And Then What Happened: Boston Part 2

If you missed part 1 of the Boston story, here's where to find it. Really, this photo does more to explain the weekend than anything I could say. It was taken on Sunday afternoon, on our way back from watching football downtown with Katie, Lindsey and my cousin Justine. It took MAYBE 30 seconds for us both to fall asleep.

Anyway. I'm sure I've talked about this before, but I've never in my life had a hangover. I've never gotten sick from drinking too much. I've definitely had enough to warrant those situations, but for whatever reason, it hasn't ever happened. My working theory is that I'm a superhero of some kind with the lamest super powers ever. But I digress.

Now I'm not sure exactly what a hangover feels like. I've woken up and not felt great -- a little bit of a sour stomach sometimes, maybe a slight headache. But it's never been anything I couldn't just wake up and power through.

Well, I woke up on Saturday morning with the biggest headache I'd ever had after drinking. I blame the scorpion bowls. I had some water and took a shower, and I was good after I had some food. I don't know if that counts as a hangover or not, but it's definitely the closest I've ever come. I still say no.

Langdon and I were up around 7:45 or 8 a.m. to head to the airport to pick up J. Mike. Let me take a second to plug J. Mike's blog, where he posted his own story about Boston. Very cool. When J. Mike got in the car, we started recounting some of our old Technician road trip stories. J. Mike and I talked about our infamous trip to cover the Miami game in 2007 where we realized we did not have our press passes two and a half hours in the trip and turned around. "BG, turn around, man. I don't have the press passes." Oy haha.

Then Langdon and J. Mike told a story about a road trip to Winston-Salem to cover a Wake Forest game. The game was long over, and the interviews were done. Langdon and J. Mike exited the field house with the new writer they'd taken along with them, only to be semi-accosted by a homeless man who screamed, for no apparent reason, "And then what happened!" As Langdon told the story, he broke into a dead run as soon as the man yelled. J. Mike followed along quickly enough, leaving the young writer alone. Like you do. Naturally, they tried to spin it into a life lesson for the poor kid in the car.

So there you go. I did what I do, and I ran the saying into the ground all weekend. And then what happened.

We'd made plans to meet Carnell, Katie and Lindsey at this bar near BC's football stadium. There's not a whole lot of room to tailgate for games there, so people often go to bars. This particular bar -- City Bar, I believe it was called -- is where the N.C. State Boston alumni chapter meets before games. Carnell was nowhere to be found until the second quarter of the football game. The girls were very slow to arrive at the bar as a result of Friday night.

Langdon, J. Mike and I had a few drinks and some food and met up with a bunch more of the DC folks who made the trip. We made our way to the stadium, and the game was terrible from the start haha. We were down 7-0 before we even found our seats. What can you do. We laid an egg in the game and lost 14-10. Obviously, we now know how the regular season ends, so it's all good.

That game was the first time I'd really heard the song "Shipping Up to Boston." I documented my thoughts on that last week. I was getting fired up, and they weren't even playing it for me.

So there's not a whole lot to say about the game. After the game, however, Langdon, J. Mike and I hopped on the T to get back downtown to meet Langdon's roommate and his girlfriend for some drinks. We sat down, and I could already tell I was only minutes from sleep. But Langdon saw this guy in a Boston Transit uniform, drinking something out of a Gatorade bottle. Langdon, being Langdon, asked him what kind of Gatorade it was. "My own special blend," he said. (I'm sure it is, I add parenthetically.)

The man, whose name I cannot recall nor do I know if we ever knew, came and sat down near us to share his life story. All I remember is he "fackin' hates loyahz," and he and his ex-wife have a standing appointment in court seemingly daily.

I passed out not long after, but Langdon kept up a conversation the entire ride downtown. And then what happened. Indeed.

The combination of Friday night and a long day on Saturday left all of us pretty drained. We headed back to Langdon's apartment after a few drinks at an Irish pub downtown. When we got back, his roommate and roommate's girlfriend cooked homemade enchiladas for us all. LEGIT. So very good. The roommate made us some kick-ass drinks, too, but of course I don't remember what they were. If Langdon reads this, maybe he can chime in on that. I'd love to know what that drink was. Some kind of ginger beer mixture. For the win.

I tried incredibly unsuccessfully to make plans with Katie and Lindsey. They were, understandably, exhausted and not sure they were going to make it out. Well we were having none of that. So we hit the T and headed downtown. We ended up a bar called Hurricane O'Reillys. Carnell found us while we waited outside, and we headed in. It was pretty much redonk. J. Mike was so excited to be out with us, he joyfully bought all our drinks that night (THANKS BUDDY). Naturally, we drank, I think, four High Life tallboys each. Like you do. Keepin' it classy.

Well, you know how I roll. I got a couple of drinks in me, and it was time to dance. Listen. My arms get involved when I dance. Out to my sides. Above my head. I'm just grooving, man. I can't help myself. The problem was this: I've never seen a more crowded dance floor in my life. My arms were stuck to my sides because I simply couldn't move them.

Carnell peaced out to meet up with some other people he was in town with, so we worked our way over to a side bar and kind of made our own dance floor for a bit. J. Mike got really excited and bought us shots of straight Jager. I don't often take shots of straight liquor. The occasional shot of Jameson this summer, I suppose, but it's not common.

Here's how you know I had a good time. I was checking my Twitter feed after the weekend, and I found the following tweet, timestamped at 1:34 a.m. while we were out Saturday night: "Aww sookie sookie now."

Clearly, I was feeling it.

Langdon and I were finally able to get up with Katie and Lindsey, who DID make it out Saturday night. Katie sent us a picture of the wallpaper where they were and told us to find them and have fun with the scavenger hunt. Of course. As we were getting ready to leave, this guy walked by Langdon, J. Mike and I and LITERALLY showed his teeth to Langdon. What in the world. It was one of the strangest things I've ever seen.

I'm sure Katie and Lindsey have figured this out by now, but there's no chance we could have found them if Katie hadn't checked in at the restaurant/bar on Facebook. I saw the check-in, googled the name and we were on our way.

I left my sister a drunk voicemail. Langdon and J. Mike left Nick and drunk voicemail that went straight to his voicemail hall of fame. Like you do.

So we were walking down to street toward the restaurant where Katie and Lindsey were with some other friends of theirs when these two girls jumped out of an alley, grabbed me by the arms, pulled me into the alley and threw me against the wall.

In my head, I'm thinking, "YEEAAH BUDDY. Best night of my life! Pre-emptively!" I've seen this movie; I know how it ends. One girl was so drunk, all she could do was lean against me. The other girl said to me, in a reasonably thick Boston accent (which is surprisingly endearing on young, cute girls and not middle-aged drunk men), "Please help us. This guy has been following us for, like, five blocks now, and he's really scaring us. You look like you're really cool, so can you pretend to be our friend so maybe he'll leave us alone?"

I'm thinking, well you're the ones that have me pinned against a wall in an alley. Do I need some help? But I said, sure why not. Apparently I look much more intimidating than I feel because that was the second time in a couple of months I was asked to scare someone off.

What the hell do you do in that situation? I looked over at the guy as menacingly as I can (read: not very), and the girls started talking really loudly, "Oh my god, Chris, thank GOD we found you! We've been looking for you for so long!" I continued looking at the guy menacingly, and he seemed to get the point and wandered off.

