Texas A&M - 10/13/12

Where do I start? Is this really happening? This is like watching Rudy or Facing the Giants. My favorite quote from Facing the Giants is "Attitude is the aroma of the heart. If your attitude stinks, your heart is not right." I think this La Tech team has it's heart right where it needs to be. We have gone to a place that I thought we were capable of but only dreamed we would actually get to. We have taken on the Big, the Bad and the Ugly and look at us now. We even knocked the Sin out of Sin City. Who knows what will happen next. I am very proud of my green drawers and I know they have carried me through this part of the season so far. I am so proud of this team and I can not wait to see where we are headed to next. Cloud 9 and I are still chilling as we get ready to prepare for Texas A&M in Shreveport. This will be an 8:15 PM start and the game is on ESPNU. This is going to be a strange week for me as I won't be going to my normal tailgate spot. Many of our tailgate neighbors (Bobby & Andrew) already have tailgate spots at Independence Stadium and have asked us to join them.

It will be pretty cool, but I will still feel naked not cooking something. I apologize about the naked thing as that would not be a pretty site. Now it is time for me to seriously get ready for the game. Texas A&M is 5 - 1 with their only loss against Florida at home. La Tech and Texas A&M are both ranked in the top 25 and they both bring in a high powered offense. Did I just say La Tech is ranked in the top 25? Wow! How incredible is that? We deserve all of this national attention and I am loving it. Before I get carried to far I really want to explore this all male cheerleader thing. I am not sure I understand the concept. I guess I need to correct myself as they are not cheerleaders, they are yell leaders. This group of 5 is composed of 3 seniors and 2 juniors. Not only do they yell at you they use a variety of hand signals called "Pass Backs" to direct and intensify the crowd. Really? Their fans really need hand signals so they know what to do next. That is just like "How many Aggies does it take to change out a light bulb?" Tight white pants, hand signals and yelling at you sounds like there is some funny stuff going on behind the scenes.

A warning has been issued on I-20 all the way from Dallas to Shreveport to remove all of your goats and sheep along with cutting down as many of your stumps as you can. As the Aggie fan base makes their way to the great state of Louisiana they are interested in testing out the East Texas and Northwest Louisiana goat and sheep population. Ha Ha! That is funny right there! We spoke with Matt several times during the week. He was on point, focused and was stoked for the game against the Aggies. He said practices have been intense and the team is very focused. He thought all of the practices and meetings have gone very well. He said he is kicking the ball well. They have watched a lot of film and the Aggies run some stunts with their line on FG's and PAT's. They are still working on kicks to the left side between the hash and the corner of the end zone along with some sky kicks and a few different on-sides kicks. I know Matt gets tired of me asking him "Why" all of the time, but sometimes I just don't understand the reasoning on this left corner thing.

I guess I never will. We made our way over to Shreveport Friday afternoon. We caught up with my parents and checked in to the hotel. Around 5:30 PM we headed to Chimi V's at exit 21 off of I-20. Chimi V's is a Fajita Factory/Sports Bar. Flip and Bobby (owners) have invited the cheerleaders and our mascot to a pep rally at 6:00 PM. Janet's parents and her aunt along with her brother's family joined us there as well. Flip and Bobby had a table set aside for us and this place is just awesome. Flip and my dad have shared a few bottles of wine at our tailgate spots in Ruston over the last couple of years and this partaking of wine would not end today. Flip was ready with the wine as he opened up several bottles of Caymus. It was really good and very kind as you can not beat an awesome glass of wine! We got to talk with some of the cheerleaders and my niece Mikayla had her picture taken with a few of them along with our mascot. There was a television crew there and we got to see their broadcast live on the TV's as they filmed some of our pep rally.

The margaritas were flowing, the wine was flowing, the fajitas were sizzling and the queso was amazing. If you get a chance to go to Chimi V's you will not be disappointed. Thanks so much to Flip and Bobby for an amazing experience. After our awesome meal we headed to the El Dorado for some gaming fun. Matt had a couple of high school buddies (Jake & Colton) coming up from College Station for the game. Jake was the QB on Matt's high school team as was Matt's only holder he had in high school. We ran into them both at the El Dorado. It was good to catch up with them. After enough of this gaming fun we headed back to the hotel to unwind with a good bottle of red wine and then it was lights out. Saturday morning came early and I was itching to head to the tailgating area. I was told to calm down as this was going to be a long day. My dad and I along with my father and brother in-law made our way over to Maxwell's Market to grab a few things. I have been to Ross's place several times and he has some very unique things, but one thing caught my eye this time that I have never seen.

