With my feet barely on the ground from the plane ride in, I dashed for the rental car counter and peeled out of the parking lot like Bo Duke in the General Lee (substitute grey Hyundai Accent for 69’ Dodge Charger). Such was my enthusiasm for my first trip to Kansas City, a town synonymous with great barbecue. The place high on my list was LC’s Barbecue, which was slightly off the beaten path from the “big two” in Kansas City; Gates and Arthur Bryant’s. While those establishments may be more famous, LC’s I was assured, had the better cue’.
After some deliberation on the menu (KC joints seem averse to the concept of a variety plate), I ordered up the usual brisket and ribs, and tossed a newcomer into the mix: Burnt Ends. Burnt Ends, as I learned, are an order of the charred crusty end pieces of brisket, prized by some and shunned by others.
As I quickly learned, the brisket in Kansas City is served thin sliced, sandwich style and slathered in sauce.After observing the pitmaster heavily ladling the sauce onto my brisket, I quickly stopped him before he garnished my ribs and burnt ends with the obfuscating liquid.This drew a raised eyebrow from the woman behind the register, an expression which bordered on both puzzled and offended.Regardless, my ribs and burnt ends were spared from the murky crimson depths, and I could give the quality of the meat a proper evaluation.
The brisket was pretty standard fare, though the thin slicing makes it chew close to deli roast beef for my taste. The strong KC style sauce also rendered it difficult to taste the meat. The ribs on the other hand, were delightful. They were quite meaty, had a beautiful pinkish smoke ring and a deep smokiness throughout the meat that pulled nicely off the bone without falling apart. These were lovingly cooked ribs.
Then there were the Burnt Ends.Oh my, Burnt Ends where have you been all my life?Subconsciously, my favorite part of the brisket has always been the end pieces that have a thick ring of charred crust, and I find myself squirreling them away for the last few bites of my meal.The fusion of smoke, beef, salty rendered fat and a chewy crunch is the pinnacle of BBQ, and why prized brisket is such a rare indulgence.Now imagine an entire order of those magnificent nuggets from heaven, every morsel bursting with the charred flavor of a smoky punch to the face, and you have an order of burnt ends from LC’s Barbecue.Each bite is heroin for the tongue.
I plowed through my brisket and ribs in fairly short order, but I savored every bite of the burnt ends and they were one of the best Barbecue dishes I have ever had. If you ever find yourself in KCK, skip the lines and hoopla of the barbecue factories and head into LC’s for some burnt end nirvana.
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In the immortal words of John “Hannibal” Smith: I love it when a plan comes together.
While advanced planning and exhaustive preparation has been the hallmark of our Pigskin Pursuit this fall, never underestimate the power of spontaneity and improvisation.A mere five days before the game, we were lounging around the house watching the Cotton Bowl on TV lamenting the fact that our busy holiday travel schedule had made it difficult to entertain the idea of a bowl game.Bowl games are an integral part of the College Football landscape, and despite my principled opposition to the fumbling ineptitude of the BCS Bowl Committee, not attending a bowl game would be regrettable.Motivated by this grim reality, we quickly set our sights on the crown jewel of them all.
With only a few days left on the season calendar, we decided that a trip to the National Championship game would be the perfect capstone to our College Football Tour:Texas squaring off against Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
With that settled, now all we had to do was scramble a plan together to actually get there in four days.A few quick phone calls and emails later, Mindy had secured tickets to the game (at face value I might add), flight arrangements, a rental car and a place to stay.With this level of planning and quick execution, God help you if she ever decides to pull a bank heist.
The stage for the game would be one of the largest in recent memory. Unlike some of the more recent championship selections, this one was absent any controversy over whom the most deserving teams were.Squaring off were #1 Alabama vs. #2 Texas.Both undefeated at 12-0 and respective champions of their conferences.16 National Championships and 1,658 all time wins between these juggernauts.Two of the most storied programs in the history of the sport, playing in the most storied bowl venue in College Football: The Granddaddy of ‘Em All, The Rose Bowl.
Put simply, it doesn’t get any bigger than this.
The atmosphere surrounding a National Championship game is a bit of a unique situation, and it’s difficult to compare it to a regular season game.While the magnitude surrounding the game is certainly the largest of the season, expectedly it doesn’t have quite the same electric feel as a typical College Football Saturday, largely due to the neutral site.For one thing, the Rose Bowl, while one of the most storied venues in the history of College Athletics, doesn’t actually occupy a college campus.Tailgating, as you can imagine, is also a bit different, since the vast majority of your dedicated tailgaters are probably unwilling to make the 1,400 mile trek to Pasadena to flip a few burgers and hot dogs.While at first glance it may seem tame, bear in mind there are still an abundance of tailgates and the Rose Bowl actually shuts down a golf course for use by tailgaters. It’s an admirable effort for people to put together such elaborate spreads from halfway across the country. We also had the good fortune of meeting up with our favorite Longhorn friends Jared and Kimberly to hoist a couple of ritualistic pre game beverages.