The girls kissed me and ran off down the street, thanking me profusely. So. That happened haha.

Langdon and J. Mike watched the whole situation unfold and were totally engrossed in what I told them about it. It was so bizarre. I'll tell you what, though. Shit like that DOES NOT happen to fat dudes. It just don't! So once again, hooray losing more than 40 pounds! haha

We finally found the restaurant after some googling and wandering. Katie and Lindsey were extremely surprised we found them. Langdon and I just looked at each other, and we were like, c'mon. Of course we did. Lulz. J. Mike was barely coherent at this point, which was awesome because he began to tweet complete and total gibberish the entire time we were there.

Unfortunately for the world, he went back and deleted it the next morning. I wish I had some examples.

Around 2 or 2:30 a.m., we decided it was time to head back. Now, remember the cab situation I faced the night before? Yeah. Again. Not only was it hard to get the cab drivers even to stop, but when they DID stop and heard where we were going, they often drove off immediately.

So the three of us fanned out to try to get a cab. Langdon and I were on opposite sides of this main street, trying to flag them down. J. Mike, however. Oh lord.

J. Mike took to standing ON the center line in the street, punching cabs as they drove by. It didn't seem like a sustainable situation, but wow do I wish I'd taken a picture of it.

Eventually, we came up with a new strategy. Langdon flagged down the cabs and distracted the driver while I jumped in the backseat and refused to move. Once I got in the backseat, they hopped in too, and we were just like, dude. We've got cash. We're not moving. Drive us home, you know? Shit.

I fell asleep in the cab immediately. Like you do. Like I do, anyway. We got back, paid the cab and headed upstairs. I crashed on the couch so fast I didn't even have time to change clothes.

Sunday morning was a bit rough for J. Mike haha. We finally got him out of bed around noon so we could head downtown to watch football with Lindsey and Katie. And my cousin Justine! Justine lives in Boston, and we tried unsuccessfully to coordinate hanging out Friday and Saturday, but Sunday there was no excuse.

I hadn't seen her since the wedding back in September 2009 that I've talked about so much. Her brother is the one who got married. But she came and hung out with us, and she exhibited what appears to be a BG-family personality trademark: infectious enthusiasm and energy. Good times.

She definitely helped rally us because we were dragging from two solid days of nonsense and staying out until 4 a.m.

Alas, my flight was that night, so we had to head back. The photo up top is from this point in the story. We fell asleep on the T in no time. J. Mike was too nervous to fall asleep, but you could tell Langdon and I are seasoned subway travelers. We fell asleep and would wake up at each of the stations as we approached the station we needed -- which is exactly how I roll on the DC metro.

Made it to the airport and headed back to DC. As we were exiting the plane at National, Katie gave us the most appropriate quote for the entire week: "It's kind of weird being sober."

Indeed it was.

Final verdict: Boston was infinitely more awesome than I expected to be, and I would love to go back very, very soon so I can do actual nerdy touristy things.

Boston, well done!

As always, thank you so, so much for reading and for telling me you enjoy the stories. I get such a huge kick out of knowing people actually like reading my BS.

It should be another insane weekend, again, starting tonight with a party with some work friends, continuing on Saturday night with a holiday-themed bar crawl downtown and then finishing up on Sunday with a date! Doin' the bull dance. Feelin' the flow. Let's GO. Hopefully there will be some blog-appropriate stories! Have a great weekend, kids.

Later!

-BG

Mailing it In

Look, I'm not saying I'm going to mail in this post, but I'm not NOT saying it either. So you know. There it is.

Here's the deal: I get sick like once a year. It's a cold that lasts for a little while and then it goes away. And I sort of feel it coming on right now. You know that cloudy-head feeling and sort of sore throat deal? Yeah. Fail.

Is this related to my insane weekend in Raleigh? It could be. I went harder in Raleigh than I have probably since my trip to Savannah back in June. Who knows.

So prepare for a little random, stream of consciousness today!

This weekend feels like a couch weekend. After last weekend and last night, I wouldn't mind a little relaxing and recovery. Tonight is a rest night, for sure. Gotta head this potential sickness off at the pass.

And it's raining again. We're supposed to play flag football on Sunday. This is the CAN league, so it's the N.C. State flag football team (like my N.C. State softball team from this summer).

The team was really good last year. Ended up ranked no. 8 out of like 60-65 teams, I think. We won our first game last weekend 34-0 over South Carolina. Obviously, I was in Raleigh, so I didn't participate. This weekend, we're supposed to play No. 2 Michigan though. I hope the rain stops long enough so we can play.

And then don't rain anymore! I don't want any more softball games to be rained out! We're supposed to play Tuesday night. *sigh. We'll see.

So last night, we hit up Front Page for happy hour before going downstairs to Buffalo Billiards to watch the State game. Let me tell you why happy hour specials are awesome: four beers, $11 bill, including tip. That's tough to beat, friends.

I don't want to talk about the State game. Except to say this: ATTENTION DEFENSE AND OFFENSIVE LINE -- THE SEASON STARTED FOUR WEEKS AGO. SHOW UP.

I sort of blame myself for the two losses so far this season. I've worn my two-time national champions shirt for two games this year. Yup. The Wake Forest and Cincinnati games. Might be time to retire this shirt for game purposes. I was going to wear the kick-ass long-sleeve shirt I bought in Raleigh (that I wore to the South Alabama win), but it was just too warm for long sleeves last night, no matter how thin and comfortable the shirt may be. Next week, I'm not risking it. I'm wearing that shirt regardless.

We had a great group to watch the game though. Probably had 50 State people show up. So that was good anyway. Really though, the only way to watch a State game is at a bar. Watching the team just makes you want to drink to forget most of the time, so it helps to cut out the traveling and just start at the bar.

Matty's playing rugby tomorrow against Georgetown, but if it's raining, I probably won't make the trek down to watch that. Not as much fun to stand and watch in the rain as it is to run or play in the rain.

Tomorrow night, however, we're going to go see Moneyball! I never read the book, but I know about it, obviously, and the sabermetrics teams use to evaluate players. I fully support sabermetrics. I think stats like RBIs and pitcher wins are ridiculous measures of a player's worth because they are completely dependent on OTHER players and not the individual you're trying to examine.

Plus, Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay for the movie. I will see anything Sorkin has a hand in writing. If it came out that he was writing the screenplay for the next Sex and the City movie, I'd be there on opening night. He's responsible for two of my favorite shows of all time -- The West Wing and Sports Night. I'm pretty excited to see this.

I'll be surprised if we don't end up at a bar after the movie, but there's no chance I'm going like I did in Raleigh. A couple drinks, and then home. Because if we DO have a flag football game, it's 11 a.m. on Sunday, and it's a little bit of a drive from my apartment.

Otherwise, Matty and I will head to McFadden's for the Panthers game at 1 p.m. I gotta say, I'm incredibly surprised there are enough Panthers fans in the DC area to designate a bar as a "Panthers bar." But there it is. McFadden's is a Panthers bar. Who knew. I'm not a diehard Panthers fan like he is. I'm mostly indifferent on the NFL. I love watching football, but I don't have ONE team I live and die with by any means. I loosely follow the Jets and the Panthers.

