Archive Page 9
25
Aug
12
seven.
24
Aug
12
eight.
23
Aug
12
a little heat.
Coming soon to a Bloody Mary near you:
Trust me on this.
23
Aug
12
nine.
22
Aug
12
ten.
21
Aug
12
eleven.
20
Aug
12
commercial break.
It’s a new era. And the Killer Nuts Tailgating store has a new shirt.
Sure, you’ve seen this phrase around since Urban was hired last fall, but given that this is the official Killer Nuts Tailgating version, I know you’ll want to pick up one — or maybe even several — for yourself. And given that the season begins IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, I know you’ll want to order today. It’s available in men’s and women’s versions, in multiple colors.
And as a final incentive, do keep in mind that I get One American Dollar for each shirt sold, and I promise to re-invest that princely sum in our tailgate parties. We’re talking the difference between Tostitos and store-brand tortilla chips here, people. Dig deep.
20
Aug
12
twelve.
19
Aug
12
annual parking post.
In what has become a tradition since Ohio State announced the expansion of the medical center, it’s time to take a look at our parking options for the upcoming season.
First thing: Chances that we’ll be parking in the lot we used last year are zero; sources close to the tailgate (uh, that would be my mom) say the lot is currently a fenced-in part of the construction site for the new physical plant thing that’s being built as part of the hospital expansion. So there’s that.
Next thing: We did, however, set an interesting precedent in 2011 in that we got the OK from parking services to use a handicapped space in a lot that wasn’t otherwise available for football parking. And even though my father is newly bionic (after his hip replacement last winter), we still have that hang-tag, and we’re still willing to use it. I have no idea if there are other possibilities for us close to our traditional spot, but we’re certainly going to take a look.
The other thing: As was the case a year ago, another option is the lot north of St. John Arena, which is dedicated to vehicles with handicapped hang-tags. That option — with its wide swath of asphalt and dearth of green — is still available. I wasn’t excited about it last year, and I wasn’t excited about it again this summer when Bud started a round of emails to discuss the parking situation. It’s good in some ways — it’s much closer to the stadium than we’ve ever been, and there’s a shuttle that could get Bud to the game when his shiny new hip isn’t feeling so bionic — but still, it’s a far cry from what we’re used to.
And then I noticed something else.
Take a look at this map, which I clipped from the university’s official 2012 football parking map. The royal blue north of St. John is the handicapped parking. Note that it not only covers the area north of our old basketball barn, but that it includes a little swath around the ice rink. Given that that L-shaped finger curls around the rink building and abuts Remembrance Park, I wondered what those spaces might look like.
Yes, Google’s satellite photos can be outdated, but HEY — TREES. RIGHT ACROSS WOODY HAYES DRIVE FROM THE STADIUM. It might be that we’d have to arrive stupid early to get one of those spaces, BUT HOLY CRAP, WE COULD TAILGATE THERE.
Thoughts?
17
Aug
12
sticking my neck out.
I had other buckeye necklaces before this one, but they were usually pretty simple ones, maybe a single buckeye strung on a piece of suede cord. Prior to the start of the 2002 season — yes, THAT season — I decided I wanted more. I went to a bead store and found a couple things that seemed like they would work. I also grabbed some buckeyes from the tree back home, drilled them out with my old yankee drill and put it together.
And Ohio State proceeded to have a pretty good decade — not to mention the national title the team won while I wore that necklace in Tempe.
Fairly early in his tenure, Jim Tressel made it clear that unlike his predecessor, he understood that the Michigan game was different. He did things differently for the final game of the season, and he made sure that everyone — the team and the fans in particular — knew that the Team Up North required a special effort from everyone.
Happy with this change from the Cooper era — when I had come to dread the Michigan game, for obvious reasons — I thought I’d make a special TUN-only necklace, to be worn on just one day every year. That was 2003, when I was still giddy both from the title the year before and two straight wins against the rival.
And then we lost that year.
I stuck with it, though, and it’s paid off. That buckeye necklace is 7-2* so far, and it’s not going anywhere.
And then came The Unpleasantness.
And prior to the start of the 2011 season, I knew there had to be a new necklace. The original had a great run, but I felt the need for a clean break from the bad stuff that left Ohio State with a new coach and a slew of players who had to sit out significant portions of the season while they contemplated their new tattoos.
I came up with this one, a combination of new buckeyes, some beads I found at a shop on Bethel Road and a few old ones I had in my bead bag.
To be honest: I’m not sure whether it was the season itself or something about the combination of beads, but the 2011 necklace never felt quite right. And once last fall’s Michigan game was complete — and once Ohio State hired Urban Meyer — I knew immediately I would assemble a new necklace for this new era.
Unlike the others, though, this one isn’t all new. The buckeyes and most of the beads return from last year’s model, and that’s OK. I view 2011 as a transition; Luke Fickell is still on the staff, and we saw glimmers — Braxton Miller, Jordan Hall, Ryan Shazier, for example — of what could be down the road.
We saw a lot of ugly football. We had more than our share of rough Saturdays. But we also saw reasons to hope.
So — I have a “new” necklace. We’ve broken from the previous era, we’ve acknowledged the sweeping changes of a year ago — and we’re ready for 2012 and what it will bring.
*Yes, I’m counting 2010. Bite me.
Killer Nuts Tailgating 