Tour Makes a Local Stop to Home of 3-time FCS National Champions

If you're not from the state of North Carolina, then Appalachian State University might seem the odd duck on a list of sites visited on a national college football tour.  There are dozens of combined division 1A national titles on my stops, to this point, so maybe even people in my home state look at the relatively small Boone, NC, formerly division 1AA school as a strange member of the list.  You just need to go there and see for yourself.  I'm not sure there is a more obvious example of what the success of college football can do for a school.  Three straight division 1AA (now called FBS) national championships from 2005-2007 and one unbelievable victory over a top 5-ranked division 1A (now called FCS) opponent has changed App. State quite a bit from the summer of 2005 (when I last visited) to early November 2012.  There are some new buildings on campus in addition to the $50 million worth of football facility enhancements (which included premium seating being tacked onto the football stadium along with 10,000 additional general admission seats).  Compared to any program nationally, it looks very good up close.  It puts similar programs to shame.

Kidd Brewer Stadium

2012 was originally supposed be my local, North Carolina tour.  I firmed up plans to go to App State in the spring and had hoped to add East Carolina (known for its passionate fan base, as well) as the fall approached.  My dad's worsening condition took ECU off the list and made Notre Dame's final home game of the season my second and final tour stop.  One week prior to heading back to South Bend, I made the trek west from my house in central NC to Boone - one of my absolute favorite places to visit when I was in college, but also a university whose football team I had never previously seen live (despite numerous opportunities).  The trip got off to a rocky start when, on the night before, my buddy Chris contracted a strange illness that made him unable to go with me.  I halfheartedly attempted to find someone to take the ticket, but knew of a few others that were going to be in town for the game.  I decided to go it alone.  Oddly, 2012's tour was completely flown solo.  I went to App and Notre Dame by myself.  App was a game-time decision for me.  I awoke that morning and decided that it was a gorgeous fall day perfect for watching football.  I contacted an old high school friend named Sharon, who I had fortunately been working with over the previous year on our high school reunion.  I say fortunately because, frankly, I had not seen her in over half a decade before the reunion planning.  If it were not for the reunion, I might not have known that she was going.  She turned out to be a major reason why my App football experience was so positive.  I called her once I arrived in Boone and was ushered right over to her awesome tailgating spot.

Most of my tour stops have found me aimlessly wandering prior to games, drinking a beer provided by an on-the-street venue and soaking in the unfamiliarity of the given campus.  I had been to App a dozen times.  I wanted the "I'm a huge App fan" tailgating experience; Sharon, her husband, and her friends were the perfect group to be around for exactly that.  They knew what they were doing; they had done this tailgating routine in that very tailgating spot for every home game over several previous seasons.  Nice people, all of which welcomed the lonely stranger who came to the game by himself with warm greetings and offerings for various drinks.  Thank you again, Sharon...it was great tailgating with you "at The Rock."  All around her spot next to the stadium, there were thousands of Mountaineer fans gearing up for a shot at another Southern Conference Championship (which is what they achieved that day with a victory over rival Furman).

This was a unique tailgating vehicle

After a bit of spirited tailgating, I met up with another friend of mine, Dean (who, I might add, was rocking a pretty sweet mustache that weekend).  It was visits to see him and his roommates at App back in the day that had made Boone such a destination in my undergraduate years.  On an unseasonably warm day for mid-November, we made our way into Kidd Brewer Stadium.  Dean filled me in on the changes that had taken place at App during and after their string of national championships.  I was very impressed by what I saw and what I heard.  The fans were crazy for their Mountaineers; it got pretty loud in there.  App dominated the first half before allowing a spirited comeback by the Paladins.  As the final whistle blew, the fans rushed the field in celebration of the school's 12th Southern Conference title.  It was especially memorable because it was the final regular season coaching appearance by Mountaineer legend, Jerry Moore, who retired after his 24th year as App State's head coach.  It was also the last So Con game that the school would ever play.  The next year, App moved up to Div. 1A/FBS.   

Me and Mr. Mustachio, Dean

My walks through campus, and particularly the moments before the games start when I look around at all the fans in the stadium, often spark favorite memories of watching the teams play on TV.  It had been five years from the time that I attended an App game to the last time that I had watched them on TV - the upset of Michigan that made the cover of Sports Illustrated.  Michigan football ranks closely with cleaning up dog doo on my list of least favorite things on this planet.  App beating them on the first day of the 2007 season helped brighten my day after Notre Dame got spanked to start their worst campaign in team history.  On that beautiful day in 2012, I found myself wondering what it must have been like to be on the App campus back then.  Already with two national titles in a row earned through a legitimate College Football Playoff, it must have been a helluva thrill to beat a top 5 team en route to a third straight national championship.  As big a football fan as I am, I'm quite confident that, had I been a student there when all that was happening, it would have absolutely made my college experience.