Brief health update: After three days in Charlotte and three insane days in Raleigh, I gained a couple pounds back. Nothing crazy and nothing unforeseen, and undoubtedly worth it. But back to the grind this week and next, big time. Feel great, folks. Feeling really great.

Have you seen the previews for the movie 50/50 with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt? I may have talked about this before. I don't recall. Whatevs. Anyway, JGL's character gets cancer. Rogen plays his friend, and it appears to be about how they deal with it.

Every time I see a preview for this movie, it looks better and better. I really want to see it. It comes out next weekend. But I mean. There's no chance JGL's character lives, right? He has to die at the end of the movie, doesn't he? I just don't know. One of the reasons I want to see it is because some of the conversations the two guys had in the previews were strikingly similar to conversations and interactions I had with Erik. I got the chills when I first saw the previews.

I'm afraid of this movie hitting too close to home, essentially. But I don't know. It looks so good. I think we can all agree this would be a poor decision for a date movie, though, right? Haha of course.

I foresee myself seeing this movie and bringing plenty of tissues. You know, for the emotions.

You know, I really love the phrases "xxxx is the worst" and "the game is afoot." I think the first one comes from The Office. Michael was always very fond of saying how Toby is the worst. And the way he said it with such disdain and disgust really cracks me up. Plus, it's so definitive. That's the worst. Love it.

The game is afoot. Whenever I hear this it reminds me of those awesome SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketches with "Sean Connery." It's just really great. It's definitely NOT the worst. I believe I said it a few times this past weekend. Very appropriately, too. And I think we should all try hard to work it into our daily speech as often as possible. There's just no downside to that.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited for a relaxing, low-key weekend after the past couple of weeks. It's been beyond awesome, but even I need a break every once in a while -- ridiculous energy levels notwithstanding. Seriously though, the past few months is the most fun I've had since college. Which is pretty much what I knew would happen. Lulz.

Once again, thanks to everybody who, for some reason, reads whatever it is I feel like writing. Thanks for the comments and messages. It means the world to me.

Back on Monday!

-BG

Wisdom Teeth Surgery Made Me Feel Like The Godfather

This story is dedicated to my friend Jon, who will be having his wisdom teeth removed next week. Fear not, good buddy. I had a relatively easy time of it. Read on and relax!

It started during my sophomore year of college. Well the pain started then. For as long as I can remember, my jaw always clicked when I had to chew anything large or tough (i.e. a bagel or pizza crust, etc.). But my sophomore year of college, it really started to hurt.

I went to the dentist, and they did their X-rays. There was no discernible reason for the pain, except that it might be my wisdom teeth trying to come in. He wasn't 100 percent sure that's what it was because they were particularly impacted yet, but it wouldn't have been unheard of for that to be the cause.

I wouldn't say I'm scared of surgeries. I certainly don't care for them. I mean, who does? But I know a couple things. One, if you're undergoing some kind of surgery, anesthesia is usually involved. Two, anesthesia often makes people sick enough to vomit.

I do not vomit.

So I wasn't nervous about the surgery itself or the potential pain involved. The thought of possibly vomiting though -- couldn't handle it. Full of nerves about that.

We scheduled the surgery for May, right after I got back home from school for the summer to give me plenty of recovery time. My parents took me to the surgery since I wasn't going to be able to drive due to be under the influence of some heavy painkillers (more on that later).

I got into the back room, and they were getting the IV ready. Now, in addition to being, well, unenthused about the idea of vomiting, I am also less than fond of needles and shots (despite having a tattoo and wanting another).

The IV definitely made me more nervous than anything. The nurse gave me a stress ball to squeeze to get my veins pumped up for easy access. She stuck me with the needle, and I hated every second of it. I know it doesn't hurt that much -- it's just a mental thing I've had since I was very young.

She said to start counting backward from 100, and I don't believe I even started to say the first number before I was out.

I don't remember being woken up at all. The next thing I remember is the nurse helping me down the hall to my parents. Apparently, I was very concerned about a bad dream I had while I was out. I do not recall any of this, but I had a nice discussion about it with the nurse, according to the nurse.

Anyway. So the nurse helped me into the hallway to my parents. My parents got me into the car, and here's where things got interesting.

I mean, to say I was feeling good is a huge understatement. I don't remember what the specific painkillers were, but the David After the Dentist Youtube video is pretty accurate.

For me, it was less confusion over whether or not I was taking part in real life -- it was more I thought I was Don Vito Corleone.

The situation was compounded by the massive amounts of gauze I had to keep in my mouth for various reasons. So I was sitting in the car with my jaw jutting out because it was stuffed with gauze, and the painkiller haze filling me with absolute glee. Trying to talk like Don Corleone was a very natural next step.

It was then I proceeded to give my father several offers he couldn't refuse. And although Don Vito didn't say it, my best advice of the day was telling him to leave the gun and take the cannoli.

Well, at least I thought that's what I was saying. Turns out what I was actually doing was mumbling incoherently because the drugs had robbed me of my senses.

The only reason I know what I was saying is because, somehow, my mother understood me. There's just a biological link between mothers and children that obviously never goes away. I'd say something, my dad would look at me, dumbfounded, and my mother would answer me.

At that point, he'd look at her and say, in his understated way, "How the fuck did you understand what he just said?" To which she'd say, "You mean you didn't understand what he said?"

"No, of course I didn't. He's mumbling incoherently."
"Oh, I understood everything just fine."

Well then.

Some version of that continued for the rest of the drive home. I'd mumble something in my Don Corleone character. My mother would laugh. My father would be exasperated until she translated for him. I know beyond doubt they absolutely regret not having a video camera on that drive home.

To my everlasting delight, I never experienced any of the nausea of which I was so nervous before the surgery. I was still confined to soft foods for a few days. KFC mashed potatoes, ice cream and ginger ale ruled the house for quite some time after that.

I never experienced any significant pain or swelling or sickness at all. The worst thing I had to deal with was the annoyance of not being able to eat what I wanted. Also, the dissolving stitches they used. As parts of the stitches dissolved, other parts would detach and just hang free in my mouth.

Again, nothing painful. It was exactly what was supposed to happen, but man it annoyed me.

Oh, and there were holes in my mouth where the teeth used to be. I had to fill a syringe with a salt water solution to rinse them out after every meal. Let me tell you. That got old with the quickness. I say syringe, but I didn't have to inject anything anywhere. It was more to direct the water flow where I needed it to go. (Sorry that's a little gross, but it really wasn't as bad as it might sound.)

Within a few weeks, I was back to eating whatever I wanted to eat. The stitches dissolved and disappeared. I stopped needing to rinse my mouth after meals.

And, what do you know, the pain stopped. I guess dentists know something after all.

All that is to say this: Jonny, don't worry. It'll be fine. The worst thing I can say about my wisdom teeth surgery experience is it was a moderate annoyance. No pain, no swelling, no sickness, nothing really all that negative. It will be just fine!

So there you go.

Some miscellany, briefly:

• I weighed in at 188 again today, which is a great relief after this weekend haha. I'm loving running more and more every time, and I'm going to transition to a Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday running schedule since the half-marathon training schedule I use calls for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and long runs on Sunday. I will be ready this time.
  
