Legally playing football for Money

It's true.  There are football players out there who are ALLOWED to accept money (LOTS of money) to play football.  They're called "professional football players" and they play in this league that I think is called the NFL.  This is where you go AFTER college.  (And to those of you that it may not be clear, college football players are NOT allowed to accept money or gifts to play football.  Just want to make sure that's clear)

I crossed over and went to my first ever NFL football game.  Roommates and I headed up to Northern Virginia for Dad Weekend #2 to watch the Washington Redskins play the New York Giants.  It was....AH-MAZING.

Did you know you can drink beer inside the stadium in the NFL?  It's true.  You're allowed to pregame, and then you're allowed to still drink in the stadium.  It's awesome.


Beers in the Stadium.  By the way, our seats were awesome...

You seem to also be able get into fights in the stadium during the game and not get kicked out.  It's cool, but it also seems that drinking throughout the entire game leads me to do things like this:

This happened right after we started chanting, "Who hates the Giiiiiiiiaaaannnnts?"

Thanks to Caroline's dad, we were able to experience the game up close and personal.  I may be a little spoiled because I can't imagine sitting anywhere other than these seats for the rest of my life.

Did I mention we had great seats??

Have you ever been able to slap Eli Manning on the back for a job well done?  We have...

I can't remember if I've told you or not, but we were REALLY close to the field

A few lessons learned on the professional football front:

• Double check the game time the morning of the game.  Otherwise, you end up in the stadium parking lot at 11:30am for a game that doesn't start until 4:15pm.  When it's raining and sleeting outside, it makes for a cold afternoon.
• Double check the weather before going to the game.  Otherwise you find yourself in the Team Shop (or the "bookstore" as I liked to call it) purchasing Redskins gloves, hats, sweatshirts, socks and jackets.  I'm stocked up for next year!
• Take Monday off of work.  I'll continue to think college football is better because you have Sunday to recover.  In the NFL, you have no time to recover.  Your alarm still goes off Monday morning and you still have to go to work.
• Even though in the NFL you get a lot of chances throughout the season, it still sucks when your team loses.

Sadness / Anger from another Giants Touchdown

Q4 Status Update

Well, I seem to have done this two years in a row now. Clearly I need to work on my November time management so I find more time to blog during the most important time of the year in College Football. Since I did miss it, here’s my quick Status Report on all that went down in Q4.

October (See Tour of Stadiums Posts)


November
     • Defending National Champions, Alabama, lost to LSU
     • Texas added a few more losses to their belt and said goodbye to any sort of ranking or bowl game
     • Unranked, Northwestern, took down ranked Iowa
     • Once and for all, Boise State stopped kidding all of us and fell to Nevada

December
• Championship Central –
     o SEC Championship – Really USC? That was just painful to watch (sorry Matty, you know I always love you). Auburn took the title and packed their bags for Tempe
     o MAC Championship – Miami beat Northern Illinois. I’m sure most of you knew that since I’m sure everyone watched this…..
     o ACC Championship – Virginia Tech & Florida State always play each other tougher than anyone else. A sleet storm in Charlotte didn’t stop my beloved Hokies from quieting all those terribly obnoxious FSU fans who stole the Atlanta Braves cheer.
     o Conf. USA Championship – Another game I probably don’t have to tell you about since I’m sure you watched, but just in case, UCF beat SMU.
     o Oregon / Oregon State – Not a championship game, but this game was about as important as any other played this day. The Ducks prevailed and set their sights on their first National Championship dance


• The Heisman Trophy – Oh Cam. I’m so conflicted here. Yes, Cam Newton is a bangin’ Quarterback and deserved the Heisman trophy. I worry that this will be Reggie Bush part 2 in a few years, but let’s all hope he’s as honest as he says he is. The more pressing issue is getting this kid signed up for public speaking classes. I’m not trying to judge (too hard) but did anyone see that speech? Ah. Dagger.


 • The final Rankings -
     o National Championship - #1 Auburn vs. #2 Oregon
     o Rose Bowl - #3 TCU vs. #5 Wisconsin
     o Orange Bowl - #4 Stanford vs. #13 Virginia Tech
     o Sugar Bowl - #6 Ohio State vs. #8 Arkansas
     o Fiesta Bowl - #7 Oklahoma vs. Connecticut

It's his party and he'll cry if he wants to

Urban Meyer, Florida's head coach officially resigned yesterday.  Nope, you're not hallucinating and it's not 2009.  But yes, Urban Meyer did this last year.  He resigned as head coach and one day later, he was back.  So right now he has 13.5 hours to pull a fast one.

He's 57-10 as head coach for the Gators but 5 of those losses alone came this year.  Yipes!

I'm sure all of the Gators are crying in their cornflakes this morning, but as a Buckeye fan who still cries when I think about the 2007 National Championship game, this news couldn't make me happier.  Christmas has come early in the Pendleton home.

In the spirit of the "Sing Off," my favorite holiday TV show, I give Urban the following Swan Song:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsaTElBljOE

Strike a pose

Saturday, December 11 - The 2010 Heisman Trophy Ceremony.

8pm EST on ESPN.  

Be there.

2010 has been a pretty controversial year for the Heisman Trophy.  2005 winner, Reggie Bush had to give his back due to issues with possible "misconduct" and the front runner for this year, Cam Newton, has spent almost the entire season in the spotlight for possible "misconduct."

2010 Candidates are:

Cam Newton - Auburn

LaMichael James - Oregon

Andrew Luck - Standford

Kellan Moore - Boise State

Obviously I'll be submitting a write-in vote for Tyrod Taylor but don't miss all of the drama unfold this Saturday.  

Full report Monday morning.