They have this sauce called Zee's Secret Sausage Sauce made specially for grilled sausage. Are you kidding me? That is so awesome! We made our way back to the hotel and regrouped. I was ready to go and at 12:00 Noon we headed for the white lot. With the big ice chest in tow we made our way over to Bobby's tailgate area. Andrew's spot was just behind Bobby's. Bobby's group was cooking ribs, brisket and pulled pork and Andrew's group had jambalaya and fried fish. It is always great to get to visit with them. It was going to be a grand day. The first beer (Fat Tire) is opened and our tailgating experience has begun. Janet's family (Papaw, Meggie, Mike, Melynda & Mikayla), Kasie, Kasie's dad Jeremy, my sister and her family (Cathy, Wes, Parker, Peyton), Mr & Mrs Harper, Mr Hamm, Mr Rust, David & Barbara along with Jake and Colton all made their way over to the tailgate area. The party is on! I will have to admit that we had an Aggie joke experience while we were trying to light the charcoal chimney to get the coals ready to warm up the ribs. It was pretty windy and it took at times up to 4 people to get this thing lit, but to be honest 3 of us were trying to block the wind.

It was pretty funny though. The food was awesome and thanks to Bobby and Andrew for letting our crew hangout. We are so blessed to have met so many awesome people at the La Tech games. I really though their would be more people in the white lot tailgating, but as game time got closer there were more that showed up. Janet along with several others made their way over to see the team arrive. She said that Matt looked focused and she did get a hug. After a few beers and some more awesome food we made our way into the stadium. Janet's boss (Curtis and his family) were coming over from Dallas and I was pretty excited to get to visit with them. We got to watch Matt warm up some. The wind was swirling so it was hard for me to tell how is warm ups had gone. I noticed when he was on the sidelines after warm up that he kept touching his nose. Janet's dads seats were down low and I saw Matt talking to him while he was getting some water. I did not think anything about it and then Janet's dad came up to our seats and said that Matt had broke his nose in pregame warm up. What? How do you do that? Matt told Janet's dad he was kicking some longer FG's and was watching the ball longer than normal to see what the wind was doing.

Matt said he was not looking as one of the equipment guys tossed the ball towards him and hit him on the side of his nose. I guess I will have to find out more from Matt after the game is over. It is game time and I am ready to get this battle on. Matt kicks off and we stop TAM at the 21 yard line. TAM runs 5 plays and runs it in from 40 yards out for a TD. Really? Tech takes the kick and we run 3 plays from our 28 yard line and RA comes it to punt. TAM starts on their 34 yard line and runs 10 plays and scores on a 20 yard pass play. TAM is up 14 - 0. Please say it is not so! Tech starts their next drive at our 45 yard line and runs 5 plays as we go for it on 4th down and turn the ball back over to TAM. Here we go. This is way to early to start this! TAM starts at their 39 yard line and runs 9 plays as they score on a run from 15 yards out. The score is now TAM 21 - 0. Tech takes over at our 25 yard line and we run 3 plays and RA comes in to punt. TAM starts at their 27 yard line and runs 2 plays as the 1st quarter comes to an end.

Wow! We just laid a 1st quarter egg! This is not the start I was looking for. The 2nd quarter starts with TAM running 8 plays as they kick a 26 yard FG. Tech starts their next drive on our 25 yard line and we run 9 plays and our attempt to go for it on 4th down comes up short. TAM taks over at their 37 yard line and runs 9 plays as they connect with a 54 yard FG. TAM is now up 27 - 0. What are we doing? Tech takes the kickoff and we start our drive at our 25 yard line and we run 10 plays as CC hits QP for a 11 yard pass play. Matt comes in and connects on the PAT. This is a start! Matt kicks off for a touch back and TAM will start at their 25 yard line. TAM runs 1 play and scores again on a 75 yard pass play and they are now up 34 - 7. Tech takes the kick off and we start at our 25 yard line and run 9 plays as KD takes it in from the 6 yard line and scores. Matt comes in for the PAT and it is blocked and TAM takes it back for 2 points. What just happened? I looked at the picture I just took and I could not see the line, but the ball off of Matt's foot looked normal.

Wow! @mnels33 is not going to be a happy camper and neither will CD or CT! Matt kicks off for another touch back. TAM runs 7 plays and connects on a 28 yard FG. This is incredible! What is going on? Tech takes the kick off and runs 6 plays and Matt comes in and connects on a 43 yard FG. That kick I was told looked like a flying saucer as it was tipped at the line again. I am not sure what is going on and I guess I will find out after the game. The 43 yard FG by Matt Nelson ends the 2nd half. The score is TAM 39, Tech 16. I think I need to go walk around. I need to re-adjust my thought process and my drawers. Tech starts the 3rd quarter on our 25 yard line and runs 7 plays and we turn the ball back over to TAM after our 4th down attempt failed. TAM starts at their 35 yard line and runs 3 plays and punts. Tech starts at our 26 yard line and runs 12 plays and CC hit QP on a 2 yard pass play. Matt connects on the PAT and the score is TAM 39 - 23. This is better! Matt kicks off and looks like he over kicks it to me and it goes out of bounds in the left corner.

