The Crew Goes to UW Homecoming 2008, Ridiculousness Ensues

That always terrible lingering hangover is finally gone, and I've gotten a chance to sort out some of the happenings from my amazingly great weekend in Madison, WI. The whole crew was back, all 6 roommates, Big Bro, Lil Bro#2, a great group of lady-friends, a wife, a girlfriend...and supporting his Illini on the road, Whetst1.

There were many reasons for this to be a great weekend: it was UW Homecoming, my first time back in the Midwest in a while, the first time all 6 roommates were back in Madtown at one time, and a weekend full of 4 different birthdays to celebrate. After pickling our brains in alcohol for two solid days, the stories could go on forever. So I've decided to shorten it to a tally of events, and let you, the loyal F&BT readers, use your imaginations...

2: # of days in Madison
9: the number of bars we visited over two days, not counting repeat visits
1: amazing tailgate put on by my parents and aunt & uncle, including birthday cake
3: the number of times I went to The KK (fake one) this weekend
2: the number of times I went to The KK (fake one) in my entire college career. Why the difference? I honestly have no idea, but everyone seemed to be going there this weekend. And it was shot-tastic fun every single time.
1: Heisman Trophy winner seen at the KK (and his fullback from back in the day too!)

2: number of nights I ate Ian's Pizza late-night

2: number of nights I randomly ran into CJ while heading to/from Ian's

2: number of stories told about Muskrat at dinner Friday after his girlfriend (who was visiting/meeting us for the first time) asked for college stories about him

947: number of stories about Muskrat that couldn't be told at dinner, or in front of his girlfriend...ever.

1: unfortunate attempt at "Extreme Walking" by Fuzz and I

2: total number of face-plants we took before deciding our "Extreme Walking" prime was behind us

1: inappropriate dinner eaten at a way-too-nice-for-hoodies-and-baseball-hats restaurant by the crew

8: bottles of wine at said dinner

4: number of times I started to cry from laughter at dinner

3: number of times Fuzz had to have a conversation with himself so that dinner didn't come back up

547: number of "Your balls are ready at the bar!" jokes made by Lallycakes at dinner

2: number of phones lost this weekend

1: number of co-ed beds slept in by an alumni this weekend
1: number of times an alumni wet a co-ed's bed this weekend
1: number of iPhones ruined from being urinated on while in a co-ed's bed
2: bushes napped in outside a bar by a roommate during the game
3: number of roommates that actually went into the game, and made it to the family tailgate afterwards
1: number of roommates who still can't remember where they slept on Saturday

Overall, I'd say it was a great weekend. And if this tally didn't prove it, I have backup proof. My company made me take a "Health Assessment" today at work so they can control our Health Insurance costs. Coming off a weekend like this, the chances of me passing the "Alcohol Assessment" portion of the test fell somewhere between slim and Purdue's bowl hopes. Sure enough, this is what it spit out...."You reported an alcohol drinking pattern that would be of concern."

The "of concern" part was legit in bold. Well, no shit health assessment. I went to UW. At least I passed on part of the checkup...

"Congratulations on always wearing your seatbelt!" Damn right. See you guys next year in Madison for Homecoming '09!

Homecoming 2008 Awards!

Least Valuable Player: Tobnuts. MIA the entire weekend...and he lives in Madison.

Most Valuable Player: Whetst1. Not only did he come up to support his Illini, but he held his own with the young'ins all weekend. Plus, he had to sit next to me all game and listen to me yell "The Juice is LOOSE!" after every one of his picks. Props, Whetst1.

Runner-up: Fuzz. The weekend stories are never as good without him in them.

Most Ridiculous: Kenny G. He didn't pull out the fake saxaphone playing, but pretty much all his antics made up for it. Not bad for a lil' guy.

F&BT Conversations: WildHawk and the Dual Fan Phenomenon

I was at a wedding this past weekend with a bunch of college buddies (sidenote: congrats Heff & your new ball n' chain), when a pretty good fandom question was posed...who do you cheer for when both your teams are playing each other?

At first, this thought was preposterous to me. You have one team, you follow that team, you base your mood off their successes/failures, and your life is complete. Well, through this conversation, I realized how rare my situation really was. I grew up a Wisconsin fan. I went to UW for college. I'm still a Wisconsin fan. But I'm rare, and I'm realizing it. Fuzz grew up an Auburn fan because his Grandpa played football there. He also grew up a Mizzou fan because both his parents went there. He's a Wisconsin grad and loyal Badger fan. Kenny G grew up a Minnesota fan and went to Wisconsin. Our very own WildHawk grew up a Northwestern fan and graduated from Iowa.

As I've realized, the dual fan phenomenon is growing and these dual fans are everywhere...and they need a voice. Welcome to the second installment of F&BT Conversations. This week we interview supposed blogger (only two posts and counting) on this very site WildHawk, on all things Northwestern and Iowa, and being a fan of both teams.

So, this is awkward...how have you been while you've not been blogging on our website?
Well, I've been okay. As you know, I haven't been blogging much, instead trying to figure out my life. Hating my job is probably the biggest issue, considering I spend a lot of my time there.