2010 Tour of Stadiums: UNC - Kenan Stadium

Well folks, I made it.  Four college football stadiums in four weeks.  I have traveled a total of 1,848 miles. (That's like driving straight from Richmond, Virginia to Santa Fe, New Mexico)

Week 4 took me to Chapel Hill, NC to see the UNC vs. William & Mary game.  A match-up between my two roommates' alma maters.  We went into the weekend hyping it up as "College Weekend 2010" and we pretty much lived up to everything that goes along with being in college.  (I'll spare you the details, but am happy to tell the tales of the weekend)

This wasn't actually my first trip to Kenan Stadium.  Back in 1995 my dad took me to the UNC/UVA game because, at the ripe age of 10, I had decided that I was a Tarheel fan.  Figuring I would grow out of it, my dad went along with it out of his pure love of college football and took me to UNC games three years in a row.  My most vivid memory of that first trip to Chapel Hill was during a timeout when scores were being announced.  Ohio State was winning and my dad stood up in the middle of everyone and screamed (yes...SCREAMED) "GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Chapel Hill and the stadium is just beautiful. I don't think you can have a bad seat.  Here are a few stats:

Name: Kenan Stadium

Opened: November 12, 1927

Largest Crowd - 62,000 (vs. Florida State in 1997)

Renovation: Currently being renovated, the new "Blue Zone" should be open next year adding 2,980 seats to the stadium.

Photo documentations from College Weekend 2010:

Homecoming @ UNC

Magnetic Koozies...genius

I have the best roomies everrrrrrrr!

Doing my favorite UNC cheer - "Rah Rah Carolina-lina"

ACC Victory...all that matters to me:)

And here is where the evening went downhill.  A "we-tarded" shot at Top of the Hill......

2010 Tour of Stadiums: Virginia Tech - Lane Stadium

Let's get this out of the way first - Stadium Facts:

Name: Lane Stadium

Opened in: 1965

Renovated in: 2004

BEST ENTRANCE IN ALL OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h1EW5z1wdc&feature=related

Thank the Jesus Lord I made it over to Blacksburg for a Tech game this year.  For a short period of time it looked like I might not, but I found an opening and hit up Lane Stadium to watch them take on Duke.  Classic college football.

So we'll just be honest here.  Virginia Tech is my favorite place in America.  (Yes, I love it more than Las Vegas for those of you that have heard me claim Vegas as my new fave place in America.  The second I took exit 118B, I came back to reality) 

My mom and I enjoyed everything about our trip to Blacksburg.  We parked in our favorite $20 parking space behind the stadium, walked through beautiful downtown and bought stock in the bookstores, enjoyed stadium food, watched the Hokies stomp on the Blue Devils, then hit up West end before heading home.  

I have so many great memories from my days in Lane Stadium, but without a doubt the 2003 game vs. Miami was the best.  Miami came to town ranked #1 and Virginia Tech was hungry to beat them.  A night game in Lane Stadium is one of the most dangerous places to play in all of college football and we scared those little Hurricanes right back down to Florida.  We beat them, rushed the field and celebrated into the wee hours of the morning. 

Lining up for Enter Standman...start jumping!

Here come the Hokies!

Naturally I lived in a dorm farthest away from classes but closest to the stadium

2010 Tour of Stadiums: UVA - Scott Stadium

This post is coming a little late, but as you all know I'm going on an east coast tour of stadiums.  And yes, that tour included a trip to Charlottesville to visit all the Hoos down in Hooville.  

Scott Stadium Stats:

Name: Scott Stadium (aka Enemy Territory...no for real, when people found out I was going here for Homecoming I was told the following: Give back your diploma, Traitor & OMG! GET OUT OF MY LIFE!)

Date opened: 1931

Largest crowd – 64,947 (vs. Southern California in 2008.  UVA lost 7-52, ouchie.)

Renovated in: 2000

Okay, so here's the deal.  These are my friends Tom & Sarah.  And I happen to love them both so much that I'll go to UVA homecoming just to spend time with them.  And they happen to love me enough to still be my friend when I show up wearing a UNC shirt......

Here's what I learned about "how to be cool" at UVA:

• There is no need to get into the stadium in time for kickoff.  I was freaking out when it was after 6pm and the tailgate party showed no signs of slowing down.  I was informed that no one gets to the stadium in time for kickoff.  Oh, okay.  When we got there, UVA was down 17-3.
• There is no need to stand up and cheer for the team as loudly as I do at Ohio State or Virginia Tech.  Yes, I did root for UVA, but I was actually in the way for the people behind me and asked to sit down.
• All the cool kids stand on "The Hill" to watch the game.  I've actually always wanted to do this and almost didn't get a chance, but I forced Tom & Sarah to take me over there so I could say I watched a game standing on the hill.  The truth is that it's a little difficult to stand on a decline, but all in all I'm glad I got the chance to do it.
• When UVA scores a touchdown (keep in mind I only got to witness this one time since they only scored once) everyone puts their arms around each other and sings a song.  I didn't do this.  Sorry people, I have to draw the line somewhere.
• And finally, UVA kids actually know how to tailgate.  Hard.  At Tailgate #1 Dave Tesh showed me his special Tailgate Chest which contained shot glasses, mixers and 2 bottles of alcohol.  At Tailgate #2 there was a massive amount of pre-game beverages, beer pong, flat screen TV's and most importantly a dance party.  (So what if the dance party was sometimes a single dance party just by me?)

All in all, it was a great trip with great friends!

Dave & his Tailgate Chest

UVA Band @ halftime (We left shortly after this...)

The Hill

Me watching the game from The Hill - in a UNC t-shirt, OSU Sweatshirt & Jeggings.  I was popular....