The one ancillary benefit that comes with Bowl Game atmospheres, however, is that tickets are surprisingly easy to find and moderately affordable.We noted a handful of tickets readily available close to face value if you wanted them.This is assuming, of course, you were willing to shell out the $275 face value to witness the spectacle of a National Championship Game.But rest assured, if going to a NC game is on your wish list in the future, finding tickets should be the least of your concerns.
The Rose Bowl itself is simply a spectacular venue.Occupying an “arroyo” (which is a fancy word for valley) in beautiful Pasadena, the Rose Bowl first opened its doors in 1922, a mere ten years after FenwayPark was built.To say that history oozes from every pillar of this structure would be an understatement, there is a reason it’s a National Historic Landmark.The Rose Bowl has two Olympic Games, a World Cup, five Superbowls, three BCS Championships and about 88 “Rose Bowl” Games to its credit. In fact its very name coined the term “Bowl Game” for postseason College Football games.In addition to history, the Rose Bowl is an imposing structure.With a stated capacity of 92,542 it ranks 8th on the list of largest football stadiums in America (all of which are college stadiums by the way). Finally, the backdrop for the stadium is magnificent.There may be no more spectacular panorama in College Football than watching a pale magenta sunset over the noble San Gabriel Mountains, the hazy air thick with anticipation for a National Championship Game kickoff.
Simply put, if you could only visit one College Football stadium in your life, it should be the House that Rock built – Notre Dame Stadium.But if you could visit two, the second should be the Rose Bowl.
The in-stadium atmosphere around gametime is a similarly unique, as are most bowl atmospheres.Despite 94,906 bodies packing the cavernous Rose Bowl, the pomp of a pre-game fireworks show and thunderous flyover, it’s a decidedly quieter stadium than a typical home sellout crowd.Because the bowl is split roughly 50/50 between Texas and Alabama fans, the noise level will simply never be as loud as you would find at a true home game atmosphere where 95% of the fans are all cheering in unison.Furthermore, of those fans at the game, for a game of this magnitude it’s safe to assume that you will have over representation of the “corporate” crowd and other folks that may not have a passionate interest in the outcome.It’s safe to say, however, that the true fans that make it out to the game, and travelled halfway across the country to see their team, are some of the most diehard, dedicated and boisterous individuals you could hope for.And candidly, you shouldn’t need crowd noise to get you amped for a game of this magnitude anyway.
While bowl game atmospheres are decidedly different, the action where it counts – between the white lines, is as intense as it gets.On the field featured the intriguing matchup of the Alabama rushing attack, led by Heisman winner Mark Ingram, squaring off against the gunslinging Colt McCoy led Texas air show.Unfortunately, that matchup would only last a mere five plays into the game when Alabama Defensive End Marcell Dareus drove the Texas QB into the turf injuring his precious right shoulder, and knocking him out for the game.
Despite a couple of Texas field goals, what followed was a second quarter full of Crimson Tide domination.Alabama’s running back duo of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson each scampered for touchdowns.However, neither touchdown was as heartbreaking as the botched Longhorn shovel pass by frosh QB Garrett Gilbert which was returned by Alabama for yet another score as the half expired (returned by Marcell Dareus of course).The situation coming into the second half for the Longhorns was about as bleak as it gets.
Just when the crowd may have started heading for the exits, the Longhorns showed remarkable fight coming into the third and fourth quarters.Their defense stiffened up and shut down the Crimson tide for nearly two full quarters.Surprisingly, the offense came to life as well.Freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert connected for two touchdowns with veteran receiver Jordan Shipley, and demonstrated remarkable poise and confidence.This brought the score to within three points, Alabama 24 – Texas 21.With three minutes left to play Texas had the ball on their own 17 yard line, and barely eighty yards separating them from improbable National Championship glory.
In the end, however, the vaunted Alabama defense came up big when it needed to.They promptly stuffed Gilbert into the ground on the first play of the drive, jarring the ball loose, and diving on top of the fortuitous fumble.A few short plays later Alabama sealed the game when Mark Ingram bulldogged into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night.Trent Richardson would add another ‘Bama touchdown a few minutes later, making the final score appear more lopsided than the contest actually was.
Final Score: Alabama 37 – Texas 21
Congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide and their fan base, who were all remarkably friendly and respectful during the game.This was a hard fought victory for them, and I admire the gritty brand of football that they play. Going undefeated in the SEC, bumping off Florida in the SEC Championship game and capping it off with a National Championship victory is an incredible accomplishment, and I salute those athletes.
