Dark Drinks:
Saturday morning kicked off with a cold beer and Bojangles about 10:15am; which is pretty much the best base layer that you could ask for when you have a day of tailgating ahead of you. We had a very long day planned of football and cocktails, and of course walking around to shake hands and kiss babies of the friends and other fellow alumni that I had not seen since last year. (Or since the engagement of me and the soon to be Mrs. Boss) I love tailgating, and I love being around my family and friends. They make it easy to sit around and have a drink. The conversation is outstanding and smart ass jokes and Kentucky/Clemson bashing makes it even better. Let’s flash forward to game time, where I have perfected the art of taking booze into a game. Simply flatten a 16 ounce water bottle, fill, and screw the top back on while flattened. This makes for an excellent disposable flask. I will also mention that pops pulled a move that should be praised, in running to the luxury box to see friends and reload on mini bottles for the second half. It’s a good thing he did, because the 24-21 final of the Navy/SC game made it a necessity. Below I’ll mention about what we got into going out after the game, but something as small as finishing up the night at an old school hangout bar with $1.25 Natty Light bottles (NEW! READ BELOW!) and a sub from your favorite shop at 2AM, makes you one happy and nostalgic college kid all over again.
Dark Horses:
- Vanderbilt – Alright everyone…I’m acknowledging the elephant in the room and talking about it. This is not your father’s Vanderbilt Fightin’ Commodores. After manhandling Houston Nutt’s team in Nashville Saturday, Vandy is now tied for first in the SEC East. I’m not saying that SC needs any more motivation than knowing what happened a few years ago in Columbia…(6-1, #6 in the Nation, and lost on the 20th of October at HOME to VANDY) but get ready to see what this team really is about. On paper, it shouldn’t be close…but if by some chance that ‘Dores make it past the Gamecocks, they are in the driver’s seat for the SEC East. Think about that. The end could be, and likely is, near.
- The Triple Option – Now, keep in mind this is coming from a former offensive lineman who LOVED TO DO NOTHING MORE THAN RUN THE FOOTBALL BETWEEN THE TACKLES. With that said, I love the option. I love the option even more when it’s ran to perfection…and that is what Navy did. They don’t have the athletes, nor do they have the speed or talent of a high caliber SEC squad. But what they do have is a quirky offense that works. Think about the old Dan Patrick line, “You can’t stop them…you can only hope to contain them”. It works here too. There wasn’t any question that South Carolina didn’t have the best team on the field, as they CLEARLY moved the ball without issues. (Unless you throw a busted hitch/go route off of your back foot…Garcia) The Triple Option offense is a beautiful thing when it is ran to perfection, and your team isn’t on the other side of the ball. Navy almost proved…well did prove depending on who you ask…that their style of offense is the great equalizer in college football.
- LSU & Their Defense- LSU wouldn’t be a true dark horse, but good Lord their defense is good. Their front 7 is something that defensive coordinators fanaticize about. Eight of their players had a tackle for a loss. MSU was held to under 200 total yards of offense. 15 tackles for a loss, 4 of those being sacks. If you are any team in the SEC West, you have the right to be terrified of this team. Mark it down, LSU wins the West. If you line up and know your front 7 is better than their front seven…on EITHER side of the ball…you win.
- Beezer’s subs…still good even after you graduate – There are few things that you obviously can’t do once you graduate college on a college football weekend. However, making it a point to go to Beezers (803-771-7771) at 2AM after a long day of celebrating takes you back to your younger days on campus. Godfather, meat and cheese only, extra hot sauce, oil, vinegar.
- Natty Light in Red Stripe Bottles – I’ve never been so happy, shocked, and all around impressed with a move to bottles like the fine folks at Anheuser-Busch have done. After crashing Uncle Louie’s for $1.25 bottles, I was handed what I thought was a Red Stripe beer. To my surprise, I turned the label to read NATURAL LIGHT. What is this? How is this possible? This by far was one of the biggest highlights of the weekend because it is a beautiful thing to crush crappy beer through a classy bottle. Also, it was refreshing to be able to get 18 beers (3 rounds of 6) and have a tab of $20. That is absurd. I felt like the king of the castle.
