| We are...Girls Gone Tailgating! |
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Vitela with hostile Razorback fans
It was 1:00am on Friday, while I was packing, that I decided not to go...for more reasons than I care to
bore you with. Then Serena called. She said, “Get your butt on that plane, missy. They need you!”
Okay, we all know they didn’t really need me – but that is what I needed to hear to get out of bed three
hours later and make my way to LAX. Then on to Salt Lake City where Daryl did a drive-by to say “hi” in
baggage claim. And then on to Kansas to meet up with the SC Alumni Queen of the Midwest, Loraine.
When I stepped off the plane there was Loraine and hubby Chris. I told them I thought of canceling. They
told me I was being ridiculous. I still wasn’t so sure. But we headed to their house for the night – where I
would be staying in their cardinal and gold guest room. Ok, good sign.
bore you with. Then Serena called. She said, “Get your butt on that plane, missy. They need you!”
Okay, we all know they didn’t really need me – but that is what I needed to hear to get out of bed three
hours later and make my way to LAX. Then on to Salt Lake City where Daryl did a drive-by to say “hi” in
baggage claim. And then on to Kansas to meet up with the SC Alumni Queen of the Midwest, Loraine.
When I stepped off the plane there was Loraine and hubby Chris. I told them I thought of canceling. They
told me I was being ridiculous. I still wasn’t so sure. But we headed to their house for the night – where I
would be staying in their cardinal and gold guest room. Ok, good sign.
But, the next morning they dropped a bomb in my lap…gingerly suggesting
they had arranged for a travel companion. It went a little something like this,
“Um…a friend of ours is going to ride with us. Nice guy. Engineer. Recently
finished up the community theater’s production of “Oklahoma.”
Great – I get to spend my weekend with a geek who sings show tunes. Hold
me back.
Good timing though – it was too late to escape. So we swung by to pick him
up. Kinda quiet the first twenty minutes or so, save a conversation between
the two engineers about The Garmin...the GPS device firmly affixed to the
dash. (I'm resourceful...maybe I can figure a way out of this...)
they had arranged for a travel companion. It went a little something like this,
“Um…a friend of ours is going to ride with us. Nice guy. Engineer. Recently
finished up the community theater’s production of “Oklahoma.”
Great – I get to spend my weekend with a geek who sings show tunes. Hold
me back.
Good timing though – it was too late to escape. So we swung by to pick him
up. Kinda quiet the first twenty minutes or so, save a conversation between
the two engineers about The Garmin...the GPS device firmly affixed to the
dash. (I'm resourceful...maybe I can figure a way out of this...)
Loraine and Chris...
aka the hosts with the mosts
aka the hosts with the mosts
Vitela and the Enginerds at the birthplace of Wal-Mart
| With Fight On Bob and crew |
Then he offered up this little tidbit: “My brother was a stud but I took the athletic route – I was in band.”
Seriously? Only a few minutes later he mentions that his nickname in the Navy was “Action.” Seriously.
Note to self: Cross Loraine and Chris off the Christmas card list.
Just kidding. With a name like Action, come on – that’s at least 12 hours of harassing right there. And the
round trip is only supposed to take 10. Golden. Of course, by the time we arrived in Fayetteville, Action
had crossed Chris and Loraine off his Christmas card list but, soooo not my problem.
So we crawled across campus, reading signs about paybacks and revenge. (Funny). My favorite was the
“BEAT USC” shirts – cardinal with gold lettering. When I asked a fan why they would wear *our* colors, he
thought for a minute. Then for another. Then said, “I don’t know…we’re a little slow I guess.” (Even
funnier).
I stopped by our official tailgate but it sucked. (Not funny). But Fight On Bob saved me and we headed
over to Dickson Street to find the rest of the Arkansas fans. Angry fans, those hogs. Turns out they’ve lost
sleep – since last September – over that 70-17 loss. (Very, very funny). In fact, the students started
sleeping on the sidewalk outside the stadium on the previous Wednesday to be the first in when the
gates opened. (Stupid).
We made our way to 4-14 and stayed there way too long. It wasn’t until we started back toward the
stadium that we found the bar where the party was at. Detour.
Bacon for Breakfast: USC Slaughters Hogs 50-14
Boy was it a hostile crowd. (Perfect). They were quite proud of
their, “%$#@ USC! %$#@ USC! %$#@ USC!” chant. (Clever).
But, we overcame them with “SEVENTY SEVENTEEN!” each and
every time. And then the most beautiful words ever were spoken by
a Razorback fan...“At least you’re not LSU.”
Common ground.
So, of course, it only took me a matter of seconds to start my own
chant, and only a matter of seconds before the entire crowd –
Trojans and Razorbacks alike – had found peace with a little
something called, “%$#@ LSU! %$#@ LSU! %$#@ LSU!”
(Brilliant).
In fact, it replaced *everyone’s* battle cry for the day.
their, “%$#@ USC! %$#@ USC! %$#@ USC!” chant. (Clever).