I hate the left corner! TAM starts their drive at the 35 yard line and runs 11 plays and scores on a 2 yard run. TAM is now up 46 - 23. No comment! Tech starts at their 25 yard line and we run 10 plays as CC hits QP on a 5 yard pass play for a TD. Matt connects on the PAT and the score is now TAM 46 - 30. Matt kicks off and TAM runs 3 plays from their 26 yard line and has to punt. Tech takes over at our 26 yard line and we run 6 plays and the 3rd quarter comes to an end. TAM 46 -30. Can we do this? The 4th quarter starts with RA punting. TAM starts from their 20 yard line and runs 3 plays and punts. Tech takes over at their 31 yard line and runs 7 plays as KD runs it in from 21 yards out. We go for the 2 point attempt and CC takes it in. The score is now TAM 46 - 38. Could it be the jump start we need? TAM takes the kick off and starts their drive from their 25 yard line. After 2 penalties in a row SL intercepts the ball and takes it in for a score. Wow! We go for the 2 point play and CC's pass comes up short. The score is now TAM 46 - 44. Wow again! Is this really happening? Matt kicks off and TAM starts on their 18 yard line.

TAM runs 10 plays and scores on a 17 yard pass play. Oh this is going to hurt! Tech takes the kick and we start at our 25 yard line. We run 6 plays and RA hits the punt for 71 yards and we down it at the TAM 1 yard line. Very nice RA! TAM runs 7 plays and JM scores on a 72 yard run. The PAT is missed! How is he faster than our defense? This is not good! TAM now leads 59 - 44. Tech starts on our 38 yard line and CC hits QP on a 62 yard bomb. Matt comes in ad connects on the PAT. This is crazy! Matt Nelson kicks the on-sides kick and it is a beauty as Tech recovers the ball. Tech runs 6 plays as CC hits RH on a 13 yard TD pass. Awesome catch RH! We go for the 2 point play with a chance to tie the game and CC's pass comes up short. Wow! Oh so close! Matt kicks another on-sides kicks and TAM recovers it. TAM runs 1 play and the game is over. TAM wins 59 - 57. Are you kidding me? What a game! After the way this started I really did not know the ending would be this close. I am so sad for this loss, but I am so proud of this team for never giving up and believing they could still win this game. I am exhausted and I am mentally drained.

These games are so long. I am not sure I can even sit down. I watched the team go to midfield after the game. I could tell this was going to be a difficult greeting before they boarded the bus. I saw the team leave the field and head to the locker room. I was disappointed that they did not stay on the field as the Alma Mater was played by the band. We made our way to the gate where the team buses were and waited for Matt and the team to come out. There were quite a few parents and fans waiting for them. As the players made their way out everyone gave each player a round of applause. That was so awesome to see. Matt finally made his way out and he had 24 plus family and friends to give hugs to. After he got to me you could tell he was pretty upset. I asked him about his nose and he said that it was broken. He said one of the equipment guys threw the ball to him and he was still watching one of his pre-game kicks. He said it bleed like crazy. He said he had blood everywhere as he continued to go through his pre-game warm-up. The team doctor and the EMT did confirm that his nose was broken.

They gave him an injection of pain medicine and it was game time. This was now the 3rd time he has broken his noes so I am sure after the season he will need some type of surgery. Now it was time for me to ask about the blocked PAT and the tipped FG. He said the A Gap got pushed back and he thinks #94 got his hand on the ball. He said he still got the ball up good but TAM pushed in. He said on the FG that the same thing happened and he really does not know how the FG went in. He said the sound was more than a tip. It sounded like a thud. He said anyway you look at it and no matter how it happened, that he is the one that kicked it and it is his job to get it through the posts. He thought by that FG going in at the close of the 1st half that it was a momentum builder for him and for the team at half time. He said they work on the on-sides kick all the time and he thought he put it in the right spot for them to recover and sure enough we did.

He said on the 2nd on-sides kick that they pushed forward and TAM recovered. I could tell he did not want to talk about it with me anymore and I understood. He did say this type of loss is tough and I will hurt on the way home. Sunday is already here and it is time to get ready for Idaho. We will watch film tomorrow and we will learn from our mistakes and then move on. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. Even though it was well into Sunday morning I needed to settle down with a adult beverage or two. I sit here and think about this team and that Matt is still 8 for 8 on FG's and 39 of 40 on PAT's. It is just amazing! We met up with family for breakfast and then headed back to North Dallas. This is one of the tougher games that I have personally experienced. I feel like I got punched in the stomach and I wanted this win so bad. I am still very proud of this team as I know they never gave up. They never quit and they showed that until the bitter end. We did hear from Matt Monday morning after he met with the team doctor. He told Matt that he will need surgery to reconstruct his nose.