• And the rib is FINALLY painless! Completely painless! First time in five weeks! So that means back to the gym for some weight-lifting. Let's go!
• Our new softball league starts with a doubleheader under the lights tomorrow night! We have games at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. CAN'T WAIT. New rule this season: no diving for balls.
  
• I'm planning on going to Charlotte on Wednesday morning for a couple of days before heading to Raleigh on Friday. Charlotte friends, holla!
• RALEIGH ON FRIDAY! I haven't seen some of you in entirely too long.

Life is so, so good, friends. Let's go!

-BG

Weekend Outlook!

Warning: rambling ahead.

Ladies and gentlemen, the sun! For the first time in FOUR days.

Let me tell you about this rain. This week, I was supposed to have my first game in our new softball league on Tuesday night. Canceled because of rain. Then, all the rain we've had over the past 36-48 hours has caused the National Park Service to cancel all park activities for the whole weekend, which means N.C. State's first two flag football games against Johns Hopkins and Iowa are washed out.

Oh well. I got a lot of rain running in this week. And I mean, that's nice and all, but I'm tired of the rain!

So! Running recap for the week: I ran 13 miles this week -- four on Monday, five on Wednesday and four more today. Today's run, whew. When the weather says 100 percent humidity, go back inside and sit down. Seriously. On the brightside, I lost enough water weight to hit 185 on the scale today. That's not official or anything, but it sure is fun to see. :-)

Well, it's Friday, so that means tonight will be spent downtown with many of the usual suspects. A bartender a couple of my friends know pretty well at our favorite bar -- the Bottom Line -- is working her last shift tonight because she's moving to Key West. Couple that with their usual Friday happy hour specials of $1- and $2-beers, and there's really no way we can avoid it.

Although I may make a pit stop at another place first with my buddy Evan because, as I told him, he makes compelling arguments and I wish to subscribe to his newsletter. Lulz.

Tomorrow! The first official alumni group game-watch of the season for N.C. State football! We're going to get together at a bar in Arlington to watch the Wake Forest game. CAN'T WAIT. I know I've said this before, but it is so great to be surrounded by N.C. State people.

Sunday! NFL Sundays start again! I'm going to see if a few of my friends are watching games anywhere. My brother and I had a pretty sweet bar near Foggy Bottom where we watched games last year, but it's kind of small. And you might get stuck on a tiny, non-HD television for your game (I know, #firstworldproblems). So if we can find another good place, that wouldn't be the worst.

Looking back over the weekend's plans, it's a good thing I ran the 5K on Saturday and 13 more miles over the past week. Because that's going to be a lot of drinking. Hey oh! I'll take it. We have a really ridiculously good time.

In other words, awesome weekend coming up. Really can't wait.

Job front: I ended up not getting that job I was talking about over the past few weeks. But I applied to, like, 25 more jobs this week, and a few of them are really, really solid leads. So I remain optimistic and hopeful as ever! Life is good, my friends. Life is good.

Some posts I'm thinking about writing over the next week or two: a story about my wisdom teeth surgery in honor of my friend Big Jon, who's having his out pretty soon; a reflection on being single, how I've never really ever been single before (lulz) and how it's actually been really awesome for my mental and physical health haha.

Also, I have definitely decided to go to Raleigh next weekend. So, friends, mark your calendars! My only real requirement: I must go to Lilly's Pizza at some point. Like, I need it, OK?

See you soon, kids!

-BG

More Running, Warrior Dash and a Raleigh Trip

When I said yesterday that I planned on running four miles today rain or shine, apparently I lied. I ran FIVE miles today in the rain.

It was glorious. I could tell immediately it was one of those days where the run was going to feel really good.

"The Distance" cranked up (Reluctantly crouched at the starting line...) and goddamn it gets me hyped just thinking about it now. But I felt a surge of energy immediately. It was barely drizzling, but it quickly picked up to a steady rain about three-quarters of a mile into the run.

I really can't emphasize how awesome it is to run in the rain. I was on a straight and level path for a bit, so I just closed by eyes, put my head up and let the rain hit my face. So, so good. On the path I run, the second mile is a LOT of uphill. It usually wears me down pretty good, and I'll often stop and walk for a couple minutes when I reach my two-mile turnaround point.

But today felt different. I mapped out what the turnaround point would be for a five-mile run last year for my failed half-marathon training, although I was never able to run it. I remembered where it was though.

I hit the two-mile point today, and I was coasting, man. I felt not fatigue. I felt no soreness. I just felt good. So I kept going. I stopped to walk for two or three minutes at the 2.5-mile turnaround point just because it was the first time I'd really tried to push it to five miles total since my half-marathon back in Nov. 2009.

After that brief rest, I ran the rest of the way back, only stopping for red lights at crosswalks. Made it back in 48 minutes. Not bad at all for my first five-mile run in almost two years.

I've been talking to one of my sister's best friends in Florida a lot more lately. I met her and her husband when I was in Florida for vacation with my family last summer. Awesome people.

So we were talking last night about my 5K on Saturday and how awesome it was, and she asked me if I'd ever heard of Warrior Dash. I only very vaguely knew of it. But some quick research informed me that it is, essentially, a 5K for the mentally unstable. Naturally, I'm extremely intrigued now.

Check out that website and tell me that doesn't sound beyond awesome, and I'll tell you you're lying.

They do a bunch of locations, and depending on the course, it's between three and 3.5 miles or so. But look at those obstacles! Rope climbs over walls, wading through waist-deep water, rubber jungles, army crawling through the mud, jumping over flaming logs. Dude.

Plus! Look at the awesome viking/warrior helmet you get!!

I don't even have words. I simply must do this. So my sister's friend was talking about how she wants to do one on Dec. 3. If I can get my ass down to visit my sister that weekend, I will be running in the Dec. 3 Warrior Dash in South Florida.

And, oh yeah, they give you beer at the end of the race. Like I said, a 5K for the mentally unstable, and I happily count myself among them. I am so excited about the potential of running this. You don't even know.

I'm absolutely going to dragoon my sister into coming along to take photos of what I'm sure will be the most ridiculous finishing photo EVER of her friend and me. Oh my God. I need to do this haha.

On a completely unrelated note, the dog and I are looking to come to Raleigh the weekend of Sept. 16-18. I'm currently in talks with a kind soul who has offered to host us, but if there are any other volunteers who don't mind me and a well-behaved 5 1/2-year-old (i.e. not a puppy anymore) 70-pound border collie/black lab crashing for two nights, let me know! I will buy beer/dinner/something to compensate you for your troubles.

See, I need my NCSU football fix, and I don't want to wait much longer. Also, Raleigh friends, I want to see all of you. Even if I have to schedule you in 15-minute increments. I need it. It's been far too long for some of you.

You are on notice! Not this weekend, but the next weekend!

LET'S GO!

-BG

GAME WEEK

Ohhhh snap. It's N.C. State football game week!

Man, I really cannot wait. I'm so pumped for this season. In spite of all the drama surrounding the heart-breaking departure of Russell Wilson, I think this could be a solid season. I really do.

And here's the thing about Russell Wilson. I love him. I hope he wins the Heisman, and I'll be a Wisconsin Badgers fan all season because of him. But it was a lose-lose situation.

