sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Writing this as I wait for the last plane into Syracuse Sunday night at the Atlanta airport.
My road trip started with a flight from Syracuse into Jacksonville via Atlanta early Friday morning. Tallahassee was about $800 more expensive to fly into than Jacksonville, so it was an easy decision to drive the extra 166 miles each way. Takes less than 2.5 hours, straight run on I10.
Played a Donald Ross course near Jville called Hyde Park. It was built in 1925 and they claim it is one of the oldest courses in Florida. Apparently once hosted a PGA event, the Greater Jacksonville Open. Have played a number of Ross courses, so I wanted to see where this one stood. They have supposedly not made changes to it.
Cool course, short as expected. Some pretty severe greens reminiscent of the front 9 at Thendara or Bellevue. The greens were fast but a number had large bald spots. The course is also marred by the presence of 2 huge (radio?) towers, with giant cables to hold them in place. Still, a fun test and it was a steal playing it with a cart for $24.
After golf, I drove to Tallahassee. Easy drive, little traffic, the most exciting part of the drive was when I drove over a bridge with a sign noting it was for the historic Suwanee River. Yee ha.
I stayed at the La Quinta South, not far from the stadium. Not one of their better properties, it is a bunch of one story buildings that are not in good shape. I knew I was in trouble when the light switch just inside the front door didn't work. It was quite unfortunate when the hot water didn't work Saturday morning.
Anyway, after that cold shower, I met a friend and played a round at Southwood, a really nice course that was also close by. Reminded me somewhat of Shenendoah, nice upscale course with generous fairways and good greens. Bit was a little pricey at $68 but I enjoyed it.
After that, I headed to the tailgate. Great job setting it up by AirForceOne and his better half, with help from a number of others. The sun came out for an extended period and I started to melt, but was saved by some fine ginger ale served on heavy rocks (poured; not sprayed).
AFO showed excellent grilling skills and made grilling chicken wings look easy (it is not).
Great to see old friends like JarHeadJim and his wife, as well as AFO and his better half. Also met a bunch of lurkers. The highlight of the affair came when Weedsport awarded AFOba specially made military style medal for his efforts to make this tailgate happen.
Great food, tons of it too. I don't think I will recover from that feast for some time to come.
Speaking of tailgates, FSU was really impressive. Giant grills, big HDTVs with satellite dishes, smokers, FSU tents as far as the eye could see.
People were very friendly and welcoming. I was stopped and told 'Welcome to Tallahassee' at least 5 times. People told me 'way to represent', wanted to know where I came from, how I liked being in the ACC so fsr, etc. That old axiom, the better the program, the more friendly the fans, definitely was true this weekend.
One guy insisted we walk over to the larger than life statue of Chief Osceola and his horse Renegade. It was cool, especially the flame coming from the top of his spear.
Chief Osceloa and Renegade
Some shirts I saw there: Fear the Spear, Too Pretty to be a Gator, Friends Don't Let Friends Wear Orange, etc.
Was dazzled by the FSU band, which is huge, sounds great and marches well too. As Jom reported, they had 24 tubas. But it was Homecoming and the Alumni Band was also on the field before the game and they had 18 tubas. So all told, there were 42 tubas in the house!
FSU Band: Large, Loud and Talented
As someone else mentioned, the FSU band took a minute to play the Syracuse fight song. Bit wasn't perfect but it was okay and appreciated. Northwestern also did this earlier this season. I think this is a classy move and really hope someday the SUMB starts doing this as well. I know it takes precious practice time to do this but I think it is in keeping with the image and quality standard we should all want for Syracuse University.
I liked Doke Campbell Stadium. Only one level, relatively cozy for an 80K stadium. Old school porcelain urinals. Could use a renovation, some pealing paint in the bathrooms, the scoreboards are minimal, replay screens not of top quality, no ribbon scoreboards, etc. But it works, the crowd is very enthusiastic and I like the emphasis on the band and old fashioned style cheers, etc.