They will find a surgeon after the season is over and he gave him prescriptions to battle any infections that might crop up and for the pain. Matt is a tough young man and this will not stop him from achieving his personal goals and the teams goals. While I am disappointed with the outcome I know this team will grow from this as we head into WAC play. Many thanks to all of the family and friends who made their way over to Shreveport to watch our Bulldogs. It really means a lot to us and we are so blessed with all of the support! I am ready to take on the Spuds and I will leave the Texas A&M game alone. Idaho is up next in Ruston. These potato heads are going to be heading into a buzz saw when they hit the field at Joe Aillet stadium.

They will never get their potato head parts put back in place after we get done making mashed potatoes out of them. Idaho is 1 - 6 for the season with their lone victory over New Mexico State. Go Dawgs!  This will be a tough week for me as I reflect on all of the what if's! I am not going to retire my green drawers just yet. I know I have 7 more victories out of them. Then who knows, I might just have them framed and hung up with my other sports memorabilia. A special thanks to Donny Crowe, Jeremy Onken and Louisiana Tech University for the use of two of the photos used in this blog.

What a blast it is and we are so blessed to have the honor to watch Matt Nelson and this La Tech team. I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. I can't wait to share my thoughts with everyone as the season goes on. It is such a blast to follow Matt Nelson through his eyes and this Bulldog team. I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are at that time and sometimes I get carried away. I am very passionate about La Tech Football! I am just a College Football Fan and I Love College Football! Until our paths cross again have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

Hawaii 10/1/11

As I sit here and reflect on our game against Redneck U, I cannot help but wonder "What If"? How can a team that has more goats and stumps get the "W"? Up until the bitter end we had these rednecks right where we wanted them. We have got to learn to be smart with the ball and we must achieve the F-Word! "Finish!" I guess it is time to leave this game alone! It still hurts though! The Red Out is upon us! The ladies with the hula skirts will be making their way over to Ruston

this week. I am not sure what the obsession is with wearing these leaves made into skirts, but it has no place in football. They even attempt a crazy dance/chant called the Haka! Sounds like a new word for spitting! The Haka has various actions that are employed in the course of a performance, including facial contortions such as showing the whites of the eyes and poking out the tongue, and a wide variety of vigorous

body actions such as slapping the hands against the body and stamping of the feet. As well as a variety of cries and grunts are used! This sounds like to me that someone has had 4 too many! All kidding aside if we can confuse this QB like we did the pussycats from Hobby Airport we have a real good chance of sending these ladies back to their island. Matt called me several times during the week. They spent a ton of time on the snaps.

It is so critical that the timing and accuracy from CL and TB is spot on. Slower delivery times and a missed spot can be devastating for putting points on the board. He said the team has practiced hard and that the special teams unit has really spent a lot of time working on timing. He said they still continued to work on specialty kicks. I personally hope they do not have to use any of them. Kick it deep please! Matt said the team is focused

and the coaches have presented  them a good game plan. With a new deep snapper in place he kicked a lot more than normal. He said his back has been a little stiff, but a few ice baths during the week would take care of that! My oldest son (Tyler) and his good friend William would be making the trip over from Austin. It will be great to hang out with them over the weekend! We made our way over from North Dallas late Friday afternoon.

My parents were making their way up from The Villages in Florida and Janet's parents were coming over from Houston along with her Uncle from North Dallas! Once we hit Shreveport we had to stop at my favorite place, Maxwell's Market. I had talked to Ross earlier in the week and had a few things ordered for our tailgate along with a special brew called LA 31. Ross was there and we got to visit for a few minutes before we made our way to Ruston.

Tyler, William and my parents already had the tents setup before we arrived. Thank You! It sure makes it easy for arrival. On the way between Shreveport and Ruston Dan "The Equipment Man" Matthiesen had sent us a message that one of our tents had blown away and Adam McGuirt had to put it back for us. The tent did have some wounds but was still standing. Many thanks to Adam and Dan for helping us out with our runaway tent! Once we arrived Ruston we made our way over to

the TAC for the pep rally. There were actually more people there than I thought there would be. The team made there way in and they looked loose but focused. MB and QP spoke to the fans in attendance. After the team left and the pep rally was over they handed out Red Out shirts as we exited. Thank you Community Trust Bank! When we got back to tailgate spot #52 Meggie & Papaw (Janet's parents) and Tyler and William were already enjoying adult beverages!

Now it is my turn! Even thought I prefer red wine in the evening time I like just about any kind of IPA. William had brought me an early Christmas Present and presented me with about 18 different bottles of some of the finest IPA's in the states. I can tell you I was stoked! Many thanks William for your kindness. I can tell you they will be opened with great care and swirled in a glass before each sip!

Pontchatoula's would be our dining choice this wonderful Friday night. As normal it was a great meal with great family and friends! Our evening ended with my dad opening a nice bottle of red wine at the hotel and then it was lights out. We arrived at our tailgate spot at 8:00AM and unloaded all of the totes and set the tables and grills up. Breakfast tacos would be our morning meal along with several Bloody Mary's.

