February 2005

It’s like high school all over again. I’m sitting at home thinking about what I’m going to wear tonight. The two small differences are that I a) wasn’t usually invited anywhere back then and so I b) worried about what I was wearing for nothing, leaving me c) wearing the same clothes anyway. There’s a freakin’ ’80s party tonight and we’re going to look like freaks. Leave it to Tom, April, and Andy to come up with something like this.

I have a pretty good costume planned thanks to my pack-rat nature: a sweet fluorescent hat from way back when, my old friendship bracelet and G&S bands, an old I.O.U. brand shirt I actually wore once and kept around for some reason or another. After I tuck-fold my jeans and turn my hat sideways the look will be complete. Well, almost — a nice, big NKOTB button on my shirt will be the final touch.

I’ll have to put my outfit (read: costume) on once I’m there. I have to get gas on the way over and there’s no way I’m going to be seen like that; it may be 20 years later but I’m still shy about the way I dress.

The road to Jacksonville was an exciting one, especially the last 1,800 miles or so (and of those, mostly the first half). It was great being on the road with friends and family, though there are some things I wouldn’t have done at all.

1. Shouldn’t have eaten that taco at South of the Border. I’m still bleeding from my rectum. In fact, I was going to take a picture and post it here but I’m toying with the idea of holding onto some of my dignity.

2. Leaving 15 minutes after the game ended was efficient but dumb. I’m still tired and ill after a night of sleeping and driving in one hour increments.

3. Should have sabotaged those jerks in the RV next to ours. They emptied their gray water tank right next to our tent, needlessly ran their generator all day, and were rude whenever we approached them. The guys from Union Roofing were stereotypical union morons: obnoxious, technically retarded, and devoid of common sense. The best we did was edge them out in the race to leave the lot; instead we should have used our extra hose to hook up their black water tank with their luggage compartment and let gravity do the rest.

4. Picking the Patriots? Not all it’s cracked up to be. I wanted to be sick after someone pointed out that I was $350 richer after the Eagles lost. Every time I think about football it’s not winning the pool that comes to mind but how anxious I am for the next season to start. Even though I made it through the second half of the season without even my one allowed wrong pick, it doesn’t feel all that great.

There are more, but now that the tailgating season is over it’s time to focus all of my attention on design stuff.

‘Twas a bright and sunny day, or something catchy like that; seriously though: it’s perfect weather for a Superbowl. It was a little chilly the past two days, but easily manageable and nothing like the last few games at which we’ve been tailgating.

I’m a relatively new fan to the game. I remember watching the Eagles with my grandfather in high school when Randall Cunningham was leading the team. It was then that I first learned the rules despite having played the game myself as a kid. I lost interest in it for a while as I became a bit of a sports snob. What did I care if one corporately-sponsored professional sports team that happened to hail from one city triumphed over another? It wasn’t until Ross started his football pool last season that I became interested in once again — not only in the Eagles but in the game in general. Two armies clashing on the field, their coaching staffs matching wits, with the fate of their represented cities hanging in the balance. In the past two years I’ve grown to be all-out Iggles crazy.

This season I took things to the next level with the help of Tim, who insisted we start tailgating before games. Last year Ross, Tim, my dad and I went to the Redskins-Eagles game at FedEx Field and despite having a great time and everything we needed to pre-game properly, we were far from prepared. Now we’re pretty much experts on the subject, from mounting speakers to the ceiling of the Element to bringing along an exhaust hose so we can watch television without getting fumagated. This weekend of tailgating in Jacksonville is our seventh and the final exam for our season of preparation; so far we’re passing. We’re counting on a win, but even if the Eagles lose it was a great two days in Florida and an all-out blast. We exchanged honks and cheers with other RVs during the entire 15-hour drive (we made plenty of stops), walked around downtown Jacksonville to visit the 610 WIP tent and witness the hoopla, and hung around our camp playing Halo 2 (networked across televisions), boardgames and DVDs. We’re 1,200 feet from the stadium, Our cooler is still filled to the brim and we have plenty of food counting down to Superbowl kick-off, and Eagles’ fans outnumber those rooting for the Patriots (we can hardly call them fans) by 8 to 1.

As for the football pool which sparked my recent interest in the first place, I’m awful at picking which teams will win and lose each week. Merely making my picks each week gives me a vested interest in every game and gives me more to look forward to other than the outcome of my team. When it came to the second survivor pool of the season — picking one team each week to win and if you lose, you’re out — that’s where I triumphed. Going into this last week I’m the only person who hasn’t missed a game yet (we’re allowed to make one mistake this second time around), and the only reason I picked the Patriots for this final game was because I was confident the other three people would have chosen them. (I’m also confident the only reason they picked the Eagles was because our supposed neutral monitor for the pool sent out a little “to have a chance of tying you only have to pick whomever Bob didn’t” speech.) So as it stands now, I’m going to be splitting the $350 pot with three other people when the Eagles win and I’m bumped down to their level — and I’ll be damn happy about it, too.

Now it’s a little over six hours before game time and the lot is getting crazy. Matt, JT, Tim, Ian, Pat, Kon and I, along with my dad and his friends Scott and Charlie, are getting psyched up right along with them. Hopefully the photos we’re taking will do the whole experience justice. I’ve already posted pictures from the rest of the season on my beta photo page, which I had time to work on during the bye week. The address is www.rudderow.com/beta but don’t bother giving me feedback because it’s clearly a work in progress and I already know all the problems it’s having.

So there you have it: the report from Jacksonville. Time to get rip-roaring drunk and drown out all these other chumps and their Metallica with some real death metal courtesy of Sirius radio.