Panorama of Hoke Campbell Stadium About 30 Minutes Before Kickoff
They honored their 1st NC team from 1993 to much excitement and cheering, which was loudest when Bobby Bowden made his return to the program he built, after a parting that was less than amicable.
The ramps to the upper deck are steeper than the ones at Byrd, which makes for a much easier climb for the fans. The steps on the upper deck however are really large and make for some really awkward ascents, especially for the infirm, the usually large and the elderly. A couple of people almost went down.
I don't want to be uncouth but I know people are wondering and this topic needs to be covered. Yes, there were a lot of attractive women, before the game, during the game and after the game too. There was a really large event next store to our tailgate that featured a number of young women who were regularly flashing their clothes (tops sometimes and sometimes bottoms; i.e. NASA moonshots) in response to encouragement from frat boys nearby. Indeed, this was the first Syracusefan.com tailgate that was rated NR. I fear JarheadJim's son became a man far too early.
What can you say about a game like this one? I think FSU has the best talent on the country and they also have great schemes on offense and defense. They are really well coached and this makes for some explosive action.
Thought Winston was very impressive but I believe a huge part of his success is due to a great system and a fantastic supporting cast. They had someone wide open on every pass play and had a big hole on almost every play. The only weakness i see with them is with their pass blocking (we had a lot of sacks and got good pressure on Winston consistently).
It is really disheartening for me to see us giving them 10 yards on every pass play. It kills me to see us do that, then proceed to consistently miss the tackle after that. Same thing on the run plays. We over pursued and got burned doing this all game long, never showed any signs of improving. Horrific stuff, even worse than the GT game.
The thing I was most disappointed with though was our offensive gameplan. Jimbo Fisher saaid before the game that they knew what Syracuse was going to do; they were going to run the ball. And that is exactly what we did.
No changes, no new looks, no attempt to try and surprise the Seminoles. They didn't
even try to win this game.
Don't get me wrong. I realize FSU is the better team by a huge margin. I realize the best game plan in the world wouldn't have won this game. But we basically conceded the game before it even started on offense and on defense. That shouldn't ever happen. And frankly, it wouldn't have had DM and NH been coaching for Syracuse. The staff owes that (trying to win) to the players and the fans.
Hope PTG and JW are okay. Hope Mackey and Emerick are as well.
We had a good time talking with FSU fans near us during the game. Credit to them for
being good natured and having a sense of humor. The same applies to the SU fans.
From what I could see, there wasn't much to choose from in terms of food options at the Doke. They had Pizza Hut, I think there was a small Chilis stand, and there were the usual choices (dogs, burgers, nachos, pizza).
Funnel cakes appear to be HUGE there and then there is the whole phenomenon of boiled peanuts. Based on advice from trusted Southern advisors, I did not try these things. It was a bad enough afternoon already just dealing with the carnage on the field.
After the game, AFO and his family, Swish and his family, FtLOrange and I had dinner together at one of the Sonny's BBQ places on Tallahassee. In always say that time or BBQ heals all wounds. In this case, it was the BBQ. Good stuff, I would go there again, even if we didn't get any free ice cream or a pony ride afterwards.
Tallahassee was smaller than i expected. Not much in the way of tall buildings or fancy architecture. If the capital building is the one I think, it is really small for a big state like Florida. Seemed smaller than Syracuse.
Got up early Sunday, drove back to Jacksonville and played a round at an Arnold Palmer designed course called Eagles Landing that was recommend to me by the ever helpful Orangeyes.
Really nice course that was in excellent shape.! Played 18 with a cart for $54, which included breakfast and lunch. Good deal and I think it was close to a place called Orange Park. Good fish there too. Highly recommended if you ever find yourself in that part of the country.
Lastly, don't ever bring your clubs to Florida and rent a Ford Fiesta. It is possible to fit a hard shell travel bag into one AND drive it but only with great determination.