But, we overcame them with “SEVENTY SEVENTEEN!” each and
every time. And then the most beautiful words ever were spoken by
a Razorback fan...“At least you’re not LSU.”
Common ground.
So, of course, it only took me a matter of seconds to start my own
chant, and only a matter of seconds before the entire crowd –
Trojans and Razorbacks alike – had found peace with a little
something called, “%$#@ LSU! %$#@ LSU! %$#@ LSU!”
(Brilliant).
In fact, it replaced *everyone’s* battle cry for the day.
We eventually made it back to the stadium, and I made it through security with 64 oz of booze in the lining
of my purse. Turns out – not so difficult to outsmart a Razorback. (Shocker).
There was a little thing called a football game but it is all a blur now. Booty debuted with 24-of-35
completed passes for 261 yards and our defense held the hogs to even fewer points than they scored last
year. The Arkansas paper titled it a “slow grind.” I’m not sure what game they were watching. It was a
record setting day – the largest crowd ever in their home stadium to watch the largest loss ever over two
years. In 120 minutes of football we have outscored them 120 – 31. (Now that is just plain sad). (And
funny). I could go into more detail but Pat Forde did a good enough job describing the matchup here.
Then it was time to get down to business. Arkansas is great if for only one thing – only costs twenty bucks
to bribe a bouncer. Next thing you know we were on the roof at “On the Roof” and before long I was
dancing. Only took 30 minutes before I got a text message from California… “Table dancer!” Word travels
fast.
of my purse. Turns out – not so difficult to outsmart a Razorback. (Shocker).
There was a little thing called a football game but it is all a blur now. Booty debuted with 24-of-35
completed passes for 261 yards and our defense held the hogs to even fewer points than they scored last
year. The Arkansas paper titled it a “slow grind.” I’m not sure what game they were watching. It was a
record setting day – the largest crowd ever in their home stadium to watch the largest loss ever over two
years. In 120 minutes of football we have outscored them 120 – 31. (Now that is just plain sad). (And
funny). I could go into more detail but Pat Forde did a good enough job describing the matchup here.
Then it was time to get down to business. Arkansas is great if for only one thing – only costs twenty bucks
to bribe a bouncer. Next thing you know we were on the roof at “On the Roof” and before long I was
dancing. Only took 30 minutes before I got a text message from California… “Table dancer!” Word travels
fast.
A couple hours of sleep and then I
was back at the airport for my
flight home, with two final
thoughts -- show-tune-singing
engineers aren't so bad
and...Serena, I forgive you.
was back at the airport for my
flight home, with two final
thoughts -- show-tune-singing
engineers aren't so bad
and...Serena, I forgive you.
But it was in that moment, with all those Razorback
fans, dancing and laughing and, of course, still
chanting “%$#@ LSU!” that I realized just how
ridiculous it would have been to cancel the trip. And,
just how glad I am that football season is back. And
just how much I appreciate all of the members of our
Trojan Family who make it fun.
Well, Action proved to be more useful than I originally
estimated. At 2am he found us a ride from Fayetteville
to Bentonville *and* he offered up his extra bed
because I couldn’t find my roommates. We joked all
day Sunday, “What happens at the Econolodge, stays
at the Econolodge,” though personally I prefer, “The
fact that you were at the Econolodge should stay at the
Econolodge.”
fans, dancing and laughing and, of course, still
chanting “%$#@ LSU!” that I realized just how
ridiculous it would have been to cancel the trip. And,
just how glad I am that football season is back. And
just how much I appreciate all of the members of our
Trojan Family who make it fun.
Well, Action proved to be more useful than I originally
estimated. At 2am he found us a ride from Fayetteville
to Bentonville *and* he offered up his extra bed
because I couldn’t find my roommates. We joked all
day Sunday, “What happens at the Econolodge, stays
at the Econolodge,” though personally I prefer, “The
fact that you were at the Econolodge should stay at the
Econolodge.”
We swung by the original Wal-Mart on our way out of town…because we could. And, then we let The
Garmin find our way back to Kansas City. After a brief nap, we hit the town for dinner on the balcony at
Brio and a carriage ride around the Plaza. We finished with a stop at the Peanut – local dive bar that
fences off their parking lot on Labor Day weekend.
We only needed to get within 20 feet before we turned around and got back in the car, patting ourselves
on the back for being mature enough to leave. Then we really finished the evening with wine on the deck
at the Uebeles.
Garmin find our way back to Kansas City. After a brief nap, we hit the town for dinner on the balcony at
Brio and a carriage ride around the Plaza. We finished with a stop at the Peanut – local dive bar that
fences off their parking lot on Labor Day weekend.
We only needed to get within 20 feet before we turned around and got back in the car, patting ourselves
on the back for being mature enough to leave. Then we really finished the evening with wine on the deck
at the Uebeles.
| Action Saxton |
Quote of the week: “USC barely slipped by revenge-minded Arkansas, 50-14.” -Ted Miller on espn.com