Tom O'Brien is trying to manage a program for the present and the future. Wilson was drafted in the fourth round of the MLB draft and was given a nice signing bonus -- $250,000, I believe. He was undecided about continuing to play football.

His backup last season, Mike Glennon, was the no. 3-rated quarterback coming out of high school a few years ago. If Wilson came back, Glennon might have transferred elsewhere since he only has two more years of eligibility.

So O'Brien was faced with a scenario where Wilson is the assumed starter, leading to Glennon transferring, and Wilson still could have chosen to play baseball. O'Brien didn't know Wilson definitely was playing football this season, and he wouldn't have known the answer before it was too late. He could have been without a quarterback this season or next season. How many years would that have set back N.C. State?

Rather than risk that scenario, O'Brien decided two years of Glennon was a safer bet than possibly one year of Wilson and who knows what next year. Obviously, now that we know Wilson is playing football this year, this all looks very silly. But remember, we didn't know that then.

Anyway, Wisconsin is on ESPN tomorrow night to open the season. I will gladly watch and cheer for Wilson. If I had a Russell Wilson jersey, I'd most definitely wear it. Let's go Russell!

All that said, it's hard not to be excited about Glennon's potential. For now, I'm choosing to trust in O'Brien and his ability to develop offensive linemen and quarterbacks. No reason not to at the moment.

Now the schedule for this season sets up very nicely early in the season for breaking in a new starting quarterback.

09/03/11	vs. Liberty
09/10/11	at Wake Forest
09/17/11	vs. South Alabama
09/22/11	at Cincinnati
10/01/11	vs. Georgia Tech
10/08/11	vs. Central Michigan
10/22/11	at Virginia
10/29/11	at Florida State
11/05/11	vs. North Carolina
11/12/11	at Boston College
11/19/11	vs. Clemson
11/26/11	vs. Maryland

Looking at the schedule, my most pessimistic prediction is 5-7, and my most optimistic prediction is either 9-3 or 10-2. Nothing between those two extremes would surprise me. I won't bother picking individual games, but looking at the first seven games -- I'm not saying we'll win them all, but that's as manageable a start to the season as you're going to get.

The defense is going to miss Nate Irving something serious. That was one bad, bad man. But I feel good about the potential of Terrell Manning and Audie Cole to fill in for Irving in terms of being the soul of the defense.

I just really can't wait to get back to Raleigh for a few home games and some LEGIT tailgating. I've seen some games at a few places around the ACC, and I have to say, there is absolutely nothing like game day at Carter-Finley. The tailgating, the energy flowing through the crowd, the electricity in the stadium, the team entrance -- dammit I'm getting fired up.

I will leave you with two N.C. State football videos that will undoubtedly fire you up as well. The first is the "Three-Levels Deep" video that's been circulating Facebook and the message boards for a few weeks.



The second is maybe my favorite entrance video we've ever had. Yes, I know "Boom" is not a great song, but it definitely works in this video.



Maaan. If you're not fired up for some State football right now, you have no soul.

Go. State.

-BG

Softball is Too Much Fun

Let me tell you about some softball!

I've briefly mentioned softball a few times since I resumed regular blogging back in early June, but I'd like to devote some more time to it today. Because it's incredible. I seriously cannot believe how much fun it is.

Listen, I'm a baseball guy. Baseball is my favorite. Always has been; always will be. Don't get me wrong; I love football, too. But I grew up with baseball. It's in my blood.

I played in rec leagues from the time I was 6 years old until I went to college. During the summers in elementary school and middle school, I'd go outside with my bat and ball as soon as I woke up and didn't bother heading home until I heard my mom whistle at dinner time and/or dark.

All that playing, I eventually got pretty good at it. I tried out for my high school team once as a sophomore. I didn't make it, but I was one of the last cuts. The team was also nationally ranked at the time, so I didn't feel too badly about it. I kept playing in the rec leagues, though, and that was plenty good enough for me.

That was most definitely the peak of my playing abilities. I could hit high 80s pitching. I had a pretty solid arm from left field. I wasn't the fastest guy in the world -- never have been, but I could get around the bases.

Well, here's the thing about getting older (and, also, not really working on those skills much after high school). That's all pretty much gone now haha. I went to the cages a few weeks ago, and I was just standing outside the 80-85 mph cage, and I could hardly see it, never mind hit it. I couldn't believe there was a time when I could hit it. I stuck to the 60-70 mph cages.

Softball has been a way to have all the fun of baseball in a more low-key environment. As I've mentioned before, this is an alumni network league, which means I play for N.C. State (which, by the way, makes it LITERALLY a million times more fun).

State didn't field a team last year, so we're really trying to get back on our feet this year and build some continuity going forward. In other words, we're not very good this year haha. As Evan put it last night, we're the best 1-10 team in the league.

We don't take ourselves overly seriously, and we always, always have a kick-ass time playing. And that's really the most important thing. We've played a couple of teams that took themselves too seriously, and they were major downers. Guys. This isn't the ACC. It's a beer league. Take it down a notch or two.

We've got a great group of guys and girls, and I think if we can keep the team together next season we'll be in much better shape -- not unlike the East Dillon Lions from season 4 to season 5 of Friday Night Lights. This season has been about finding a rhythm.

With such a new group of players (myself included, by the way), we spent the majority of the season just trying to figure out where everyone was best-suited to play in the field and in the batting order. Most of the teams we've played have been together for a couple years, so they had no adjustments to make, really. I really like our team though. We're really getting there.

Our problem all season as been slow starts. Typical N.C. State, am I right? We just lose our minds in the first two innings and dig ourselves a huge hole. If you look at about half of our losses, we ended up outscoring the other team for the last four or five innings in each game!

We're seriously not very far away from being a .500 team. It's a game of inches, and we're working our fannies off out there. We're getting there!

Naturally, being the huge baseball nerd I am, I've been keeping track of all my batting stats for the season. We still have three regular season games to go (a double-header tomorrow, and a game against Georgetown on Tuesday night), but here's my tally so far:

• I've played in nine of our 11 games so far (I joined the team after it played its first two games already).
• I've hit safely in seven of the nine, and I have at least two hits in five of those games. The only two games where I didn't get a hit came on the same day I hurt my arm, and it was agonizingly painful swinging a bat (and throwing a ball, for that matter).
• In five of the seven games in which I recorded a hit, I hit safely in each at-bat, i.e. I never made an out.
• I've got four doubles and two triples. The rest are singles. I'd really like to add a home run either this weekend or Tuesday night. I just missed one earlier this season (in a 4-for-4 performance in our 20-4 win over South Carolina).
• I've scored five runs, knocked in another six runs, walked once and hit one sac fly.
  
• My batting average is .625.
• On-base percentage of .640.
• Slugging percentage of .958.
• And my OPS is 1.598.

And yes, I realize pretty much only Mike and maybe Nick will care at all about some of those (or even know what it all means).

What does it all mean? Not very much, really. It's just so much fun playing, and I like to know how I'm doing.

With our usual coach out of town for a few days, I've been helping to run things in his absence. It's been a lot of logistics in terms of making sure we have enough players, that we have enough female players (three girls for the first 10 players, and then one girl for every two guys after that) and enough alums playing (at least 75 percent of your roster in a game must be alumni).