- Stopping a big play before it happens – Kentucky fans, you have now placed yourself clearly into the BIGGEST DOUCHE OF THE SEC category. If you haven’t seen the video, I’m posting it below:
Can you really justify this? I know you are getting beat at home…to Louisville…in a supposed “rivalry” game…but come on. You are an awful team, with awful fans. HERP DERP NATION. I’m embarrassed that I am marrying someone who went to this school. (Editor’s disclaimer: I’m a Gamecocks fan who is potentially still bitter about the ass-whipping we received in Lexington last year)
- Alabama Talk Radio …even better after a loss – Oh Boy. We all knew this was coming. I’ve only been truly excited to make my 35 minute ride to work on a handful of days…but I was running to my car this morning. 94.5 WJOX out of Birmingham was OUTSTANDING talk radio. Auburn fans want to fire their defensive coordinator after dropping a game to Clemson…and giving up over 600 total yards in the process. Now, I’m not going to get into what this means to Clemson just yet…but needless to say it meant much more to Auburn losing the game. Fans are PISSED, and all I can say is that I have roughly 2 and a half hours before Paul Finebaum (Alabama translation: PAAAAAWWWLLL) gets going. I can only assume the hate will keep going. I kid you not; someone called in and just said, “Tom Petty has a song for Auburn that he just wrote. It seems appropriate. (Plays free falling from a computer, through the phone, on the air)”. Epic.
Dark Thoughts:
- The ACC makes bold moves, and ruins the Big East in Basketball – Can we all just agree that this addition does absolutely nothing positive for the ACC in football? Congrats everyone in the GA/SC/NC area… SYRACUSE AND PITTSBURG ARE LOVELY TEAMS AND CITIES TO VISIT. The other half obviously has to do with basketball, but come on man…is this the goal? Are you officially making the transition to saying “We are not a football conference, only basketball”? Great – this leave Virginia Teach, Florida State, and dare I say Clemson as the flag waivers of the conference. I hate this with a passion. HATE IT. What do you tell the other Big East basketball schools? What do you tell the conference? What about the Villanovas/Georgetowns/other non football schools?
- Tailgating in a condo overlooking the stadium makes it tough to be outside with the common man – I’m not here to toot my own horn, or say that I have to have the nicest things in the world. Again, this is coming from someone whose family has tailgated in the SC Fairground for 28 years. HOWEVER, now that my youngest sister has been living in a condo overlooking the South Carolina football stadium, it makes it much more difficult to go back outside with the common man. Think about it…Do you want to cook? Go ahead. Would you want to sit down and relax on leather couches while watching the early games? Sure! Do you need to poop in a stable, air conditioned, and running water facility? OF COURSE! I hate that this is our last year with the place, but man…I feel sorry for those bums who have to be outside lugging coolers up and down the road. I’m a fancy man now…and must have one in the future.
- Domestic Disputes while on I-20 – The following is a true story that may have been one of the wildest things to see on the side of the interstate. About 7pm and 20 miles west of Atlanta, the soon to be Mrs. Boss and I were having a conversation about..I don’t know, how awesome Joker Philips is….when suddenly a white Tahoe slams on its brakes and gets in the emergency lane. A middle aged woman jumps out of the car when it comes to a stop, runs down the side of the road into the grass carrying her pocket book, and crying profusely. We would have stopped, but this was less than a half a mile from a big exit (where the Tahoe got off).Now, one can only assume that there was some incident that was severe enough in nature to cause this. And I’m not taking sides…but the only thing I could think of was the lady got a text from a lover and her husband/boyfriend read it. I’m not saying I agree with these actions…but I understand.
- Putting in a luxury truck stop...or ANYTHING between Birmingham / Atlanta, Atlanta/Augusta, Augusta/Columbia – What are the odds we can make this happen? I’ve been on several long drives before…but these are just terrible pieces of interstate where nothing exists. I promise you, the fastest way to make a ton of money is to build something out at one of these locations. Make it a super stop with everything. There isn’t any excuse in the year 2011 that you have to go 35 miles between exits.
- Is Kentucky the new doormat of the SEC – Did anyone else feel that in the air about 10:30 or so on Saturday night? There was a changing of the guard in the SEC, and not many felt it. Kentucky is now the doormat of the SEC. They barely beat a Western Kentucky squad, played dead until the 4th quarter against Directional Michigan, and got beat AT HOME against LOUISVILLE….who lost to Florida International. Vandy (their closest competition to worst) is 3-0 with wins over Uconn and now Ole Miss. Speaking of, some could place the Rebels here instead of the Wildcats. I don’t see that, as there is NO EXCUSE to lose to a Big East team at home…who lost the week prior to an International University in the United States.
- Clemson could fall ass backwards into a great season if they win just one of the next 2 games – Here’s another terrifying thought. If Clemson wins just one of the two games against Florida State or Virginia Tech, they will likely win their division and play for the ACC title. This is what happens when you let an SEC poser such as Auburn go into Death Valley and think they are as good as advertised. Anyone with a pulse knew Auburn WAS NOT THAT GOOD. (Just like Mississippi State IS NOT THAT GOOD) As long as Clemson doesn’t do anything stupid, they hold the keys. Remember kids, when you want to be good in the ACC, you have to be Wake Forest, NC State, Duke, North Carolina, and Boston College good.
-Gamblin Boss
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