I brought my old school diner flat top with me again. Sausage, hash browns, eggs, cheese and the world famous Julio's salsa would make the perfect breakfast taco. Mr. Harper joined our crew for breakfast as well this morning! Many thanks to Papaw for manning the flat top. After the food was gone and clean up was complete it was time to kick back and enjoy this amazing weather. Mr. Smoothie King (Bradly Walker) stopped by to say hello.

He was also selling the La Tech Power Bands. They were very sharp/cool looking and several of us bought one. Mr Hamm stopped by for a visit as well this wonderful morning.  As the morning wore on it was time to get a chopping. On our lunch menu was Chopped Beef Sammie's, Sausage, Pineapple, Green Pepper and Red Onion Shish-Ka-Bob's along with Meggie's Cole Slaw, Maxwell's Market Buffalo Turds and

Barbara's Potato Salad! Meggie, Carol (my mom), Tyler and William made an assembly line and put these babies on their poles. Many thanks for all of their help! I think today is going to be a food fest! Our tailgate neighbors are serving up gourmet food this week. Bradley and his team are serving up coffee spice rubbed pork tenderloins. Maxwell's Market (Ross) was serving pork loins and smoked sausage. Mr. Cockrell was making

his world famous chicken, sausage and shrimp jambalaya. I got to meet Adam (JAB) for the very first time. They were serving SPAM Sliders with swiss cheese and a homemade mustard sauce on a Hawaiian roll. The best thing about all of these great people is that everyone wants to share their food. It is always cool when we do a food swap and the surprise of the day came when Mr. McGehee (Dusty) let me sample some of his fresh

kill form this morning. With bow season opening this morning the hunt was on. It was amazing! My wife and Uncle David (Happy Birthday) made there way over to watch the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Congratulations to all of those who were inducted and a very special congratulations to Matt Stover. What a great Bulldog, an inspiration to MN #33 and what a great NFL career he had. We are very proud of you! The chopped beef is hot, the turds

are ready and the shish-ka-bob's are grilled to perfection! Let the food games begin! This was amazing! It really hit the spot. As always we had amazing people stop by to visit. Mr. Harper, Mr. Barclay, Mr. Hamm (Became a member of the 32 club today), Mr. & Mrs. Matthiesen, Mr. Rust, Mr. & Mrs. Garland and Dan "The Equipment Man" styling and profiling in his red pants! When Mr. & Mrs. Garland stopped by they had a blue La Tech cowbell.

They showed it to me and it had a Tech logo on one side and on the other it had #33. They said it is for you! I could not believe it! This was so cool! I cannot thank you enough! I am going to put it in my camera bag and sneak this baby in! The team has arrived and we made our way down to see Matt. I did get a head nod so that was all I needed. Today was Uncle David's birthday so we sang a little song and devoured some of Meggie's brownies.

Happy Birthday David! After downing a few more adult beverages it was time to head into the stadium.There they were, red jerseys and all! Let this Red Out game begin. With my cowbell in hand I was ready to make some noise and get this thing started. The kickoff is away and it is down to the 3 yard line with nice hang time. Hawaii takes the opening possession and after 5 plays Tech holds and the punt is away. Tech runs 13 plays with a 2 yard pass to QP for a Tech score.

The PAT is blocked! What? Why? How? We very rarely have a PAT blocked! Seriously, what just happened? I took a look at the picture I just took and it looks like we had an opening on the left side. I am not happy about this as we need all of the points we can against these hula skirts. Hawaii comes back and scores on a 27 yard pass and the PAT is missed by Hawaii left. This is crazy!

After a few trade outs of the ball Hawaii scores at the end of the 1st quarter and leads 13 - 6. We start the 2nd quarter with the ball and punt to Hawaii. TF, your play calling is looking mighty fine! Hawaii takes the ball and rattles off 4 plays and punts the ball. Then all hell breaks loose. For some reason the refs need to look at something with the replay official and this goes on and on. 22 minutes later we are going to get the ball where Hawaii punted from. They got 5 downs and that

is a referee no no for letting that happen. Then the Hawaii coach said he called time out before one of those plays and it should not have counted as a down. Then the refs agreed with the Hawaii coach and now we have the ball where we had it 20 plus minutes ago. What the heck is going on here? Are these refs and the replay official for real? Tech sputters the rest of the 2nd quarter and Hawaii scores to make the halftime score 20 - 6 Hawaii. I would of never imagined that we would be behind at half. While Matt was warming up during the half

Matt Stover came over and spoke with Matt before the 3rd quarter started. That was really cool! The 3rd quarter is about to begin and Matt is going to kickoff again! What is going on? We kicked off to start the game and this cannot be so. The refs let him kick and I am not sure why. This surly cannot be right! Hawaii punts and Tech scores on 3 quick plays and the PAT is good. Ok guys let's do this. Hawaii scores on their next possession and the score is now Hawaii 27 - 13. We take the kickoff and fumble. Hawaii recovers and runs it in for a TD. We throw and interception and Hawaii runs it in for a score. No this cannot be happening! What are we doing?