War Damn Otto. Beat Pitt next week! Let's get the party started ASAP!
My road trip started with a flight from Syracuse into Jacksonville via Atlanta early Friday morning. Tallahassee was about $800 more expensive to fly into than Jacksonville, so it was an easy decision to drive the extra 166 miles each way. Takes less than 2.5 hours, straight run on I10.
Played a Donald Ross course near Jville called Hyde Park. It was built in 1925 and they claim it is one of the oldest courses in Florida. Apparently once hosted a PGA event, the Greater Jacksonville Open. Have played a number of Ross courses, so I wanted to see where this one stood. They have supposedly not made changes to it.
Cool course, short as expected. Some pretty severe greens reminiscent of the front 9 at Thendara or Bellevue. The greens were fast but a number had large bald spots. The course is also marred by the presence of 2 huge (radio?) towers, with giant cables to hold them in place. Still, a fun test and it was a steal playing it with a cart for $24.
After golf, I drove to Tallahassee. Easy drive, little traffic, the most exciting part of the drive was when I drove over a bridge with a sign noting it was for the historic Suwanee River. Yee ha.
I stayed at the La Quinta South, not far from the stadium. Not one of their better properties, it is a bunch of one story buildings that are not in good shape. I knew I was in trouble when the light switch just inside the front door didn't work. It was quite unfortunate when the hot water didn't work Saturday morning.
Anyway, after that cold shower, I met a friend and played a round at Southwood, a really nice course that was also close by. Reminded me somewhat of Shenendoah, nice upscale course with generous fairways and good greens. Bit was a little pricey at $68 but I enjoyed it.
After that, I headed to the tailgate. Great job setting it up by AirForceOne and his better half, with help from a number of others. The sun came out for an extended period and I started to melt, but was saved by some fine ginger ale served on heavy rocks (poured; not sprayed).
AFO showed excellent grilling skills and made grilling chicken wings look easy (it is not).
Great to see old friends like JarHeadJim and his wife, as well as AFO and his better half. Also met a bunch of lurkers. The highlight of the affair came when Weedsport awarded AFOba specially made military style medal for his efforts to make this tailgate happen.
Great food, tons of it too. I don't think I will recover from that feast for some time to come.
Speaking of tailgates, FSU was really impressive. Giant grills, big HDTVs with satellite dishes, smokers, FSU tents as far as the eye could see.
People were very friendly and welcoming. I was stopped and told 'Welcome to Tallahassee' at least 5 times. People told me 'way to represent', wanted to know where I came from, how I liked being in the ACC so fsr, etc. That old axiom, the better the program, the more friendly the fans, definitely was true this weekend.
One guy insisted we walk over to the larger than life statue of Chief Osceola and his horse Renegade. It was cool, especially the flame coming from the top of his spear.
Chief Osceloa and Renegade
Some shirts I saw there: Fear the Spear, Too Pretty to be a Gator, Friends Don't Let Friends Wear Orange, etc.
Was dazzled by the FSU band, which is huge, sounds great and marches well too. As Jom reported, they had 24 tubas. But it was Homecoming and the Alumni Band was also on the field before the game and they had 18 tubas. So all told, there were 42 tubas in the house!
FSU Band: Large, Loud and Talented
As someone else mentioned, the FSU band took a minute to play the Syracuse fight song. Bit wasn't perfect but it was okay and appreciated. Northwestern also did this earlier this season. I think this is a classy move and really hope someday the SUMB starts doing this as well. I know it takes precious practice time to do this but I think it is in keeping with the image and quality standard we should all want for Syracuse University.
I liked Doke Campbell Stadium. Only one level, relatively cozy for an 80K stadium. Old school porcelain urinals. Could use a renovation, some pealing paint in the bathrooms, the scoreboards are minimal, replay screens not of top quality, no ribbon scoreboards, etc. But it works, the crowd is very enthusiastic and I like the emphasis on the band and old fashioned style cheers, etc.
