one I circled when I first moved to Florida. My Hogs come to Gainesville to take on Tebow and the Gators in "the Swamp". Ben Hill Griffin always offers a fun photoblog, with such asanine traditions as the "Pledge of Allegiance" before the game, and that creepy-ass song they sing before the fourth quarter. (Don't even get me going on the ridiculousness of "two-bits"!) Add all that to the +24.5 spread that I know the Hogs will cover, and we're in for quite a day Saturday, one that will provide a fun blog next week. That being said, I'm presenting last weekends bonus trip to Fayetteville without a lot of words, just letting the pictures speak for themselves! Enjoy!!

How do you spell Bama?

Finally, I was able to hit the road for some football, and officially kick off my 2009 season!! Packed a bag full of Razorbacks shirts, and dusted off the flags for the 550-mile trip to see my Hogs battle the Bloody Water (Crimson Tide).

If you know me, you know I'm all about organization (It's kind of what I do for a living). So, of course, we didn't leave the house without our Neat, Essential Road trip Data (N.E.R.D) Packet. Tickets, campus maps, directions, hotel confirmation, etc. Trust me, i'm prepared before I turn the key!

We arrived in Birmingham with just enough time left in the night to get some wings. Of course, I took the opportunity to goad the locals by suiting up in Razorback gear for the trip.

Then is was back to the hotel for some rest. (This is a perfect spot to throw in my unsolicited advertisement for Hotwire. We got this awesome room for $56 a night. $56 a night is supposed to get you a room with plastered-over bullet holes, but this place is awesome. If you're not using Hotwire for your hotels, do it!! Call that my travel tip of the day!)

Saturday would start just as the forecasters said it would, with a slight deluge. We decided it wouldn't ruin our day, and hit up the sporting goods store for some extra gear.

That being said, you would not believe our excitment when we saw THIS:

About 10,000 of the 92,000 seats were covered, and we happened to have two of them!! Perfect start to the game.

The rain let up just in time for Alabama's traditional pre-game spelling lesson, mandated by the legislature to improve literacy. (Seriously. I wouldn't make that up!)

The band cleared the way for the Hogs to run out, and we didn't know at this point it was the fastest we'd get to see the Hogs run that day.

As the game wore on, we noticed some odd scenery just beyond the end zone.

All we could come up with is that this is where "Bear" is buried. It's an effort to help Alabama fans cope with the fact he's actually gone, something that is obviously lost on most of them!

Before the mid-way point in the 4th quarter, I could see things weren't looking good... and we started the long trek down.

We took the long way home to take in some history in Montgomery...

... and make one important stop!!

Now we sit at home and watch TV for a couple of weeks, before heading up "The Swamp" in a couple of weeks. Hope you enjoyed, feel free to comment.

The season so far

So, if you've followed me over the years you know it's rare for me to be sitting at home for a third straight week without a football adventure on my plate today. I thought I'd share a glimpse at my football season so far, even though it's all been spent in "the City Beautiful". (For you out-of-towners, that's Orlando's dumb nickname. Don't ask.)


Saving for a wedding is tough, so sometimes football trips go to the back burner. There has been plenty of gridiron action this fall, though. Gina just started a new teaching job, her first at a High School. That gives me a team to root for down here, even if their mascot is every offensive Indian stereotype they could think of!

Last night, her new school took on her Alma Mater, giving her mixed feelings about a game. Which brings us to today! Her Georgia Bulldogs are in Fayetteville to take on my Razorbacks. In case you missed it, my favorite sports writer took up the issue in this week's mailbag. Check it out. http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/18/mailbag-crocodile-mccheerleader/#cont . We have decided watching this one takes precedent over seeing UCF live, so I'm giving up tickets to watch the Knights take on Buffalo, to sit at home and enjoy the 38 GAMES that will pass by my screen!!

Anyway, just wanted to update the blog, even though the season's adventures haven't started yet! Next week, we're headed to Tuscaloosa for the Hogs and the Tide, so expect an awesome update then!

Top 10 Moments as a Hog

As we wait for the 2009 season, I'm looking back at the big moments of football past. This was partially inspired by the 100th anniversary of the "Razorback" mascot, and partially inspired by a similar list in Clay Travis' new book "On Rocky Top" (pick if up if you haven't. And if you haven't read his first book "Dixieland Delight", just stop talking to me until you have!). So, first a short disclaimer. These are MY personal memories, not the biggest moments in the history of the program. So you old-timers can calm down if this doesn't line up with yours. Of course, I welcome your comments, and your own lists! Here we go:



10) December 31, 2003 ARKANSAS 27 - MISSOURI 14
Watched from: Independence Bowl stands

I debated whether this belonged on the list or not, but since the Hogs have only won two bowl games since I entered Kindergarten, and I happened to be at this one, I figured it was important. I also have enough stories to tell from the Shreveport/Bossier City casinos to fill a full top-10 list of it's own, so that helps push this one up. The final reason it makes the list, I got the chance to shut up all those Mizzou journalism snobs I've come across in my years in the biz.