Tech runs 3 quick plays and scores and the PAT is good. Matt sets up for an on-sides kick and it had great height, but we did not come down with it and it goes out of bounds. Hawaii scores on a 30 yard FG and the 3rd quarter comes to an end with Hawaii leading 44 -20. Where is my adult beverage when I need one? Tech would score in the 4th quarter and the 2 point attempt was no good. The game ends with a final score of 44 - 26 Hawaii. This is going to be a tough one to swallow. I thought for sure that this was going to be our night. We looked lost at times and we looked brilliant at times. We made our way up to the field house to visit with Matt for a few minutes. When he came he just shook his head. He said he thought they really had a great chance to get a win tonight. I know he hates to visit with family when they lose, but he said hello to everyone and then got dressed. He came over to the tailgate spot for a little bit and visited with those who were still there.

It is hard to come up with what to say to him in these situations. I am better off just leaving him alone until the next day. This way he can digest everything, watch film and get ready for the next opponent. I am so numb right now. I am just not going to say anything else about the game, the dumb ass officials or the coaching staff about this game. I would probably not have any finger tips left when I got done typing. It is now off to the hotel for a nice bottle of wine or two. Matt, William, Tyler and Janet's parents met us at the tailgate spot to help load everything up and take it back to Matt's house. I asked Matt why he had to kickoff at the beginning of the game and again at the start of the 3rd quarter and he said it happen with the coin toss and the ref did not inform our captains that you cannot just pick a goal to defend. I am sure an official reason will be released. I also asked him about his conversation with Matt Stover and he told him he was kicking the ball great and to call him in the next couple of days. He wanted to discuss some things to do during warm-ups. That sounds pretty cool to me. We put everything in to the storage shed, said our good byes and headed back to North Dallas. I am going to be traveling to Richmond this week so I will get plenty of time to run these plays and piss poor officiating around in my head. Idaho is our next opponent! After I get these bad Hawaii thoughts out of my mind I need to get my mind right for the Vandals. Who in their right mind would ever want to play in the Kibble & Bits Dome.

The place looks like a bomb shelter over a basketball stadium. I know Matt has a bad taste in his mouth from this place from their game in 2009. I bet he has a little revenge on his mind. I am not going to this game, but my brother and his family will be making there way over to the game from Portland. I know they will have a great time and my nephew will as well. All I can say is let's kick some Vandal butt! It is such a blast to follow Matt Nelson through his eyes and the Bulldog team! I might not say the right things, but I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are during the week and during the game. I don't intend to hurt anyone's feelings, but I am very passionate about La Tech Football. My opinions about the coaches and their decisions are only mine and no one else's. Don't forget to listen to J Ford with Bleed Tech Blue on ESPN 97.7 FM every Tuesday night at 6:00PM. May your Football Season be filled with many Football Victories, Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel Your Way! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

Houston 9/17/11

I think I have finally removed all of the honey that these darn honey bears left on me. This team from the middle of nowhere  Arkansas poured enough honey on me that I thought I was going to have to wear the honey pot home. No way was I going to do that. Even though we were down with not much time left, I saw a team come together and believe in each other! A win is a win no matter what.

There are good wins and ugly wins and I will take a win every time! Now we have to get ready for the pussycats. Since I have spent most of my early beer drinking days following the pussycats I was somewhat familiar with their offensive approach! I think they call it an “Air Raid” You have a 6th year senior who is going to break all of the U of H passing records and you know he is going to try to rack up the yards. I feel confident that our defensive coaches will come up with schemes that CK has yet to see.

I talked to Matt everyday during the week. I am freaking out at some of the things that he has shared with me. The team is jacked and the emotions are running higher than normal. Practices have been intense and his kicks with team have gone well. Matt shared with me some of the kicks they were practicing and I fainted twice. Wal-Mart is going to make so much money off of me this year. I hope they keep my brand of drawers in stock! I never knew there were so many kinds of kicks that a team could prepare for. I guess I will have to wait and see what really happens, but if they do a few of them I am going to be spending more time in the men’s room than normal!

Our journey to Ruston starts late Friday afternoon. My dad’s sisters were going to be in town for the game. They all have been in trying their luck at slots and blackjack. My dad and my uncle Bob even found time to go visit Mr. Ross at Maxwell’s Market on Thursday. Ross has such a great selection of stuff to choose from that I could stay there all day just looking. My dad picked up some LA 31 which is a lager that drinks like a fine IPA. Man was it good! Make sure and visit Ross with Maxwell’s Market next time you are in Shreveport. Once we made our way to Ruston. I knew I needed to go to Matt’s and get all of the tailgate stuff.