I'll always remember App State as site of some of my most enjoyable college experiences.  I've never met anyone that went there that didn't know how to have a good time.  Maybe it's a pre-requisite to attend, being adept at having fun.  As I found out in 2012, it's also a school that has found the right formula on Saturdays, combining the beautiful Boone atmosphere with rich modern football history.  I had a newborn and wife to get home to that evening, but I imagine from past experience that from "The Rock" to Klondike to Geno's, App State was hopping after securing another championship for the trophy case. 

"Between the Hedges" at Georgia Sets a New Standard for "The Tour"

During my wedding festivities in 2009, I was introduced to my wife's uncle, Ron.  I consider myself to be one of the biggest college football fans on the planet.  Frankly, in my travels around the country, I had yet to find anything but rivals (certainly no one more of a diehard than I).  Well, as I was pulling up to the hotel to drop my dad off from the airport, I saw this black and red car with University of Georgia Bulldogs emblems all over it - Ron's car.  In our first conversation, Ron was drawing from memories of Notre Dame vs. Georgia in the only meeting between the schools in history - a 17-10 Bulldog victory over the Irish in the 1981 Sugar Bowl.  What do you say to that?  "We'll get you next time"...?  Given the SEC's recent dominance, I was likely justified in refraining from any ND-fueled retort.  I walked away from that conversation knowing that I had met my match - at least when it came to being passionate about your team (I've got him beat in overall college football fandom, I think).  That night, he promised me that he would take me to a Georgia game some day.  It took me four years to take him up on the offer.  Boy, I'm glad that I did...

My wife and I took our daughter down to Georgia on September 6, 2013 so that they could hang out with the family and so that I could add "Athens" to my list of big name college football tour stops.  For me, going to these games evokes similar emotions as would a vacation to a place like Hawaii or Europe for most people.  It's like Christmas morning to a kid.  When you wake up, you've got that little tingle of excitement and your muscles start randomly jumping all around - an outlet for an enthusiasm that cannot be contained.  There's nothing quite like it.

Ron and I launched for Athens at 10:30AM for a game with a 4:30 kickoff.  We picked up one of Ron's Georgia-loving buddies, Herman, who brought along with him another Georgia-loving buddy, Phil.  These guys were characters.  This experience was unique.  I had been to Notre Dame with a fellow Irish fan who had dreamed of one day helping the boys "wake up the echoes."  I had been to Ohio State with current college students, all with their current college student mindsets of "let's party and go to the football game."  I had been to Oklahoma with a big Sooner fan around my age and of my same profession and football aficionado-stature.  I had yet to go to a game with a group of gentlemen who had seen and been a part of some of the greatest moments in their team's respective history.  Ron, Herman, and Phil are books of Georgia football lore.  They all know how to tailgate, as well.  At Georgia's awesome "Tailgate Station" - a gated and guarded tailgate community where you buy a grassy parking space for a cool $15,000 - Phil cracked open a Rolling Rock, Herman a bottle of 2 Buck Chuck, Ron an Icehouse, and I a Corona.  We sat there for two hours talking football.  They shared with me some of their favorite Georgia memories, as I absorbed the fact that - for these men - football season is the best part of their year.  Gentlemen, I concur.

Let me share something about Ron.  He's got the greatest mustache in the history of mankind.  Friends of mine still occasionally mention "the guy with the mustache" when talking about my wedding.  Curling out and around into a big loop, it requires mustache wax to keep it in place.  So, we were heading down to the bathroom areas and Ron got stopped by a group of young ladies wanting to have their pictures taken with him (that's one).  On his way back from the bathroom, he got stopped by another group (that's two).  Later, the blonde in her black dress and cowboy boot get-up that had caught everyone at Tailgate Station's attention a time or two throughout the day was standing in line waiting to board the bus to the stadium commented on it (that's three).  I won't repeat his reply.  On our walk from the bus to our seats, three more people commented on his "awesome mustache" (that's four, five, and six).  Six times, someone made mention of that 'stache.  Impressive.

Now, THAT'S a 'stache

Back at Tailgate Station, roughly four hours until kickoff, legendary Georgia coach, Vince Dooley, showed up to sign autographs.  Dooley was the coach for the 1980 National Championship team featuring Hall of Fame running back and 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, Hershel Walker.  He signed my shirt and snapped this picture with me.

Me and Vince Dooley...it's OK to be jealous

If you just said to yourself, "Damn, that's cool," then my reply would be, "You're damn right it was cool!"  That was unique to all my tour stops to date, meeting one of the best coaches in the history of college football.