9) October 13, 2001 ARKANSAS 10 - #9 SOUTH CAROLINA 7
Watched from: War Memorial student section

This one won't make a lot of peeople's list, because it came in a rather insignificant year that ended with a luxurious trip to the Music City Bowl. I'll never forget it, though, for it's misery. The always-lovely 3-hour drive for a home game was enough to put me in a bad mood for any game. Add that to the cold, rainy October afternoon, and the obvious mismatch on the field, and if I wasn't such a diehard, I might have considered staying home. Boy was I glad to be there, though, when Carlos Hall reached up to block that game-tying field goal try in the final minute! Crowd went wild, and it made me so happy, I didn't even care that my car was stuck on the muddy golf course after the game.



8) November 13, 1999 ARKANSAS 28 - #3 TENNESSEE 24
Watched from: Home

Stoerner to Lucas to Dickson Street! I know some of you are already upset at me that it's this low on the list, so rather than list the obvious circumstances that make this important, I'll defend my decision to bump it down to #8. First of all, this was NOT redemption for Clint Stoerner. One win over the #3 team in the country could not make up for the 2,000,000 + hearts he broke when he stumbled and fumbled in Knoxville a year earlier. That cost us a shot at a Conference and National Championship This simply kept us from having a 5-loss season. I also can't deny I'm a bit jealous I wasn't there to carry the goal posts to the BrewPub and put my John Hancock on them. That jealousy alone knocks this one down.

7) September 27, 2003 #9 ARKANSAS 34 - ALABAMA 31 2OT
End Zone full of Razorback fans in Tuscaloosa

This one had the makings of a classic from the beginning. Took a road trip with three great friends, got great seats for the game thanks to a player's hookup, and traveled with plenty of time to experience the town of Tuscaloosa the night before the game. All was going great...until it started pouring just before kickoff. Rain delayed the game 45 minutes, but the Hogs decided to take a 2 1/2 hour break. Late in the third, we were down 21, and I was burying my head in my wet, wrinkly hands. Then Matt Jones took over and did what he does best (okay, maybe second best, after the whole f*** up his life thing). Before we knew it, we were headed to Overtime. After a few questionable calls in our favor, the winning field goal was sailing through the uprights, and the annoying elephant sounder had been silenced! We had been ranked in the top-10 going into the game, and we felt on top of the world walking out of Bryant-Denny with a win.

6) November 23, 2007 ARKANSAS 50 - #1 LSU 48 3OT
Watched from: TGI Friday's Front Row in Orlando, FL
Beating LSU = Improbable. Beating them IN Death Valley, when they're ranked #1 in the country and marching toward an eventual National Championship, with Casey F'in Dick as our quarterback = Insane. I threw a pitcher of beer on every member of the Arkansas Alumni Association Orlando Chapter, and about 15 random people there to watch a Colorado game.

5) November 3, 2001 ARKANSAS 58 - OLE MISS 56 7OT
Watched from: My mother's living room
Overtime in Oxford. "Manning rolling out, Manning looking, throwing over the middle, and it's ARKANSAS WINS! ARKANSAS WINS!". Put that in your yellow headset and smoke it, Archie! I still owe my mom the sofa pillow I chewed through watching this game!

4) November 11, 2006 #11 ARKANSAS 31 - #13 TENNESSEE 14
Watched from: The South End Zone upper deck of DWRRS
"We're comin'... to your cit-ay". How could I leave off the only game big enough to bring College Gameday to Fayetteville. From the 9:00 a.m. start of that show until the 11:30 p.m. finish of this game, and long into the night, this was an unforgettable day. It also all but cemented a trip to Atlanta, setting up..........

3) December 2, 2006 #5 FLORIDA 38 - #8 ARKANSAS 28
Watched from: Auxillary Press Seating of the Georgia Dome
What? Putting a loss in the top 3?!? How Dare I?!? This game was huge. First of all, the first December Saturday in the Georgia Dome is the culmination of one of the things I love most, SEC Football. Being in there for this spectacle would rank high on any list I put together, even if the Hogs weren't included. Furthermore, this was our third trip to Atlanta and the first time we REALLY walked in there thinking we could win. Since this is a "top moments" list, I'll take the moment where we have 4:00 to go in the 3rd, we're leading 21-17 and Reggie Fish is about to recieve a punt giving us the ball back. I'll take that moment.