I wanted to get setup before the morning. I called my dad when we were a few miles away and he said to meet him at the tailgate spot before we went to Matt’s. Ok, this is just wasting time. Heck no it was not! All of my tents, tables and grills were all setup. You have to be kidding me! This is so awesome! Please let me have a beer!

Many thanks to all of those involved in the Miracle that happened at tailgate spot 52! While I was celebrating this awesome good deed with my parents, Aunt Suzi, Uncle Glen, Aunt Pat, Uncle Bob, and my awesome wife, Mr. Harper showed up to visit for a little bit. Mr. Harper is such an incredible person and a good friend! I know he and my parents drive the furthest of everyone too every home game. 12 Hours each way is dedication!

It was getting pretty late, but we still had time to run to Ponchatoula’s for an awesome meal. It was really good! We made our way to the room and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine before retiring. Morning came pretty early, but the excitement of game day had me wide awake! After a quick stop at Walley World for ice we made our way to the tailgate spot. I was ready for this one. On the menu this morning was bacon and pancakes. I was going to test my new old school flat top out again. Cajun Mary’s and jacked up cranberry juice was the morning adult beverage. Dan “The Equipment Man” Matthiesen came by early so I could test out the bacon and the special pancake mix.

Dan approved so I knew I could proceed and serve the rest of the group. Coming to the stadium early in the morning and making it an all day affair is an awesome experience. I wish more would do the same thing. I kid you not the aroma of bacon cooking outdoors makes you want to put a little of the fat behind your ears. It has an amazing scent and what a great thing to share. Everyone approved of the food so that was a feel good thing! After cleaning everything up it was time for a little me time in my chair and a cold beer in my hand.

I had 2 hours to kill before we had to get ready for lunch. Mr. Harper and Mr. Hamm came by to visit. My dad brought a special bottle of red wine and we celebrated with Bobby (tailgate neighbor) I don't know how many of you who have been to Alaska or not, but Alaskan Amber is the bomb! Tyler & Matt both had friends who went to Alaska over the summer and brought me a few bottles back. With memories of Alaska we had a special moment as we savored the awesome brew! It is always great to visit with them on game day! On the menu was beef and chicken fajitas with all of the fixings’ We fired up the Weber Kettle grill with our special blend of mesquite lump charcoal and got the flat top ready for our mix of onions and peppers.

We had a super large group this weekend. Janet’s parents (Meggie & Papaw), brother (Mike), sister-n-law (Melynda), niece (Mikayla), Aunt Barbara and Uncle David made their way to Ruston as well. The family support is so fantastic. We see family more during football season than we do the rest of the year. It’s a good thing! Matt attending La Tech has been such a blessing to all of our families.

The grill and flat top is good to go. Since we had so much food to cook we had to setup an assembly line. Mike (Brother-n-law) manned the flat top and took care of the peppers, onions and tortillas and Papaw (Father-n-law) to care of all of the slicing of the fajitas. We timed everything just right and everything was good to go. Let the feast begin! I am telling you these fajitas were amazing! Everyone brought stuff to go with the fajitas so toppings of any kind were available.

While we were stuffing our faces, Ross from the world famous Maxwell’s Market brought us some of his super jumbo shrimp with one of his magical sauces to sample. I think I need to bathe in that sauce. The shrimp were wonderful as well. Thanks so much for the samples. Mr. Rust came by and we loaded him up with as many fajitas as he could eat. He just was not sure after the first one if it was any good so he had to try a few more. At the end I think he came to the conclusion that they were darn good.

You know when you eat this much food you need to kick back and take a nap. Oh I wish I could, but the team has just arrived and I need to go see what type of face Matt has on. I got a head nod as he walked by so I knew it was game on. It is time to pick as much up as we can before we head to the stadium. Janet has made her way to her seat to watch Matt warm-up. She has to know exactly how his rhythm is and she can only do this visually! Mr. Rust and I share a few more adult beverages and then make our way to the stadium. We find some of the family and take our seats on the 2nd level, front row behind the band. I am just going to throw this out there, but I hate tuba's! Excitement is in the air. I don’t hear any air raid signals so I know we are ready for a battle.

