Archive for December, 2011
Grilling Christmas Dinner
We didn’t have a white Christmas, but we did have a windy Christmas out in Seattle. It was so windy that the power was knocked out. My wife was extremely upset because she had spent a lot of time grocery shopping for Christmas dinner. I told her not to worry because I had a plan.
I went into the garage and pulled out my barbecues that were well protected thanks to the sports team grill covers I put on them after the last time they were used. I had my wife bring out all the meats and veggies and I went to work grilling Christmas dinner. Though it wasn’t the traditional meal she had wanted, my wife was pleased that her groceries didn’t go to waste and the whole family got to sit down together for a hot meal.
2006 Champs Sports Bowl
In recent history, I haven’t gotten to travel to exceptional bowl games to support my team, the Maryland Terrapins. Though former head coach Ralph Friedgen turned things around in his final year, there were a couple of mediocre and plain awful seasons for Maryland football. That being said, in 2006 I traveled down to Florida to see the Terps take on the Boilermakers in the Champs Sports Bowl.
By my recollection, there were an equal number of Purdue Boilermaker tire covers and Maryland Terrapin tire covers in the parking lot at the game. Of course, I think the Maryland fans were much more supportive. After all, we wind up winning the game 24-7 and the Maryland quarterback, Sam Hollenbach, was named MVP.
How the Boilermakers Got Their Name
Purdue University’s mascot is officially a locomotive. The nickname “Boilermakers” dates back to 1891. In that year, the football team defeated rival Wabash College 44-0. A headline following the game read, “Slaughter of Innocents: Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers from Purdue.”
At that time, engineering students engaged in hands-on work in the forge room, like blacksmiths and boilermakers. Names like “coal heavers” and “stevedores” were also used to describe the burly Purdue football players. The name “boilermakers” stuck and the Purdue Boilermakers grill covers, tire covers, and other memorabilia are proudly displayed throughout much of Indiana.
Spotlight On: Sherri Coale
The name Sherri Coale may not mean a lot to most people, but it means something to the students, alumni, and fans of Oklahoma State University. Coale is currently the head coach of Oklahoma’s women’s basketball team. She has brought the program from the brink of extinction to a consistently top 25 ranked team.
In 1974 the women’s basketball team at Oklahoma was founded as an afterthought to the men’s program and performed below average. In 1990, the team averaged only 65 attendees per game and was on the verge of being dropped. In 1996, Coale was brought on from a local high school and in a few short seasons turned the team around, even leading them to the 2002 post-season where they played in the National Title game. They average around 9,000 fans at every home game. I’m sure plenty of those fans’ cars sport Oklahoma Sooners tire covers purely in support of Coale and the women’s team.
Sooner Schooner
There are some truly fascinating mascots in the American football tradition. One of my favorites is the Sooner Schooner. Rather than being represented by an animal or a person, Oklahoma State University’s mascot is a replica of a Conestoga wagon pulled by two ponies. The ponies’ names are Boomer and Sooner.
Members of the all-male spirit organization known as the RUF/NEKS are responsible for maintaining and driving the Sooner Schooner on game days. After every score, the Sooner Schooner is driven onto the field to celebrate. A RUF/NEK drives the wagon while the RUF/NEK Queen sits beside him. I wonder if there are Oklahoma Sooners grill covers emblazoned with this memorable mascot.
Ohio State Names New Offensive Corrdinator
New Head Coach Urban Meyer has named Tom Herman as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for The Ohio State University. Herman has an impressive resume, so it is not surprising that Meyer pursued him for the job. Prior to his new gig at OSU, Herman was the offensive coordinator at Iowa State University for three seasons.
Overall, Herman has 13 years experience as a collegiate coach, if you count his two years as a graduate assistant at Texas. His time coaching at Rice is of particular note; over 40 school records for offenses were broken and in his second season the Owls went to a bowl game for the first time since 1954. If he has as much success in Ohio, I wonder if they’ll start printing Ohio State Buckeyes tire covers with his face on them?
Regis Philbin, Number One Fan
Anyone who owns a television set knows the face and voice of . He does, after all, hold the Guinness World Record for “most hours on camera.” It’s pretty common knowledge that Regis Philbin is the Notre Dame’s biggest fan.
He proudly supports the Fighting Irish in all sorts of endeavors. Philbin even narrated the audio CDs accompanying Joe Garner’s book, “Echoes of Notre Dame Football: Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish.” Several Notre Dame football coaches have appeared on his former talk show. How many Notre Dame tire covers, grill covers, and other fan gear do you think he owns?
New Coach for the Buckeyes
He denied it initially, but it is now a fact that is the head coach of The Ohio State University football team. Reportedly, he signed a six-year contract for $4 million annually. He will also receive $2.4 million in retention payments (football is big business, particularly at OSU).
His appointment can be viewed as a homecoming. He was born in Toledo, Ohio and grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio. Meyer also earned a master’s degree from OSU in 1988. This could serve as a big pick me up after Coach Jim Tressel’s resignation. I’ll bet there will be plenty of proud fans and alumni sporting Ohio State Buckeyes grill covers at future tailgates.
Notre Dame Falls from Top 25
My collegiate football allegiances are well known on this blog. Even though my number one team is not top 25 material, I do like to keep track of what NCAA football teams are doing well and which ones have fallen out of favor. This week, I was keeping an eye out for Notre Dame.
Unsurprisingly, Notre Dame, previously ranked at 22, has fallen off the list. They’ve played a fairly easy schedule this season, and failed to play competitively against a true contender, Stanford (currently ranked 4). Despite my criticisms, Fighting Irish fans still have much to be proud of, and I don’t begrudge any fans who prominently display Notre Dame grill covers and other fan gear, even following this past weekend’s loss