2) September 13, 2003 ARKANSAS 38 - #5 TEXAS 28
Watched from: the Sidelines of DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium
I cried. As I stood in a huddle of Razorbacks players singing the fight song to a group of about 1,000 fans in an otherwise empty stadium, I cried. Part of it was the fact it was 108 degrees and I was in a black polo and khaki pants. Part of it was that I had just run from the 50 yard line after shooting video of the coaches' handshake, to try to capture this moment as well. Most of it was because I had just stood on the sidelines and watched my Hogs walk into Texas and punch those damn Longhorns right in the mouth. I was 9 when Arkansas left the SWC, but I knew what this meant. I also knew we were poised for a great season. I didn't know Larry Leatherwood would later rob us of that. There, I said it, I cried.

1) November 29, 2002 ARKANSAS 21 - #18 LSU 20
Watched from: CBS Production truck outside War Memorial Stadium
I yelled. I was instantly told there's no yelling in the production truck. The next play, I yelled again. One extra point later, and I had left that freelance $100 job in the dust to run out there and be with the rest of the Hog fans who had just witnessed the Miracle on Markham. Putting this list together, I thought it was odd that I could put a game at #1 when I didn't EXACTLY see it live in person. But the energy I felt when I ran onto that post-game field will never be matched. It didn't turn out to the most significant play in history (I mean, we ended up playing Minnesota in a bowl game that year), but I dare you to find me a more exciting minute of football. Flutie be damned, this was it!


There you have it. My Top 10 personal Razorbacks moments. Even I disagreed with my list several times, but I like what I ended up with. What do you think? If you're an Arkansas fan, tweak this one and let me see yours. If you're not, just feel free to tell me how crazy I am! Now let's kick off '09 and see if we can't knock that Independence Bowl out of the Top 10!!!

Welcome

Those of you who know me know that my life changes a bit at the beginning of each September. I spend way too much time thinking about, watching, analyzing, and all-around enjoying College Football, particularly my Arkansas Razorbacks. I have been a fan of the Hogs my entire life. I will never forget the jealousy I felt when my brother's Scout troop went to sell Cokes when Miami came to town, or the joy I felt inside War Memorial stadium on a miserably cold, rainy Friday that my Hogs were slaughtered by LSU. None of those factors could dampen the excitement of my first live game. Since those years of wishing I could go, and cherishing my only chance, I've never taken going to Razorbacks' games for granted. I can even tell you that the Hogs are 40-22 with me in attendance (that record took a hit last season, with the team losing 4 of the 5 games I was able to go see). Every game I go to is a special opportunity, and I make the effort to see as many as possible.

It's much harder to see games these days, since moving to Florida in May 2007. I also struggle just a bit to feel connected to my Hogs, since so much has changed in the last two years. When I left Fayetteville, we were coming off a 10-win season, a trip to the SEC Championship game, and an appearance in the top non-BCS bowl game. What happened over the next two seasons was a bit tough to watch, but I know it's just a sour time for the program and the rebound is coming. Trust me, my fandom didn't go anywhere, and I'll be along for the ride back up the rankings. Living down here forces me to miss out on a little of the day-to-day Razorback news, but sometimes that's not entirely a bad thing. I also have expanded my horizons, beginning to cheer for my fiancee's alma mater, the Knights of the University of Central Florida (UCF is 5-3 with me in the stands). Add that to the side trips I've made to see games at the Swamp, to watch Big East action at USF, and, oh yeah, the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl last season, and my love of the game is as strong as ever.

So, why am I blogging? It's really just for my own entertainment. I have come to find out, over the years, though, that some people enjoy my photoessays of the trips I take to watch various teams. I'm always watching out for the obscure, and the "moments" that make College Football what it is. This blog will feature the same reports some of you have seen in previous years on Myspace and on Facebook. I'll also muse about football in general, as I plan out my viewing and betting (!!) schedule for the week, and will welcome/encourage your comments on those fronts. Let me know you're here! Participate! Leave Comments! The more poeple I think are reading, the more likely I am to put a little mor eeffort into this. If you don't know me, welcome to my world. Drop me a note. As much as I love talking, I love hearing the experiences of others. Here's to another beautiful season of the sport I love!