{"id":62,"date":"2006-08-27T12:30:13","date_gmt":"2006-08-27T16:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/section30.com\/?p=62"},"modified":"2006-08-27T12:44:18","modified_gmt":"2006-08-27T16:44:18","slug":"tnl-countdown-to-football-part-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/section30.com\/?p=62","title":{"rendered":"TNL Countdown to Football, Part 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

Issue 6 was invariably lost, which is a real shame because I remember it\u00c2\u00a0being a tribute to Cash, who we found out died the morning of the Ohio State game, when most of us watched that game on the\u00c2\u00a0big screen in Jemily’s clubhouse; that was a fun day; I remember being totally exhausted that weekend after flying in late Friday from Biloxi and knowing I had to drive to Raleigh so I could fly back out the following morning,\u00c2\u00a0and we were in\u00c2\u00a0Stool Pigeons around 10 or so that night and Gary and I were both dozing…that might have been the exact moment we\u00c2\u00a0were officially old.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Doug Christie issue.\u00c2\u00a0 I remember Jacob was helping me move from Spartanburg to Gastonia, and\u00c2\u00a0right\u00c2\u00a0before he put the master lock on upside down, effectively locking us out of the\u00c2\u00a0U-Haul until we found a hammer big enough to beat that thing off, he had this incredible idea (in response to Ben missing the Western game, which had then yet to happen): “We’re buying Ben a Doug Christie jersey.”\u00c2\u00a0 There was no turning back once that fantastic idea had been proposed.<\/em><\/p>\n

It led to this…<\/em><\/p>\n

The TAILGATING NEWSLETTER<\/strong>
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We only ask because we care.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/strong>
\nVOLUME 1, Issue 7
\nSEPTEMBER 25, 2003
\nGastonia<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

IT WAS A MAGNIFICENT Homecoming Saturday, one for the ages in grand ole Raleigh, home of our beloved Wolfpack \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and, well, Shawn and Lauren and Ben and Lizzy and Matt and one day, again, me.\u00c2\u00a0 Anyway, Isabel had reared her ugliness throughout the Old North State just a few days earlier, but in her wake she left a sweltering yet serene atmosphere for football and tailgating; friends and laughter; moving the chains and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153woo-woo-woo-wooing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 The morning began, of course, with the obligatory Bo-Bo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s breakfast and soon led to some unusually-responsible beer-drinking and a downright unforgettable award ceremony for one of our members.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

After the tailgating festivities, we were treated by #17 and Co. to a relentless spanking of Lubbock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Finest \u00e2\u20ac\u201c although at last check, it appears the Pack D is still surrendering passing yards to Symons, who just surpassed 2,200 yards on 156-for-221 passing; the Red Raiders have scored again to close the Wolfpack lead to 224-35.<\/p>\n

After the game, the tailgating festivities moved to Ben\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house in the swanky Lake Pine Drive area of Cary, where Ben served his party guests cheeseburgers and hotdogs; he generously allowed them to bring their own beverages.<\/p>\n

Once there, the guests chose sides in the Georgia\/LSU game and it turned into a very heated fourth quarter; one in which Lucas at one time berated Jacob with a stirring rendition of the Georgia fight song (Glory, Glory Hallelujah) after the Dawgs scored on a 93-yard TD pass to tie the Bayou Bengals late in the game.<\/p>\n

Although LSU eventually won, Jacob was unable to counter with the Tigers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fight song, which was a victory in itself to Lucas, who prides himself in his vast knowledge of college fight songs.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a wonder he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still single, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

THEY SAID IT: STEVE EDWARDS QUOTE OF THE WEEK<\/strong>
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Except for Ben \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he drinks that wussy beer.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

TNL EXCLUSIVE: BEN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWHOOPEDNESS\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 AWARDED<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nBen looks on in anticipation as Matt presents him with the Doug Christie jersey.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Today, I consider myself the luckiest man alive,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ben said, fighting back tears in an emotional acceptance speech.<\/em><\/p>\n

IN A LAUGHTER-FILLED and emotional ceremony Saturday morning in the parking lot behind the RBC Center, Ben was presented with the inaugural Doug Christie jersey.\u00c2\u00a0 The Tailgating President and CEO, R.L. Bentley, III, MD, PhD, delivered a heartfelt speech as Matt Edwards had the distinguished honor of presenting Ben with the jersey.\u00c2\u00a0 In the speech, President Bentley alluded to Ben\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153whoopedness\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and how Lizzy has so successfully \u00e2\u20ac\u0153revoked [his] decision-making abilities.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ben was nearly driven to tears in anticipation as he accepted this award; he was almost reluctant to don the jersey at first, but eventually relented and proudly modeled the jersey for all in attendance to see.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Today, I consider myself the luckiest man alive,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ben said, fighting back tears in his emotional acceptance speech.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to first of all thank the owner of my leash and girlfriend, Elizabeth, without out whom none of this would be possible.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ben, from all of us at TNL, we want you to know we were laughing at you and not with you.<\/p>\n