This was a phenomenal way to conclude our College Football Tour for the season.I had never been to a National Championship Game, and as a frustrated Notre Dame fan I may have to wait some time before I go again.The magnitude of the game is simply unmatched and the electricity among fans is palpable. It’s an experience that any College Football fan should experience at least once in their lifetime.Seeing two unbeaten national powerhouses, playing for the National Championship in the Rose Bowl is the largest possible stage that you could ask for, and it’s an experience that I will always cherish.
Thanks (again) to our friends Jared and Kimberly.It’s always a good time meeting up with them, and we can always count on their attendance and hospitality at any big UT Football game.
Special thanks to our friend Daron for helping us out with some last minute tickets to the game.It was an incredible kind and generous effort to find these tickets for us, and I am incredibly thankful for this once in a lifetime experience.
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After the conclusion of our regular season, our ravenous appetite for college football had yet to be satiated.Fortunately one of the benefits of living in the heart of Big 12 country is the Big 12 Conference Championship game rolling into town a week after the end of the season.Both of us were anxious to see if the undefeated Texas Longhorns could overcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers to secure their spot in the National Championship game.I was also rather excited to be witness my first football game in the newly christened Cowboy Stadium, without having to suffer the indignity of actually watching the Cowboys play.
Coming into the contest, the Texas offensive juggernaut had run unchecked through Big 12 opposition all season, posting an average of 43 points per game, good for the #3 offense in the country.Behind the winningest QB in college football history and Heisman candidate Colt McCoy, the Longhorns were on the cusp of clinching their second National Championship berth in the last five years.
Standing ominously in their path on the other side of scrimmage, however, was the heralded Bo Pelini Nebraska defense.Nebraska boasted the stingiest scoring defense in the country, allowing an anemic 10.4 points per game. The Husker’s featured man child defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who, in addition to being named the defensive player of the year, had the rare honor being a defensive player mentioned in the Heisman conversation.Clearly, this was going to be a contest of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object.
Texas vs. Nebraska lived up to this hype, and proved to be the most exciting game that we witnessed all year.The Nebraska defense locked the Horns’ attack down all day long.Limited to a paltry 202 yards of total offense, the Texas attack was forced to punt nine times on the evening, and managed a lone touchdown.Despite a praiseworthy performance against Texas A&M the week before, Colt McCoy’s Heisman stock plummeted amidst his lackluster 184 yards and three interceptions.In fact Colt was picking himself up off the carpet for the better part of the day after being sacked nine times, including four of them by Ndamukong Suh.Suh was all over the place during the game, raking in 12 tackles alone and anchoring the Nebraska defense that kept the Huskers within a score the entire game (fortunate considering their offense barely managed over 100 yards all day).
The game got extremely nerve wracking for the burnt orange crowd with about 1:44 left to play when Nebraska kicker Alex Henery booted one through the uprights to give the Huskers a 12-10 lead.It seemed Texas would have to go nearly the length of field against the stalwart Husker defense to claim their spot in Pasadena…..or would they? The Nebraska kicker promptly booted the kickoff out of bounds, spotting Texas at the 40 yard line.At nearly midfield, McCoy then connected with his favorite receiver Jordan Shipley for 19 yards. The well disciplined, self aware Nebraska squad decided this would be an opportune time for a personal foul, so they spotted Texas yet another 15 yards on the end of the play.After a sack and a stuffed run, Colt McCoy then rolled out on a 3rd down passing play with :08 on the clock.Taking his sweet time surveying the field (and evidently unconcerned with the clock), McCoy then lazily lobbed the ball out of bounds as the final seconds ticked off.Instantly, the Nebraska bench rushed the field in victory, as throngs of red clad Husker fans erupted in celebration in the stands.A hard fought victory, and a salute to the old adage of “defense wins championships”.
But wait a minute…..”the previous play is under review”….With a collective sigh of relief for the burnt orange, the Huskers were corralled off the field to await the results of the replay trolls.76,211 stood in hushed silence, and after an agonizing five minute review, plus the requisite allowance for some atmosphere killing TV commercials, the officials determined that there was in fact :01 left on the clock.With that one second, the Longhorns BCS Championship dreams were still alive, and exclamation points would live on in facebook status updates for eternity.After a tenuous 46 yard kick by Hunter Lawrence that just eeked inside the uprights, the Longhorns were the ones celebrating under the ticker tape.Their next stop would be a trip to Pasadena to cap off a perfect season and play for the Big Crystal Football.
I somehow managed to capture the winning kick in mid air…
What a game…
Hook Em’ Horns!
Special thanks again to our friends Jared and Kimberly for helping us out with tickets to the game, and tailgating festivities.College Football is meant to be enjoyed in the company of good friends, and it is always a pleasure to hoist a few with some of our favorite ‘Horns fans.