Setting the line-up was fun though haha. It's all fun, really. I know. I'm a dork. This isn't the first time I've heard that.

Yesterday was rough though. If you don't get a permit for a field, you actually have to go and just sit on a spot on the National Mall to make sure you have a field. If you saw on my Facebook wall or Twitter yesterday, it was 98 degrees. But don't worry, it actually felt like 113. I was just sitting there with another teammate for, like, three hours waiting for the game to start. Sweltering doesn't even begin to describe it.

Tomorrow won't be much better. High of 101 (heat index of 112), and we've got a double-header against Cornell and Richmond from 1:30 until probably 4:30 or 5. I bought a huge case of water and a ton of Gatorade to bring.

I will tolerate no casualties on my watch!

Wish us luck tomorrow, and prepare the intravenous fluids!

-BG

Sports Patriotism

Sometimes, these things just write themselves.

I was listening to the Bill Simmons podcast, The B.S. Report, last night while I was walking Allie. One of the guests was a guy named Dave Jacoby, who writes for Simmons' new website Grantland.com and is known as the "Czar of Reality TV."

Anyway, they were talking about the women's World Cup and how it's so difficult for women's sports to get widespread attention. But when you throw the American flag on it, the game changes.

Jacoby said at one point, "I want to know where the U.S. Debate team is performing because I will show up with my face painted."

A little about me: the two most athletic people in my family while I was growing up were by far my mom and my aunt. My aunt played D-1 college basketball and was an all-star at pretty much every sport she ever tried when she was growing up. She later coached women's basketball at Seton Hall for 25 years.

My mom hurt both her knees pretty badly in high school, but I bet she could have played college ball, too, if not for that. To this day, though, she can hit a basket from any place on the floor. Nothing but net. Every time.

Not only that, but I grew up going to women's basketball games at Seton Hall. Many of my earliest memories are of sitting in Walsh Gym with my grandmother watching my aunt coach her teams.

Then in college, when I was first starting at the newspaper, my main beat (which I genuinely enjoyed covering) was women's soccer at N.C. State.

So all of that goes to saying I recognize I'm probably a little more predisposed to women's sports than a lot of guys might be otherwise.

But if you can't get excited about what the U.S. women's national team has been doing at this World Cup -- I mean. I don't know what there is to say to someone like you. Just look at the last two matches: Sunday's ultra-dramatic come-from-behind win over Brazil and today's semifinal win over France.

Sunday's quarterfinal match against Brazil was everything you look for in sports.

The U.S. team went up early, got screwed by some questionable officiating, lost a player to a red card and had to play the final hour of game time down a man. Brazil went up early in extra time on a fluky ridiculous goal by Marta, and things looked incredibly bleak.

Then the magic happened. In the final minute of injury time in the final period of extra time, Megan Rapinoe played an absolutely brilliant cross into the box to find Abby "The Beast" Wambach sprinting in for a perfect header to tie the game.

What can you say about that moment? It was an eruption of emotions. To be so close to elimination only to rip the game back into your favor. Just wow. The game was decided by penalty kicks, and all five U.S. players made their shots. My future wife, Hope Solo, came up with the one key save she needed, and that's the game, folks. Simply amazing.

It got a little misty up in this piece a couple of times.

And then today, the semifinals against France. Let's be honest. If the U.S. had lost today, some of the magic and mystique of Sunday's win would have been diminished.

The perfect analogy I heard across sports radio and TV was the Miracle on Ice. The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey victory over the U.S.S.R. was not the gold medal game. If Team USA hadn't gone on to win the gold medal after defeating the Soviets, would that first monumental upset still be referred to with the reverence it is today? I don't know.

And the thing about today's game is France seemed to dominate possession most of the game. Aside from the early first goal for the U.S., it was all France. Both teams had some near misses, but until the U.S. scored the two goals at the end to put the game out of reach, France controlled the flow of the game.

But those two goals, man. Games can turn on an instant. And the team that had previously been dominating the entire contest can be thrown back on its heels in the blink of an eye. Especially when Abby Wambach is on the other team.

Wambach put the team up with another header, of course -- this time off a corner kick. She's just a beast, man. And then my other future wife, Alex Morgan, put the game out of reach with the team's third goal with eight minutes to play.

When you consider that most people don't watch the WNBA, and most people probably don't even know there's a women's professional soccer league in the U.S., why do we get so wrapped up in this? It's obvious: sports patriotism.

Dave Jacoby had it right. If it gives us a chance to paint our faces, scream the national anthem and drape ourselves in American flags, we're all in. And why shouldn't we be? Everyone likes a little patriotism now and then.

The way I see it, there are only two real occasions where it's OK to refer to a team as "we." Your college and your country.

I am as die-hard a Yankee fan as you will find. I always like to say if the Yankees ever played N.C. State somehow, I'd probably still root for the Yankees because that's my blood. That's what I grew up doing. I cannot imagine it being any other way.

But I cannot refer to the Yankees as we. I'm not on the team. I don't work for the team (as much as I'd like to). I was, however, a student at N.C. State -- the best university in the entire country -- so I will always refer to N.C. State's sports teams as we. Also, I am a U.S. citizen, so I don't feel strange saying "we" when talking about the national teams.

So when we play Japan in the World Cup final on Sunday, I will be watching. I will be a nervous wreck because I don't know how else to watch sports. And I will be cheering like crazy for my future wives Solo and Morgan, for Abby Wambach and for the rest of the team to kick some ass.

Let's GO.

-BG

RIP Lorenzo Charles

Just a warning up front: I'm going to get pretty excited about being a State fan in this post. So, you know. If you're a State fan like me or if you just like the way I write, by all means, continue on. Otherwise, you have been warned.

You've probably seen or read about the death of N.C. State legend Lorenzo Charles this week in a bus accident.

If you went to State, or if you're a basketball fan in general, you know the story of the 1983 Cardiac Pack. Charles caught the last-second heave from Dereck Whittenburg and dunked the ball home as time expired to give the Pack its second national championship (still tied for sixth most all time, by the way, making State one of only 14 schools with two or more national titles).

That team was the first Cinderella. The term "survive and advance," which is so popular now among coaches and analysts originated with Jimmy V during that run. It remains the biggest shot in NCAA tournament history. I will not argue about this. Facts are facts. The dunk, followed by Jimmy V dashing around the court afterward, is one of the most memorable scenes in the history of March Madness.

This post isn't so much about that iconic scene as it is about the feelings and emotions Charles' death brought to the surface.

Let me tell you something about State fans: we are a legit family. We are often the butt of jokes of almost every other school in the ACC, and the result is an almost cult-like protectiveness and intense love of each other. We band together because we have to and because, very often, we have many of the same awful -- and, a bit more rarely, wonderful -- experiences.

My ex-girlfriend used to make fun of me because of the wolfie hand sign State fans make at each other. But it's universal. If I'm out walking around or driving around and I see the Block S or some other State insignia, I know that person gets it. I make the hand sign, and, invariably, the other person smiles and makes it back because he or she knows I get it. It means instant brotherhood.