The team comes down the tunnel and we have smoke and now we have adult sparklers and a canon that fires off after every score. Matt kicks off and drives it deep for a touchback! Houston goes 4 and out and we take possession and drive down the field and score on an LC 1 yard rush. Matt connects with the PAT and Tech is up 7 – 0. The 2nd quarter starts and we drive down the field and Matt connects on a 30 yard FG. Houston comes back and scores and then Tech drives down and scores as well. Then Tech gets the ball back and drives down to set Matt up for a 47 yard FG. Matt goes out to kick and Coach Levine from Houston calls timeout to try and ice Matt. Matt's general rule is to go off of the field and come back in to the field of play like he is going out for the first time. Coach Levine recruited Matt pretty hard before Matt made the commitment to attend the great university of Louisiana Tech and I know he wanted to test his mental toughness. The snap is good, the hold is good and the kick is on it's way and Matt connects for a 47 yard FG. That young man is back. MB picks him up in celebration ! How cool is that? This is awesome! Matt kicks a squib kick and the half comes to an end! Happy Dance! Tech goes in at half ahead of Houston 20 – 7. Can you believe? Congrats to Ms. Toni for winning the Ultimate Tech Fan award at halftime! Sounds like a sushi celebration to me! I am stoked right now! Tech is playing lights out. The 3rd quarter begins and after a series by both teams Tech drives down and sets up for a 42 yard FG and one of those wacky plays takes place as a fake FG is executed to perfection. Matt fakes the kick,

TB completes a 12 yard pass to MB and a first down is achieved. Hoo Ya! Matt had 2 guys coming in from the sides to take on and when they tried to get up Matt grabbed both of their legs for a double take down! I am sure the adrenaline had kicked in! Thank goodness the refs were watching this well executed play and not the double take down! 2 plays later and the end zone is our friend. Wow! This is amazing! The 3rd quarter ends with each team scoring and Tech is up 34 – 14! I am starting to do a happy dance, but I know in the back of my mind that the pussycats have a quick scoring offense. The 4th quarter begins and before I can come back from the men’s room the pussycats have scored twice. What is going on? Where is this conservative play calling coming from? This looks like Guy V Lewis trying to win a national championship against NC State in 1983. It is not going to work and it did not work as U of H scores again! We worked so hard to have this happen!

Tech gets the ball back and our coach’s clock management rears its ugly head! Our clock management is like pee wee football. What the heck are we doing? The game comes to an end with the pussycats wining 35 – 34. This is not right! This team and the fans deserve more! How can you let a QB snap the ball with 10 plus seconds on the play clock? Something is not right or are coaching staff is not on the same page. Please explain to me how this happens. This would have been a signature victory for this program we lay a silver egg! I hope CD takes responsibility for this loss. I am not pleased! We make our way up to visit with Matt after the game.

Matt makes his way out and you can tell he is upset! His passion for this team and winning shows all over his face! He did not want to talk about his personal achievements as it did not matter. A win is a win and a loss is a loss as a team. There are no personal victories in football! Even though Tech lost it was pretty cool to see the kids come up to Matt and ask for his autograph. My thoughts are going everywhere as this team should be 3 – 0! I put the blame on the coaches. This is my opinion only! I can’t say anymore as I will probably step outside the box and say something that I will regret! My mouth and fingers are closed! I am proud of this team and will support them no matter what! We made our way to Rasing Canes and brought food back to the hotel to eat. Matt and Kasie met us at the hotel and we all ate dinner together.

After we finished eating dinner Matt received a call from BC (roommate) and he informed Matt that their house was flooded and they had 3 inches of water in every room of the house. We made our way over to Matt’s house and sure as shoot there was water flowing out of every door and the whole house was completely flooded. A hose on the washer had busted and water flowed for about 4 hours before it was cut off. The guys had several friends who came over to help and some went to the church to get wet vacs to help get the water out. I cannot believe the whole house is flooded. We help Matt as much as we can and about 1:30AM we head back to the hotel. I felt horrible for the guys. Matt’s computer was dripping water and everything in all of the guy’s room was soaking wet. I hope the land lord has insurance and can help these guys out. We loaded up and left early Sunday AM headed back to North Dallas. With my new job with Drytac I had a 5:00PM flight to Bentonville Sunday afternoon and time was of the essence.

Many thanks to Aunt Pat, Uncle Bob, Aunt Suzi and Uncle Glen for making the long journey down from Kansas City. Words cannot say thanks enough! I also want to wish a very special 14th birthday to my niece Mikayla! Happy Birthday from Uncle J! Many thanks to all of those who helped cook and clean up after the game. We are blessed with such a great family! Mississippi State is up next. The cow bell groupies are herding in their barns! The Texas A&M colored team is a bulldog want a be team! I don’t know much about them except we are going to offer up a butt kicking to these cow bell clanging rednecks! Listen to me! I am talking like a Mississippi State redneck! Not! I am talking like a La Tech Bulldog who is going to kick some cow bell butt! I will leave the pussycat game alone as I mentally prepare for this fake bulldog team in Starksville! Find a new mascot! The real bulldog is already taken! I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. It is such a blast to follow Matt Nelson through his eye and the Bulldog team! I might not say the right things, but I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are during the week and during the game.

I don’t intend to hurt anyone, but I am very passionate about La Tech Football! My opinions on the coaches and their decisions are only mine and no one else’s. Don’t forget to listen to J Ford with Bleed Tech Blue on ESPN 97.7 FM every Tuesday night. May your Football Season be filled with many Football Victories, Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel Your Way! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!