Another Fun Football Weekend and Why I Hate Mandangos

I can't believe how busy this fall has been. It has been great fun, but super busy. Much of what has kept me so busy is one of my main loves - football. Those who know me (or have been reading my blog) know that I absolutely LOVE football. I love both college and the pros. BC and the Pats are number 1 in my book, but I keep my eye on my friends' teams (Vikings for Betsey, 9ers for Matt, Colts for Shaina - tho in that case I'm always hoping they lose) and I cheer for Matt Ryan and the Falcons and Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks when I remember to. I'll even watch a good match-up of college if it's on and I'm home even if I don't care about the teams. I have been lucky to go to A LOT of games this year. Right now I'm sitting at 1 BC, 2 Pats, and 4 of my newest team- Stanford. I have one more definite to go this weekend (Matty Ice and the Falcons v. SD Chargers), and there's a chance BC will play in the SF Bowl (though I'm torn on this - would love to go, but wouldn't be the best case for the Eagles). Yay football. I totally heart you.

Yesterday was the last Stanford game of the year. Now, for those of you saying, "Stanford - huh? What's the connection?" here's the scoop. My friend Matt (aka Hoddy) has been a very good friend of mine since HS. He worked for the SF Giants for quite a few years, then shocked me by saying he had quit and was going to Stanford. Despite the shock (he's a lifelong Giants fan) and the somewhat sad realization that there were to be no more free Giants tix in my future, I was psyched - football games to go to! And having these games to go to meant something else- I got to hang out with Mrs. Hoddy - Matt's wife Bestey. I'm a lucky girl, you see, because pretty much all my friends have married people that I really like and would want to hang out with even if I didn't have to. Betsey is the prime example of this. She cracks me up and we have the best time hanging out. She has definitely crossed from being "my friend's wife" to being my friend. So over the past few months we have attended 4 Stanford games together. Each has been filled with adventure and many laughs.

Yesterday's game was the "Big Game" between Cal and Stanford. This year it was at Cal - fun, a "road" game and a totally new adventure. We have our routine down for home games, but this was entirely new. We met at the BART station in El Cerrito and took it into Berkeley. We walked all the way the heck over the place and finally made it to the stadium. The campus is huge - I couldn't imagine going to a school that big (tho, I did apply there. They rejected me. Screw them!). I totally enjoyed the game, despite the loss by the Cardinal. What a fun place to be a student for 6 Saturdays a year. The precision (not to mention volume) with which the Cal student section cheered was very impressive. I also really enjoyed their band. Stanford has a ridiculous band that frankly, I'm over. Cal's was great. I was so involved with all that was going on, not to mention playing with my camera (pictures to come later), that I can't really say that I saw most of the game... whoops. Half the fun is in the adventure though, right? Anyway, I was not impressed when the Cal fans flooded the field at the end of the game- they were favored. Isn't that against the rules of some kind?

After the game we always have some time to kill, but being in Berkeley, rather than Palo Alto, helped a great deal. We wandered all over the place - down fraternity row (scary), Telegraph ave. etc. The funniest part was when we walked by this little beer garden on the side of the road and there was a fight breaking out. This little kid (in there beer garden... I know, right?) shouts out "See, this is why people shouldn't drink!" My thoughts exactly kid! Other than that we were pretty much harassed for our red clothing (in my defense tho, all my uncles went to Cal, so they needn't have picked on me. ahem). The worst was when Betsey's IPhone was not being cooperative and we asked people on the street for directions. They flat out said, "we don't speak red." Um, are you freaking kidding me? We found the place eventually (not like we were in a hurry anyway) and were ready to relax. It's a good thing none of us was in any rush because the service at the place we chose sucked. It was all good though because we had lots of time to wait for Matt and had 2 game on tv to watch. Matt finally arrived (along with our nachos we had ordered at least 45 min. before... I'm just saying) and was of course bummed about the end of his first Stanford season. I, of course, was more interested in seeing which of his new colleagues he was going to focus on hooking me up with now that the focus is off the season ;-) . Anyway, we had a great time chatting. Matt and I were reminiscing about high school (and how I should have taken him to my prom), college (when I went to visit him in Santa Clara's finest ever private frat house - the Caddyshack), and how we're lucky to be blessed with a long-lasting friendship. Finally it was back to the BART station for our respective long rides home. Of course, at the BART station I thought Bestey was about to push a Cal guy into the train tracks, but in her defense, he totally deserved it. Betsey and I are already excited for next season. Among the highlights will be that the EVIL Notre Dame will play at Stanford, and so will UCLA (Betsey has granted permission for me to make either a Stan-LA or UC-ford shirt since both my brother and grandpa went there). There's also talk about joining the team on a road trip - FUN! Until next year, GO CARDINAL (singular)!!!

The second day of my football weekends are usually a little less fun. In order to watch the beloved Patriots, I have to go to a bar to watch. People always ask why I don't have the Sunday ticket, and let me just say - I so wish I could afford it. It would make life so much more simple! But no. Off to Mandangos I trek, even though I hate it there. I try to get there early so that I can find a place and get settled before the games (and crowds) start. Today was no exception. I arrived around 9:40 and sat down in front of the assigned Pats tv. I ordered right away (good thing too, because the girl who was serving my section seems spazzy and cannot handle more than like 2 tables at a time). My food came before things were busy and I was content to sit, watch, and enjoy. I don't talk to other tables - certainly never any smack talking. If I could be invisible when I'm there, that would be just fine with me. Now, the guy that either owns or manages this place seems like the biggest a-hole on the planet. Today I definitely heard him saying to some guy who got there at 11 and couldn't find a seat (shocker... get there before the game!) "Look at her, taking up a whole table by herself. That's just not right." Hey dude - my money is just as good as anyone else's. I tip more than I should, I keep quiet, I don't ask for much. And for the record - had the guy asked, I totally would have let him (yes, he was alone too... pot... kettle....) sit at my table (as long as he wasn't a Dolphin fan, of course). And as for the fact that he's probably mad that I don't order beer after beer all morning, to me, NOT being an alchoholic is not exactly a character flaw in my world. Maybe in yours Mr.Mandango, but not in mine. Like I said, if I had another option for Patriot watching, please- let me know. Mandangos so should be on my boycott list. I think I'm going to start a Yelp account just so I can tell the world how much I hate it. They get best sports bar in "Sacramento Magazine" every year. More like, only sports bar. What a joke.

Anywho - drama aside, the Pats played a great game against the Dolphins and won 48-28. It was important as the Fins are a division rival and had beat us pretty bad the previous time we played. We still trail the Jets after a heartbreaking OT loss last week. It's been an interesting season since my Tommy went down. I think most fans would say things have gone much better than they could have expected. I am certainly in that camp. Matt Cassel has done a great job. When you look at the people who have been injured and out for the season it's absolutely ridiculous. We've been blown out twice, but our other 2 losses could easily have been wins. If we could have made one or two more plays against the Colts and had gone for two or won the coin flip against the Jets, well... it'd be great. We'll see how things go the rest of the season. With Cassel continuing to improve each week, I think the playoffs are still in our grasp. Who woulda thunk it in a world without my Tommy.