Panorama of Hoke Campbell Stadium About 30 Minutes Before Kickoff
They honored their 1st NC team from 1993 to much excitement and cheering, which was loudest when Bobby Bowden made his return to the program he built, after a parting that was less than amicable.
The ramps to the upper deck are steeper than the ones at Byrd, which makes for a much easier climb for the fans. The steps on the upper deck however are really large and make for some really awkward ascents, especially for the infirm, the usually large and the elderly. A couple of people almost went down.
I don't want to be uncouth but I know people are wondering and this topic needs to be covered. Yes, there were a lot of attractive women, before the game, during the game and after the game too. There was a really large event next store to our tailgate that featured a number of young women who were regularly flashing their clothes (tops sometimes and sometimes bottoms; i.e. NASA moonshots) in response to encouragement from frat boys nearby. Indeed, this was the first Syracusefan.com tailgate that was rated NR. I fear JarheadJim's son became a man far too early.
What can you say about a game like this one? I think FSU has the best talent on the country and they also have great schemes on offense and defense. They are really well coached and this makes for some explosive action.
Thought Winston was very impressive but I believe a huge part of his success is due to a great system and a fantastic supporting cast. They had someone wide open on every pass play and had a big hole on almost every play. The only weakness i see with them is with their pass blocking (we had a lot of sacks and got good pressure on Winston consistently).
It is really disheartening for me to see us giving them 10 yards on every pass play. It kills me to see us do that, then proceed to consistently miss the tackle after that. Same thing on the run plays. We over pursued and got burned doing this all game long, never showed any signs of improving. Horrific stuff, even worse than the GT game.
The thing I was most disappointed with though was our offensive gameplan. Jimbo Fisher saaid before the game that they knew what Syracuse was going to do; they were going to run the ball. And that is exactly what we did.
No changes, no new looks, no attempt to try and surprise the Seminoles. They didn't
even try to win this game.
Don't get me wrong. I realize FSU is the better team by a huge margin. I realize the best game plan in the world wouldn't have won this game. But we basically conceded the game before it even started on offense and on defense. That shouldn't ever happen. And frankly, it wouldn't have had DM and NH been coaching for Syracuse. The staff owes that (trying to win) to the players and the fans.
Hope PTG and JW are okay. Hope Mackey and Emerick are as well.
We had a good time talking with FSU fans near us during the game. Credit to them for
being good natured and having a sense of humor. The same applies to the SU fans.
From what I could see, there wasn't much to choose from in terms of food options at the Doke. They had Pizza Hut, I think there was a small Chilis stand, and there were the usual choices (dogs, burgers, nachos, pizza).
Funnel cakes appear to be HUGE there and then there is the whole phenomenon of boiled peanuts. Based on advice from trusted Southern advisors, I did not try these things. It was a bad enough afternoon already just dealing with the carnage on the field.
After the game, AFO and his family, Swish and his family, FtLOrange and I had dinner together at one of the Sonny's BBQ places on Tallahassee. In always say that time or BBQ heals all wounds. In this case, it was the BBQ. Good stuff, I would go there again, even if we didn't get any free ice cream or a pony ride afterwards.
Tallahassee was smaller than i expected. Not much in the way of tall buildings or fancy architecture. If the capital building is the one I think, it is really small for a big state like Florida. Seemed smaller than Syracuse.
Got up early Sunday, drove back to Jacksonville and played a round at an Arnold Palmer designed course called Eagles Landing that was recommend to me by the ever helpful Orangeyes.
Really nice course that was in excellent shape.! Played 18 with a cart for $54, which included breakfast and lunch. Good deal and I think it was close to a place called Orange Park. Good fish there too. Highly recommended if you ever find yourself in that part of the country.
Lastly, don't ever bring your clubs to Florida and rent a Ford Fiesta. It is possible to fit a hard shell travel bag into one AND drive it but only with great determination.
War Damn Otto. Beat Pitt next week! Let's get the party started ASAP!
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