Tailgate Station allowed Georgia to overtake Ohio State as the best tailgating experience that I've been a part of.  It has the TVs (for the other big games), the easily accessible bathrooms, and a relaxed, gated, and guarded atmosphere for you to enjoy a few pregame brewskis.  To top it off, they brought in excellent, catered food. 

On the bus to the game, the Dawgs faithful cycled through a few of the school's popular chants.  I may have to make "taking the bus" a staple for future tour destinations, particularly for those that house their football stadiums on campus.  The bus rides wind up being an informal tour of the school and its fan base.  I went to N.C. State and our stadium was at an off-campus site.  I didn't much care for that.  Football stadiums (and basketball arenas) should be on campus.  If I started a college, I wouldn't have it any other way.  The University of Georgia sure is a beautiful place on a sunny, late summer afternoon... 

92,746 packed Sanford Stadium that day.  South Carolina came to town for what has become, in recent years, one of college football's most underrated rivalries.  Steve Spurrier, of Florida playing and coaching fame, brought his hatred of Georgia with him to coach the Gamecocks in 2005.  South Carolina has been a thorn in Georgia's side ever since, almost annually disrupting the Bulldog Nation's hopes for an undefeated season.  Though the Dawgs have a 29 game lead in the overall series, the Gamecocks have won four out of the last five.  The one in five?  That's when I was there.  You're welcome, Georgia.

Georgia vs. South Carolina was easily the best game I've ever been to in 12 years of attending college football games.  The Bulldogs used an onside kick in the first quarter to spark a 17-3 lead.  The Gamecocks battled back to draw even.  The eventful first half ended with a Gamecock score right before halftime, tying the score 24-24 at the break.  Georgia dominated the third quarter to take a 34-24 tally into the fourth, but South Carolina came right back to pull within four.  The play of the day came on the next drive for the Dawgs.  Backed deep into their own territory, Georgia looked like they were about to lose momentum when 2014 #1 NFL draft pick Jadeveon Clowney came barreling through the line headed for Georgia QB and SEC all-time leading passer, Aaron Murray.  However, Murray rolled to his left and found a wide open Justin Scott-Wesley on a busted coverage for an 85-yard touchdown.  The Georgia defense held the Gamecocks on fourth-and-goal from the 1 on the ensuing drive and then the offense ran the ball down South Carolina's throat for the final 8-minutes of the game to seal the victory. 

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs limped through much of the 2013 season with a run of injuries that would rival any major college football program's single season injury record.  Nevertheless, on the second week of the season, Georgia provided me with a new standard for my college football tour.  Many thanks to Ron Wexler.  That was a trip worth the wait. 

University of Florida: The Perfect College Football Venue

Arkansas = Gator Bait

When College Football was first getting its hooks in me in the mid-1990s, the University of Florida was a powerhouse.  Coached by Steve Spurrier, they contended for the national championship often and won it in 1996.  My dad's passion for Notre Dame had won me over to the Fighting Irish fan club, but I still had a soft spot for the first college football team that I really latched onto circa 1993: Florida State.  Due to the Seminoles, I was not a big fan of the Florida Gators.  The UF vs. FSU rivalry was particularly entertaining back in those days with both at the peak of their powers.  If you had told me, then, that I would make it to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville before I'd been to Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on an eventual College Football Tour, I'd have called you a liar.  In 2013, interestingly during Florida State's first national championship season since the dominant 90s run, that is exactly what happened.  On the first weekend in October, I headed down to THE SWAMP!

Before I move through the experience chronologically, let me first point out that which was so distinctly obvious about the area of the Florida campus that surrounds the football venue: it's perfectly set up for football fans and college kids.  Perfectly.  It may have been that we just parked in the perfect spot and that I'm hyperbolizing based on a small geographic sample size, but what I saw was flat out ideal.  It's like Bourbon Street in New Orleans is for single party animals.  Recall from the Boomer Sooner post that my 3 keys to a great college football pre-game are accessibility to beer, a place to watch other football games, and bathrooms.  Well, I'll add restaurants and gift shops to the list (though they should be implied).  We got out of the car in Gainesville, turned right, and the first thing that we saw was a restaurant/bar with plenty of TVs both inside and out, followed by a very spacious bookstore with all the Florida apparel that anyone could ever dream of, and then another restaurant/bar.  The pattern continued further down the main drag of campus.  The running gag after a bachelor party I attended in New Orleans several years back was that Bourbon St. is nothing but restaurant, watering hole, gentleman's club, and souvenir store on repeat for miles.  University of Florida was the college football equivalent.  It was the ideal environment for a young college football fan.  Of course, I'm no longer a young college football fan.

Backing up a bit...

