Moontan
2017 ESPN College Bowl Pick’em Winner
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2011
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After many years (8 or 9), I finally made it back to the Dome. I have been to several road games since then, but none since the Dungey finale.
We flew in from Atlanta on Saturday. It took a while before Hertz had a car available for us, but we managed to get to the Marriott Downtown by 2:30 or so. An Uber ride got us to Faegan’s around 3:10. The SU experience began…
While Faegan’s still looked the same, the menu was a huge disappointment. My wife loved the old Reuben sandwich and bean soup. Those are gone and the menu is now more snack oriented. Very disappointing. A quick stop at the Varsity helped a bit.
A walk down M Street allowed us to pop in to Shirt World (as crazy as usual) and Manny’s (surprised to see one of the employees from my days on the Hill still working there) as well as peek into the Hungry Chuck’s location which was opening for the preview shortly thereafter.
On we went to the Sheraton for a drink and some TV game viewing. Shortly before departing, I ran into Shrader’s father. He indicated that he would not be game to fly on a plane that his son was flying.
After a stroll across the quad, and some Dome Stomps, we made it to the Fine Mess, errrr SyraCRUZ, tailgate. It was great to see a bunch of regulars that I hadn’t seen in years. The food was great. Thanks to all who prepared it! We also had great chats with WBB’s Olivia Owens and Enrique’s grandmother. On to the Dome…
What can I say, other than “Wow!”?
The roof and center hung scoreboard are amazing. The Orange & Blue stadium walls look a lot better than the way they were before. Oh yeah, the air conditioning wasn’t bad either.
Regarding the game…..
We flew back to the ATL today. An easy airport experience at SYR was very different than what we’re used to.
We’ll be back…..
Go Orange!
We flew in from Atlanta on Saturday. It took a while before Hertz had a car available for us, but we managed to get to the Marriott Downtown by 2:30 or so. An Uber ride got us to Faegan’s around 3:10. The SU experience began…
While Faegan’s still looked the same, the menu was a huge disappointment. My wife loved the old Reuben sandwich and bean soup. Those are gone and the menu is now more snack oriented. Very disappointing. A quick stop at the Varsity helped a bit.
A walk down M Street allowed us to pop in to Shirt World (as crazy as usual) and Manny’s (surprised to see one of the employees from my days on the Hill still working there) as well as peek into the Hungry Chuck’s location which was opening for the preview shortly thereafter.
On we went to the Sheraton for a drink and some TV game viewing. Shortly before departing, I ran into Shrader’s father. He indicated that he would not be game to fly on a plane that his son was flying.

After a stroll across the quad, and some Dome Stomps, we made it to the Fine Mess, errrr SyraCRUZ, tailgate. It was great to see a bunch of regulars that I hadn’t seen in years. The food was great. Thanks to all who prepared it! We also had great chats with WBB’s Olivia Owens and Enrique’s grandmother. On to the Dome…
What can I say, other than “Wow!”?
The roof and center hung scoreboard are amazing. The Orange & Blue stadium walls look a lot better than the way they were before. Oh yeah, the air conditioning wasn’t bad either.

Regarding the game…..
- The fans made a difference. We were responsible for at least two Loserville penalties (delay of game, illegal procedure). While I’m sure that sutomcat was the loudest, I believe that I was #2. With a crowd of 40k+ the place will be completely deafening.
- O-Line penalties. Ugh. This needs to be addressed pronto.
- Turnovers. Other than the 2 penalties that we caused (see #1), the turnovers were the game winners, especially the end zone interception. Hopefully this continues.
- Injuries. Ouch. Lose two starters per game and the OrangeMen won’t be able to finish the season. Hopefully there won’t be any other season ending injuries going forward.
- Playing GS & ST the last 2+ possessions. What? I’m not #PL34SED by these decisions. Hopefully they won’t play in the 4th quarter of the Yukon game.
- The play calling and execution was a lot better than the last two seasons. I expect things to improve over the next two weeks and the rest of the season.
We flew back to the ATL today. An easy airport experience at SYR was very different than what we’re used to.
We’ll be back…..
Go Orange!
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