Explain for our readers how you became a Northwestern fan?
Both of my parents went to Northwestern for graduate school. Having said that, they weren't really good fans (let's be honest, up until the mid '90s, it was tough. I went to grade school with another big fan (in fact, I believe he was already interviewed for this very site). His dad took us to a lot of games, and I got hooked. Plus, 1995 helped a lot, especially having witnessed the majority of the games.

Was it hard always rooting for a team that sucked more than the movie Click?
I guess everyone's aware of my deep hated for that movie. I only had to endure a couple of years of sucking before the Cats became competitive. I consider myself extremely lucky to not be older.

When you made the decision to go to Iowa, did you feel like Brutus stabbing Ceasar (aka NU fan brethren) in the back?
Nah. The simple answer is I couldn't get into NU. Plus, it's really close to home (sidenote: it's not like Iowa was my #1 school either. Go RedHawks! - kidding). (admission: I forgot WildHawk went to Miami Ohio first...my bad)

What was people in Iowa's reaction when they found out you were a NU fan? Were you ridiculed?
People in Iowa have very little respect for Northwestern, but then again, I think that sentiment is shared by all the other ten schools. People in Iowa City are pretty liberal and accepting, even of me. Plus, the fact the the two teams are almost dead even in football and basketball over the last 10-15 years seriously hurts their ability to gloat.

Head-to-head games...who do you cheer for?
I still don't know. My first idea was to root for the team that had more on the line, the team that needs the win more. I've also considered just rooting for the home team.

What are the pros and cons of having 2 teams to root for?
Pros: More chances to win any given week, more games to watch, more research to doCons: Playing each other, tough when both suck, more time necessary for research

You're going to be back in Iowa City for the game this weekend, how do you see the game playing out? Bold prediction?
Both defenses have been strong this year. CJ Bacher is really slumping for the Cats, and Jake Christensen just plain sucks-ass. Given the fact that Stanzi is starting for the Hawks and it's at Kinnick, I'm thinking 20-13 Hawkeyes. Who knows though, if CJ finally has his breakout game of the year, he and Sutton could lead to a lot of points for the Wildcats.

Quick Hitters:

Best Northwestern game you ever attended?
3-way tie: NU/Notre Dame '95, NU/Penn State '95, and NU/Michigan '96
Best Iowa game you ever attended?
Toss Up: Iowa/Michigan '03 or Iowa/Ohio State '04
Who has hotter girls?
Iowa....more talent than an outsider would expect

Who has a better campus?
Tie. Northwestern is better aesthetically, but Iowa has better town (bars).
Who has better gameday experience?
Iowa, no question.
Rate this blog on a scale of 1-10. How much better would your writing make it?
Hahah, I'd give it an 8 - it's good, but needs a consistent fan base. Who says I'd make it better? (I do...please start writing WildHawk...please)
Favorite tv show?
Californication/House/Entourage/The Office/Colbert Report
Favorite fast food chain?
Popeye's or Wendy's (Panchero's in Iowa City, but too local)
Is this the Cubs year?
Yes.
Finally, both Rashidi Wheeler and Randy Walker died while you were an NU fan...and Iowa city has had 2 natural disasters (tornado and flood) hit since you became a fan...do you want to take any blame for these and maybe admit that you're bad luck?
I won't take any blame, but it has sucked. Still, there's been a lot of good times too. That tornado senior year really was unbelievable, at est until I had to pull a tree out of my car window and saw a dumpster fly. Also, looking around my room now, I still can't believe a Wildcat was on the SI cover, and it's been 13 years.

Thanks for the input WildHawk...it's about time you had some input into this blog! Kidding buddy, but your writing would be appreciated as often as possible (once a week?)! F&BT fans have a fever WildHawk...and the only prescription...is more blogging!

Alright, that was lame. Have fun this weekend in your old stomping grounds and go Iowa...or Northwestern...whichever you choose.

F&BT College Pick'Em Challenge Update!

It's been a rough couple of weeks for a few of us in the F&BT inaugural College Pick'Em Challenge. The schedule was decidedly tougher two weeks ago, and a few strategies were followed. Most people played it straight and put the harder games as lower confidence levels. But some of you, including my current roommate Kenny G, chose the interesting strategy of not picking games at all. Many of you followed that same strategy, but looks like it worked about as well as the Emmy's having 5 reality show hosts run the show. Dis-as-ter. Also, for the record, I will usually not make fun of any of you by name or your picks on the blog, but Kenny G is an exception. He is fully aware that I write this blog, and knowingly refuses to read it. "I'm not really a blog guy," he says, "...plus, I know when you're writing it and I can just ask you what you're posting and get everything that you're going to write. So there's really no reason for me to read it."

Well, touche Kenny. But from now on I will be making fun of you until you start reading. Have fun playing your saxophone.

As for the F&BT College Pick'Em Challenge standings, a few bad weeks have put me out of the medals for now. Lil Bro #1 had a couple strong weeks after which he usually sent a text along the lines of "What happened in the Picks this week? I can't see the standings." Thank God this stopped and he's no longer in first. That honor goes to the always difficult to find Bobby Fischer...I mean WILDHAWK! Seriously, is anyone harder to find these days than WildHawk? He hasn't posted in a while, and has rebuffed most of my attempts to get him to write. But alas, at least he's still making picks.

Keep making your picks each week and ranking them from your most confident game (10) to your least confident game (1). There's still plenty of time to make a move for the medal stand!