I spent a few formative years in New Jersey. I didn't move to North Carolina until I was 11. I didn't grow up a fan of any of the North Carolina schools. I sort of liked both UNC and Duke then because they were both successful while I was young, and that's what young kids do. They root for the winners. I knew of State. I knew of Jimmy V, but I didn't really understand what it meant to live in North Carolina and choose one of the three.

I never did, really. Not until college. And even then, I was originally accepted to Wake Forest. I'd told Wake Forest I was going to attend in the fall. I was getting orientation information and welcome phone calls. It wasn't until my old calculus teacher said I should consider State's engineering school because I was really good at calculus.

So I did.

While I didn't stay with engineering for long, I do not regret for one second choosing to attend State. I love everything about my tenure there, and I love how much we love our school.

Here's another thing about being a State fan: it takes work. It's not easy to root for State.

Think about it. How hard can it really be to cheer on Duke or UNC? I live in Maryland now. There's no other school around. How hard can it possibly be to cheer on Maryland? These are the three most successful ACC programs of the past 10 to 15 years.

Oh, poor you. Your team only won 23 games this season. Nothing against fans of these teams (well that's not true. I have a lot against fans of these teams, with a grudging exception for my friends haha), but c'mon.

State has been cursed with mismanagement, bad decisions, sloppy play and terrible luck. But that's OK. I love this team and this school. And I'm 100 percent proud to be a State fan.

ESPNU ran a series of commercials about colleges a few years ago, and this was the essence of State's commercial:

This is not red.
Not light red or dark red.
This is behaving like a pack of wolves.
It's where Torry first went deep and where Lorenzo made the shot.
This is never giving up,
Not ever giving up.
No, this is much more than red.

I get the chills when I read that to this day. Every time. I once wrote a column about it for Technician back in school. I got more feedback about that column than anything else I ever wrote for any newspaper for the simple reason it speaks to State fans.

As I wrote in the column, we always believe. It happened once. It can happen again. Why not now? Why not this game? Why not tonight? I was there for two of those exact scenarios back in 2006: the back-to-back games against Boston College and Florida State. I won't go into detail about them here, but man. Look them up if you need to. Awesome.

The point is the things that make us State fans go much deeper than "oh our team is so good!" Because, frankly, they haven't been very good for quite some time. And for as frustrating as that is now, whenever the teams finally break do through, it will be that much sweeter for us.

But State is responsible for some of the most important and memorable people and moments in the history of college sports -- especially basketball.

We are largely responsible for the formation of the ACC in the first place. Everett Case, who made State the dominant basketball program in the Southern Conference and early ACC, is responsible for many of the traditions schools everywhere still use.

In 1974, David Thompson, the best college basketball player ever, and his team ended the run of eight straight national titles for UCLA in the Final Four before taking the title themselves. And of course, the 1973 team went undefeated, but it was prohibited from tournament play for some terrible reason or another.

Then there's 1983. The original Cinderella team. And Jimmy V. It is impossible to watch his ESPY speech without getting teary-eyed. He died not long after, but his motto, "Don't give up. Don't ever give up," has been a mantra for State fans ever since. So much of what he said that night is valuable life advice.

"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives.
Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day.
Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought.
Number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy.
But think about it. If you laugh, you think and you cry -- that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

I like to think I've tried to live like that, especially these past few months where I've really been working on turning things around.

And then of course, the last thing he said that night:

"Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever."

Wow. What else can you say?

Because of how tight-knit we are (and I'm not saying other fan bases aren't like this. I'm just not writing about them.), things like Charles' tragic death hit us hard and bring up these emotions.

I love being a State fan, and I love that we have these common experiences and events in our past that draw us together. It's just hard work sometimes. But man will it be worth it when our time comes.

RIP Lorenzo. Go Pack.

USC and the 2004 National Title

If you'll permit me a quasi-sports column for a few minutes...

Earlier this week, the BCS stripped Southern Cal of it's 2004 national championship. The action stems from the Reggie Bush mess. The NCAA found him ineligible for the 2004 season because of benefits he accepted from boosters, which led to Bush and the school giving back the Heisman trophy he won that season.

All of that is fine and good. I get why this "matters." But does anyone truly care?

USC destroyed Oklahoma in that title game, 55-19. The fans who were at that game more than SIX YEARS ago saw their team win a national title. They celebrated that night and in the days that followed.

The ruling is a formality. It means USC can't display the BCS trophy. Plus, the Associated Press isn't going to strip USC of the AP national title, so what is really accomplished here?

I started thinking about this during the Auburn title run this year. I'm sure you remember. Plenty of people were saying Auburn was just going to have vacate the title anyway because of the hoopla surrounding Cam Newton and the alleged money demands of his father during the recruitment process.

But those Auburn fans still celebrated winning a national title that night. They'll have those memories forever regardless of whether or not the BCS decides to take it away later. You can't erase that night from their memories.

I tried to think about this as an N.C. State fan. If we were ever to win a national title (HA! but go with me for a second) and it were taken away later. I'm not sure I'd care that much. Presumably, if I wasn't at the game, I would have watched it. I would have seen the win and celebrated accordingly.

Nothing any governing body would do could take that away from me. It doesn't unmake the shirts and hats. It doesn't undo the parties.

Newton and Bush were accused of or found guilty of things that happen at every major sports program in the country. I don't mean that to be an excuse, but if everyone knows it to be true, then maybe something should be done about it.

Picking and choosing the programs to investigate and punish is seemingly arbitrary. Or the NCAA waits until they have no choice but to investigate. I'm sure Ohio State and Jim Tressell did nothing with Terrelle Pryor it didn't do with other big-time recruits and players before him. But because stories surfaced, they had to step in and investigate this time.

In the end, it doesn't matter. USC fans still celebrated a national title in 2004 the same way Auburn fans celebrated this season.

So I guess my question to you is this: If you could have your team win a national championship, but the NCAA would take it away more than half a decade later, would you take it?

I think I would.

On Sidney Lowe

"This is my school. I love this school. It was my hope and dream to come back here and do something special... it hurts me because I know what it's about down here and I know what it's like to win here."

-Sidney Lowe

It started with so much promise.

Lowe stepped into a terrible situation when no one else would. Herb Sendek left and headed to Arizona State, and in turn, we lost almost all our recruits and any continuity the program had accrued over the previous 10 years.

Lowe's first team was basically seven guys deep. They fought and clawed all throughout the season -- a season in which we didn't expect much because of how much we lost from the year before. But we beat UNC. We stormed into the ACC tournament finals and nearly won.

We made the NIT as a No. 6 seed, and through a freak sequence of events -- like the No. 7 seed Marist winning its first-round game and a previously scheduled event at the RBC Center -- Reynolds Coliseum hosted its first truly meaningful game in YEARS.

For those of you unfamiliar with Reynolds Coliseum, I'll say this. Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Cameron Crazies are WEAKSAUCE compared to Reynolds and the Reynolds Rowdies in their heyday. The Crazies wouldn't even exist if not for the Rowdies.

But I digress.

The NIT game at Reynolds -- both the game itself and the week-long lead-up to it -- was incredibly memorable. Demand for tickets was through the roof because the game was going to be at Reynolds. It wasn't exactly a "campout," but I got in line at 6 a.m. to make sure I got tickets and waited until the early afternoon. It was so much fun, the whole atmosphere of the mini-campout, walking up to Reynolds, the game itself.