THE \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M COOL BECAUSE I CAN DRINK A TON\u00e2\u20ac\u009d AWARD
\n<\/strong>So, Lizzy and I are on the deck Saturday evening discussing Ben\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s temper and The Other Shawn comes out to smoke a cigarette.\u00c2\u00a0 Anyway, Lizzy and I were essentially discussing how lame we both are and how we both feel so old; we agree that we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drink like we used to.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

So this cat chides in and informs us of just how much he can drink.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drink enough that I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drive.\u00c2\u00a0 I can always drink myself sober.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Just for clarity, he said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can always drink myself sober.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be a son of a bitch, all these years the experts have said that cold showers and coffee won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sober you up; only time will.\u00c2\u00a0 And here he up and disproves this for the ridiculous theory that it obviously is; all these years we could have been drinking ourselves sober.\u00c2\u00a0 1998 would have been so much different had we known this (although, I am quite certain most of us probably tried this at least a few times).<\/p>\n

But then he expounds on just how much he can drink: Apparently, he got a fifth of Jim Beam for his birthday this year, and when challenged, he turned that fifth up and drained it in 15 seconds.\u00c2\u00a0 15 seconds!\u00c2\u00a0 For those of you wondering, a fifth will fill up a 20-ounce Coke bottle with a little to spare.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was so shitty I fell off the cooler\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6but three hours later I was ready to go to the Longbranch.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

FANTASY FOOTBALL
\n<\/strong>The Killer Millers (2-1), who have won two straight despite having what some have termed an inferior lineup, stormed out of the gates this weekend, easily defeating No-No-Notorious (1-2) 112-88 in a high-scoring affair.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Pocket Rockets (2-1) were flaccid early, but soon stiffened up and found a way to hold off The Infamous Tracy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Belmont Playboys 95-89, handing them their first loss of the season.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Playoffs?!?!\u00c2\u00a0 Playoffs?!?!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Coach Worm responded after the Pocket Rockets second straight sub-100-point weekend.<\/p>\n

In this week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pillow fight, Pimpin aint EZ (1-2) found the win column for the first time by defeating Allyour$20belongtome (1-2) 78-72.\u00c2\u00a0 Coach Matt Edwards was quoted after the game as saying that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153his team would have the most points with the worst record.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Hey, stats are for losers, Coach.<\/p>\n

In the final game of the weekend, the Jive Turkeys (1-2) struggled again, losing to the Wolflovers (2-1) 107-78.\u00c2\u00a0 This second straight week of futility and lack of offensive performance prompted Coach Shawn Williams to make some changes in his roster for next week.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I needed to get some new blood in there with my poor point production,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a disappointed Williams said in a terse press conference following this weekend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think [he] just offended the word \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpoor,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Pocket Rockets coach Worm was quoted in response to Williams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 press conference.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

BEN VERSUS WORM: WEEK 3<\/strong>
\nWORM\u00c2\u00a0317
\nBEN\u00c2\u00a0291<\/p>\n

Ben lost ground on Worm in Week 3, falling to 25 points behind.\u00c2\u00a0 TNL will continue to track this side bet as it develops.<\/p>\n

COME O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ER THE HILL CAROLINE<\/strong>
\nDid you know that Johnny \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Mouth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bunting \u00e2\u20ac\u0153almost won the Division-III championship at Glassboro State\u00e2\u20ac\u009d?\u00c2\u00a0 (FYI, TNL discovered that the former Glassboro State is now known as Rowan University and is located in New Jersey).<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Anyone that says Coach Bunting isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t one of the best college coaches in the nation is only fooling themselves!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The Pack prepares this week for the always-intense rivalry match-up with the Heels.\u00c2\u00a0 The dominant C.J. Stephens, Darkhorse Heisman candidate Darian Durant, and Rabbit will bring the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 108th ranked rushing defense to Carter-Finley looking for their first victory.<\/p>\n

Seriously, ya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll, if you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t visited johnbunting.com yet, what are you waiting for?\u00c2\u00a0
\n\u00c2\u00a0
\nNEWS AND NOTES<\/strong>
\nTailgating festivities will commence at 8am Saturday morning.\u00c2\u00a0 The menu will include shrimp, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and possibly hushpuppies.\u00c2\u00a0 A grill will also be available for cooking burgers and\/or dogs for those weirdos that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t eat shrimp.\u00c2\u00a0 Losers.<\/p>\n

Gashley will grace us with their presence on Saturday, which will perpetually trigger countless stories of the glory days of Freshman Gary \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for the record, Freshman Gary lasted from 1997 to somewhere around 2001, when he reprehensibly settled down and became a responsible homeowner and fianc\u00c3\u00a9; reprehensible, I know.<\/p>\n

And for those of you that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know Lincoln County\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Steven Wilkes\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6well, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in for quite a treat.\u00c2\u00a0 No words I write could possibly do justice to just how unique this cat is.<\/p>\n

See you Saturday.<\/p>\n

R. L.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Issue 6 was invariably lost, which is a real shame because I remember it\u00c2\u00a0being a tribute to Cash, who we found out died the morning of the Ohio State game, when most of us watched that game on the\u00c2\u00a0big screen in Jemily’s clubhouse; that was a fun day; I remember being totally exhausted that weekend … Continue reading TNL Countdown to Football, Part 6<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/section30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}