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The last regular season game on our schedule was a return to the stretching plains of the OklahomaTerritory.We were in Norman to witness yet another one of the most storied programs in the history of College Football; the Oklahoma Sooners.Home to seven national championships, 149 consensus All Americans, five Heisman Trophy winners, and of course, Brian Bosworth.
It was rivalry week up in the SoonerState, and the Sooners themselves were hosting their hunter orange clad in state rivals from OklahomaState.“Bedlam” as the game is otherwise known, in parlance of this irritating modern trend of branding every rivalry contest.
Oddly enough, the roles were reversed this year.The perennial powerhouse Sooners were at the finale of a rather disappointing 6-5 season, largely driven by the delicate shoulder of injured Heisman winner Sam Bradford.The Norman natives were growing grumbly with long time head coach Bob Stoops.Proof that despite going to seven BCS Bowls (four championship games) and a career .801 winning percentage, your only as good as your last game in Sooner country.I for one would be more than happy to relieve them of the “visored one” for greener gridiron pastures in South Bend.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, came into the season with lofty expectations on the strength of their powerful returning offensive trio of Zac Robinson (QB), Kendall Hunter (RB) and Dez Bryant (WR).Unfortunately, Hunter went down with an injury, while Bryant managed to get himself suspended by the NCAA for the remainder of the season for talking to Deion Sanders (Proving once again that nothing good can come of conversing with Deion Sanders).Though their 9-2 record was impressive, a win over their heated in state rivals would be a nice little capstone to finish off the season, and vault them into a BCS payday.
That big payday would have to wait, however, because the Sooner defense absolutely stifled the Cowboys all day long, surprising considering Texas Tech had lit them up for 41 points the week before.In fact, smothering would be an understatement, as OSU could only manage 109 yards of total offense on the day, and didn’t convert a sole first down in the entire second half.Their punter may have needed a hip replacement after kicking the ball away a total of fourteen times.While Oklahoma’s offense wasn’t spectacular, Demarco Murray still scampered for two touchdowns and Freshman quarterback Landry Jones didn’t give the ball away.At the end of the day, Oklahoma strutted away with a dominant victory, blanking the ‘Pokes 27-0.
Despite the high caliber matchup on the field, this game was far and away the sloppiest we had seen all season.Although there were only four official turnovers in the game, in the first half alone the ball was fumbled five times.Even the officials bungled their duties, having to second review a handful of plays and dragging out an already glacially slow game.While these “official reviews” are a great time to grab a sandwich and beer at home, I wouldn’t advise it at The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.I grew concerned that Mindy had been abducted when she disappeared for over half a quarter braving one of the woefully understaffed and serpentine lines at the concession stand.By my count there were a grand total of three soda fountains open to serve the entire 85,606 person crowd of crimson and cream.
Prior to the game, we had a chance to check out the infamous “Sooner Schooner”. The schooner is a replica covered wagon that the Oklahoma “Ruf/Neks” (no that is not a typo) parade around the endzone after each Oklahoma score.The Schooner might be one of the more impressive touchdown celebrations in College Football, as the wagon and horse team (Boomer and Sooner) race out onto the field with a Ruf/Nek precariously hanging out the back of the wagon gripping a flapping OU flag.They gallop out in an arc that nearly reaches the fifty yard line. Up close and personal, however, it’s deceptively small.Comically, the Sooner Schooner is about the size of a covered Radio Flyer pulled by a band of pygmy ponies.I think Ralphie the Buffalo is safe as the largest livestock mascot in the Big 12.
Although Norman is a storied and quintessential little college town, our trip to Oklahoma would be a short one, as we returned home promptly after the game because Mindy had caught a rather nasty bug.So on the next go around, I will be sure to swing into Earl’s RibPalace to give you some first hand reporting on their storied swine.
Despite the abbreviated trip, it was a gorgeous sunny day for football, and one could do a lot worse than spending a late fall Saturday afternoon in Norman when the Sooners are playing.
Boomer Sooner!
Special thanks to our friend, Eric, for the hospitality in the game-day village and helping us find some tickets to the game.
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Aug 24th @ Hawaii (Delaware State) Sep 21st @ Boise State (Portland State) Oct 3rd @ UTEP (Sam Houston) Oct 5th @ San Diego State (Hawaii) Oct 10th @ James Madison (Coastal Carolina) Oct 16th @ Sam Houston State (Western Kentucky) Oct 23rd @ Kennesaw State (Liberty)
Total Miles Traveled: 28,906 Total Attendance:137,684 Total Games: 7
16 Year Running Totals
Total Miles Traveled: 245,999 Total Attendance:7,380,203 Total Games: 158