It was truly special, not because of the game itself (let's face it: it was only an NIT game against Marist), but because it showed how unbelievable our games could be when the fan base is dialed in, involved and, most of all, hopeful that things could be heading in a positive direction.

I remember seeing a hand-made sign while I was in line for tickets to the game. Someone set up a sign that said "Loweville" outside the Reyonds ticket office. And I remember Tanner saying the picture would be a classic one day when the area was actually called Loweville.

It was an honest assessment of how hopeful we all were. We had one of us coaching the team. Lowe is Red and White to the core. He led the 1983 Cardiac Pack national champions. Surely if anyone could lead the program back to where we all wanted it to go, it would be Lowe.

Sadly, it did not turn out that way. This season, we easily had the most talented team we've had in years.

For many reasons -- some coaching miscues, some inexperience and immaturity, some injuries and illness -- we lost time and again to less talented teams. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of games where we were just outplayed and lost to better teams. It happens.

But too often, we clearly were the more talented team, and we took ourselves out of the game with poor defense, poor shot selection and sloppy play. It plagued us early in the season, and it was there in what will likely be Lowe's last game at State.

So, what's the point of this? Mostly to express my sincere sadness that it's come to this. Sid is one of us. He is family. We all wanted it to work so, so badly. Nothing would have been sweeter than having Sid coach us to the same promised land he led us to as a player. His quote above shows everything you need to know about why we loved him. He's one of us.

For that reason, I am relieved and happy to hear of reports that Debbie Yow won't fire him, but that he'll resign instead. Lowe deserves a dignified, respectful exit, and he will surely have the well-wishes of every State fan.

Thanks for the great memories, Sid. Thanks for your hard work. Sorry it didn't work out. You'll always be Pack family. Best of luck to you.

Haikus

So I was talking to Rachel last night, and, long story short, I wrote a bunch of terrible, cheesy haikus. Might as well post them here, no?

I like to sing songs
I'm probably not that good
Better in my head

Fraggles are the best
The doozers are really strange
Gorgs are frightening

Spinach tastes so good
Leafy, green wonder veggie
Popeye was correct

This one is for Rachel, who, amazingly, has never had a hot dog
Hot dogs for the win
Stunned you have never had one
Need two to feel full

These next two are dedicated to N.C. State
State fans are depressed
Unending kick in the pants
There's always next year

My team sucks so much
It's no fun watching the games
Tired of losing

This one is for my sister, who went to San Diego last weekend
Stacy was so drunk
Rode a mechanical bull
Kicked out of the bar

Stacy likes hockey
Micol took her to some games
A sports fan, who knew?

Scarlet's tumbling
Why stand on a small table?
A big girl goes down

Funny haikus win
Too bad I'm not that funny
Someone tries too hard

Being an N.C. State fan is like being kicked in the nuts

Over and over and over again.

Beat Duke by 14 points, look like we're resembling an actual Division 1 team. Forget to show up to the Maryland game, get blown out by 24 points. Also, let me tell you how much fun that was to watch while being surrounded by a family of Maryland fans. I just had to go into sportswriter mode and pretend like I didn't care and that it wasn't happening.

And then UNC. I'm sorry. I just couldn't bring myself to talk about it until now. We looked decent in very short, very intense bursts. Then, of course, we couldn't finish a game without one of our patented 8-minute scoring droughts that turned a 5-point lead into a 15-point deficit.

I'm just getting angry. I leave you with happy N.C. State videos.

A little boy who loves the Pack like his daddy, despite having a Tar Heel mom.



Post-game, 2007 victory over UNC; 31-27



Most Incredible Block Ever -- Courtney Fells vs. Duke



Julius Hodge beats UConn, sends State to Sweet 16

Big Game

State/UNC tonight at 9 p.m.

If you don't preface your attempts at communicating with me with some form of "UNC sucks," "Carolina sucks" or "Go to hell Carolina," you should probably reconsider your attempts at communicating with me.

If the team that played in the Duke game and the second half of the Clemson game shows up, I really like our chances -- especially at home, especially against a young, struggling Tar Heels team.

If the team that decided not to try very hard against Maryland shows up, I predict I will be watching a movie by 9:30 p.m.

I really, really hate those smug bastards. (No offense to any of my friends who went there. You guys are cool. But admit it, even you know what I'm talking about here.)

Basketball.

Well, N.C. State beat Duke last night, 88-74.

Hell of a game, too. We took the lead at 17-15 and never trailed the rest of the night. It was not without its tense moments. Duke hit a ridiculous 3 at the buzzer to cut the lead to 41-38 at halftime.

And then with an 8-point lead in the waning minutes of the game, Javi Gonzalez was dribbling out the shot clock and somehow managed the drill a 3 from WAY behind the line over 6-foot-10 Mason Plumlee to push the lead back to 11. Talk about the definition of a dagger play.

That was the game right there. State's up by 8 with around four minutes to play, and the shot clock winding down. If Duke gets a stop there, you KNOW they're nailing a 3 at the other end. It's Duke. That's what they do.

Then the lead is 5 points, and State would have found a way to blow it. We're State. That's what we do.

But Javi sank the 3, pushing the lead to 11 and igniting a crowd that has been yearning to explode for far too long now.

Where do we go from here? Well, in the most technical sense, we go to College Park for a date with Maryland on Saturday evening. Then what promises to be a lively atmosphere on Tuesday night as we host UNC (losers of three in a row, by the way [!!] Think that preseason No. 6 ranking with a first-place vote may have been a farce?).

In the more philosophical sense, I see this playing out in two ways.

First, the team who showed up for the second half of the Clemson game and the Duke win shows up Saturday and takes out Maryland to improve to 14-6 (3-3 ACC), setting up a ridiculous main event Tuesday night where we'd probably enter the top 25 if we beat Carolina.

Second, the team gets caught up in OMGWEBEATDUKE mode and sees a little powder blue on the schedule Tuesday night, and Maryland gets a little lost in the shuffle and blows us out of the water. The Terps have a talented senior point guard, and you cannot take those lightly -- especially not in the ACC (even if he is the biggest walking toolbox the ACC has seen since Chris Paul or Steve Blake).

The second scenario has been the story of this program for the better part of our recent history. We play to the level of our opponents, hanging with and occasionally beating the big boys, and tripping up against the mid-level teams. If Sidney Lowe is THE guy we all hope he is, he needs to put this trend in the past.

The team from the last game and a half should beat Maryland AND Carolina (especially with the way the Heels are currently playing).

That would be the first scenario, which would create some much-needed momentum for a program that has been caught in the doldrums all year. From narrowly missing out on Derrick Favors, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins to Lorenzo Brown not being eligible to heart-breaking losses in games against Arizona, Florida and Virginia (all games where we held late leads and should have won).

Finish strong this season, make a run in the ACC tournament, perhaps an appearance in the NCAA tournament and then the stud recruiting class Lowe has for next year with Brown finally arriving, Ryan Harrow and Luke Cothron -- now that's some momentum.

LET'S GO BOYS. Play up to your potential for the first time in too many years and win the games you're capable of winning. Let's get this thing on the right track.