Driving from North Carolina to Florida is not that bad of a road trip.  Once you've driven 12 or more hours to any destination on numerous occasions, a 7-9 hour drive is a walk in the park.  This particular tour stop was with some friends that I don't get to see very often, so the hours were spent enjoying the company of people with whom I once routinely traveled long distances.  The idea for the trip sprung from a desire to take our collective passions for college football and give us the excuse to go somewhere and hang out now that the bachelor parties and weddings have started to be replaced by baby showers and kids.  On the journey to The Swamp, I was joined by my college roommate, Kevin, whose dad had attended UF, Kevin's brother-in-law, Chad, and Mike (never going to stop calling him) Garlow, whose suggestion during our freshman year in college that we take a road trip to Ohio State had inadvertently set in motion what became the basis for "The Tour."  I came to find out that the other Chad had grown up an FSU fan, as well.  All in all, not a bad Friday to sit around talking about football mixed in with adult stuff for several hours. 

Garlow found us a nice little spot to stay for the weekend.  It was the kind of comfortable place that makes one thankful that he is no longer 20 years old and crammed into a single hotel room with half a dozen other people.  Not many of my tour stops have featured hotel stays, to date.  Those that have, everything has always been so rushed that I haven't had much down time.  Undoubtedly, one of the biggest perks of finding a good hotel is the breakfast buffet.  It's usually a good idea to have a pretty big breakfast if you're going to a college football game, especially if you intend to tailgate and have a few adult beverages.  You need a good padding of food and a lot of water.  Breakfast buffets are always awesome.  I recently told a young patient of mine who is about to start college and was nervous, as I was, about living in a dorm, cafeteria eating, etc. that my favorite thing about living on campus my first year in college was the breakfast buffets at the dining hall.  Random thought, but that might be where the freshman fifteen comes from for a lot of people.  Not just the booze, but the endless supplies of bacon, eggs, sausage, and pancakes.  Anyhow, the hotel in Gainesville had a gloriously delicious breakfast buffet selection...and ESPN College Gameday on in the background. 

We spent the majority of the day at "The Swamp Bar" right near the stadium after stopping at the bookstore to get the rest of the guys some Gator gear.  The expectantly entertaining banter ensued for several hours, fueled by cocktails handed out, in part, by she who shall affectionately be known as the #lemongirl - she literally stood inside the confines of a giant lemon.  The use of the written and spoken hashtag, made popular by Twitter, was quite pronounced that weekend for reasons I've since forgotten. #Hashtag #lemongirl #Swamp #whiskey #LeroyJenkins (#lookthatuponYouTube).

On our way to the stadium for the evening kickoff, we attempted to sell two tickets that I'd purchased in expectation of there being six of us on the trip.  1/3 of the group cancelled last minute.  The scalper I spoke to offered me peanuts for the tickets.  I politely declined since the face value and the dollar amount that I'd spent were considerably higher.  I kept them as souvenirs instead. When we got to our seats, I realized why I'd been shortchanged on the local seller's market.  I think Mars was the nearest planet to us.  I guess Florida's loss to Miami earlier in the season drove down the ticket prices, but when I bought the tickets before the season, they were priced according to their usually high expectations.  My mistake.  Our nice view of planet Mars notwithstanding, the game atmosphere was awesome.  We could literally see everything from up there.  The scene of all the Gator fans doing the famous "chomp" (taking your arms and smacking your hands together like the jaws of an alligator) was memorable, as was the fact that the two-note chord from the Jaws theme plays while they do it.

G-low, Kevin, me, Chad

Randomly, I bumped into one of my old professional school classmates.  I had not seen him since we graduated 5 years prior.  He sat right behind us.  That was the second year in a row on my college football tour that I'd been seated near a fellow Logan-graduate. 

Florida went on to to thump Arkansas 30-10, so as we were walking back to the car, the celebration had begun.  I could not help but temporarily imagine going to school there, as I had actually thought long and hard about doing some 13 years prior.  I had even bought a Florida Gator hat when I was in high school that has been my go-to cap ever since because of how utterly exact it fits my head.  In my little daydream, I envisioned what it must be like to walk to your football stadium, watch your team win, and then head to the bar to cheers the victory with tens of thousands of other students and fans...then just walk home.  I snapped back to reality and instantly concluded that the best thing that Florida offers is a chance to savor the triumph.  When you root on your team, be it in front of your TV at home or live in front of nearly 90,000 people, the feeling that you get when they win doesn't just end the moment that the final seconds tick off of the clock.  It can last from the rest of the night all the way to the minutes before the next week's game.  Florida has a football fan bubble complete with everything you'd need inside.  Winning means a massive celebratory gathering inside of their bubble.

I was not the usual good luck charm for my 2013 Tour stops that I had been in years past.  Both Florida and Georgia were as injury-riddled as any two teams I've ever seen in one season.  The Gators improved to 4-1 when we were there; it was actually their last win of the year.