sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
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Left work at about 10 am Thursday to head to Bethpage State Park. Arrived there about 2:45 pm (traffic on GW bridge, I95, Throngs Neck Bridge and LIE).
The objective was to play the Black course Friday morning so we parked in numbered spot #2, and played a round on the Red course, an excellent tract I highly recommend.
Had to cut the round short due to slow play ahead of us and the need to return to the parking lot by 7 for the bracelet distribution. But they didn't hand out bracelets then so that was a waste of time.
We ended up moving into slot one, staying overnight and getting the first tee time on the Black Friday morning.
As for the Black, it is a remarkable course but it isn't for everyone. You need to appreciate a major challenge. If you were a boxer, it would be like boxing the 18 best boxers in the world consecutively. If that sounds fun, you are probably a Black course person.
Met up with STO and Lurker Hugh on Friday for the assault on the Black. We had a great time, it is a great feeling to get a par on one of those holes. After that my friend George and I walked the Red course, which made for a long day indeed.
Met up with TexanMark and CuseRegular at the La Quinta, went with Mark to the Cheeseburger Paradise nearby for a quick dinner.
Got up early Saturday to play a round at somewhat nearby Neshanic Valley, then headed to MetLife to commence tailgating activities. It was really hit on the asphalt lots and I was not enthused by the $30 parking fee (a PR for me for a sporting event) but it was great to see everyone again (the board had a terrific turnout).
Some things...
Spent a lot of time in NJ. Didn't see anyone in RU gear. Saw two cars with a block R. Rutgers remains no one's team. Though to be fair, I didn't visit any Big Lot stores, where I am told RU fans tend to hang out.
PSU fans outnumbered SU fans by about 3:1. Was shocked at how poorly they turned out for what was their bowl game for this year, not surprised at the poor turnout of SU fans.
MetLife is a really nice facility. Love the openness, wide concourses, giant replay scoreboards. TexanMark secured us great seats, really good to be able to retreat to air conditioning as needed.
No pee troughs but the urinals have privacy collars so they are not a total disaster.
Like the new band unis. Great job fund raising to get them SUMB folks. Still only 10 tubas, which saddens me. PSU had 20! But the SUMB sounded good regardless.
Ate a lot at the tailgate and the food at the stadium was overpriced so I didn't eat anything there. My favorite at the tailgate were these buffalo chicken meatball slider things that were excellent. And the fresh fruit on a stick, very refreshing on a hot day.
Regarding the game, not a lot of surprises. The defense was overall very good. Special teams were bad, not unexpected given all the changes but you can see the improved athletic ability there and know things will get better there.
The offense struggled but you can see potential there as well. Thought the play calling was conservative and lacked vision and direction. Looks like they are waiting for the play from the sidelines every play, which IMHO dramtically slows the pace and makes it easier to defend. I am not a fan of this.
Also didn't like the lack of adjustments. Last year if they had a mismatch, Hackett went after it repeatedly. They didn't do that and kept going to plays that WEREN'T working. Not good.
Hopefully these are growing pains. Hackett struggled early too.
The most encouraging things about the game were 1) the defense was very solid against a good running attack and 2) the team never gave up. If we can continue to defend the run like that, we are going to win our share of games.
Flying over Lake Michigan now, about to land at O'Hare. Looking forward to the game tonight; it should be a hum dinger.
The objective was to play the Black course Friday morning so we parked in numbered spot #2, and played a round on the Red course, an excellent tract I highly recommend.
Had to cut the round short due to slow play ahead of us and the need to return to the parking lot by 7 for the bracelet distribution. But they didn't hand out bracelets then so that was a waste of time.
We ended up moving into slot one, staying overnight and getting the first tee time on the Black Friday morning.
As for the Black, it is a remarkable course but it isn't for everyone. You need to appreciate a major challenge. If you were a boxer, it would be like boxing the 18 best boxers in the world consecutively. If that sounds fun, you are probably a Black course person.
Met up with STO and Lurker Hugh on Friday for the assault on the Black. We had a great time, it is a great feeling to get a par on one of those holes. After that my friend George and I walked the Red course, which made for a long day indeed.
Met up with TexanMark and CuseRegular at the La Quinta, went with Mark to the Cheeseburger Paradise nearby for a quick dinner.
Got up early Saturday to play a round at somewhat nearby Neshanic Valley, then headed to MetLife to commence tailgating activities. It was really hit on the asphalt lots and I was not enthused by the $30 parking fee (a PR for me for a sporting event) but it was great to see everyone again (the board had a terrific turnout).
Some things...
Spent a lot of time in NJ. Didn't see anyone in RU gear. Saw two cars with a block R. Rutgers remains no one's team. Though to be fair, I didn't visit any Big Lot stores, where I am told RU fans tend to hang out.
PSU fans outnumbered SU fans by about 3:1. Was shocked at how poorly they turned out for what was their bowl game for this year, not surprised at the poor turnout of SU fans.
MetLife is a really nice facility. Love the openness, wide concourses, giant replay scoreboards. TexanMark secured us great seats, really good to be able to retreat to air conditioning as needed.
No pee troughs but the urinals have privacy collars so they are not a total disaster.
Like the new band unis. Great job fund raising to get them SUMB folks. Still only 10 tubas, which saddens me. PSU had 20! But the SUMB sounded good regardless.
Ate a lot at the tailgate and the food at the stadium was overpriced so I didn't eat anything there. My favorite at the tailgate were these buffalo chicken meatball slider things that were excellent. And the fresh fruit on a stick, very refreshing on a hot day.
Regarding the game, not a lot of surprises. The defense was overall very good. Special teams were bad, not unexpected given all the changes but you can see the improved athletic ability there and know things will get better there.
The offense struggled but you can see potential there as well. Thought the play calling was conservative and lacked vision and direction. Looks like they are waiting for the play from the sidelines every play, which IMHO dramtically slows the pace and makes it easier to defend. I am not a fan of this.
Also didn't like the lack of adjustments. Last year if they had a mismatch, Hackett went after it repeatedly. They didn't do that and kept going to plays that WEREN'T working. Not good.
Hopefully these are growing pains. Hackett struggled early too.
The most encouraging things about the game were 1) the defense was very solid against a good running attack and 2) the team never gave up. If we can continue to defend the run like that, we are going to win our share of games.
Flying over Lake Michigan now, about to land at O'Hare. Looking forward to the game tonight; it should be a hum dinger.
