Dear Santa...

Please bring the Hokies an Orange Bowl victory! I know we're wearing orange helmets (and this, admittedly, makes me nervous...our other attempts at wild uniform combinations haven't exactly fared well), but we've gotta send Tyrod and the other 15 seniors out with a win...

SO. Santa. You've gotta get those little elves fired up, get 'em working their magic (heck, get Rudolph involved if you have to) and let the good guys win against the Cardinal.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Gurus! May all your holiday wishes come true! (including that Hokie win!)

Go HOKIES!!

-FP

Mike London = the new Al Groh

Man, it always feels good to spank UVA. Although, it sure would feel better if we were actually beating a college football team. I think they’re actually dressing up a bunch of pee-wee kids; this makes for a rather lopsided “rivalry.” I mean, jeez, the last few years we’ve been reduced to inventing rivalries with UNC or Georgia Tech because those are more competitive games. Come on, UVA…make this game something, other than another reason to snooze after Thanksgiving turkey.

And, on that note, another (tailgating) season has come to a close. Now it’s on to the ACC Championship Game and, hopefully, the Orange Bowl. Sadly, I will not be attending either event. (I sense your shock…) Instead, I will be living room tailgating which, although it sounds like a completely laid-back way to watch a game, always stresses me out. For some completely nutty reason, I have it in my head that I can “help” the team if I’m in the stands. (Don’t ask.) Anyway, it was a crazy season and we had a lot of fun, no doubt. I’m extremely proud of this year’s squad for rebounding after such a crummy start. Tyrod Taylor is definitely one of my all-time favorite VT players for the way he has handled himself on and off the field; truly representing what Virginia Tech is all about. We will miss you, TT!

Let me tell you though, not only am I proud of the team, I’m proud of us tailgaters. We weathered those losses right there with the team, but man, did we look cute doing it!

Rachael and I tailgating before the Boise State game at FedEx Field to kick off the season.

The Gurus trying to make the most of a miserably wet day.

That day just got worse when we lost to JM-freaking-U.

And then WE rebounded and rocked the tailgate – new tunes, new gear (who doesn’t love the pop-up VT trash can??), and lots of new Good Times.

The Ladies of the Tailgate, doing one of MANY pictures.

MWAH

Madonna and Hermoine for Halloween and the Duke game (we tailgate everywhere).

Gurus and brother before the Georgia Tech game.

We never did get that RV setup together for the tailgate…although I think we have a plan of attack for next season; I’m already percolating on how to make next season’s experience even better. (I think it involves…amplification…)

We take on FSU this weekend; a team that’s been a bit of a monkey on our backs over the last decade or so. I am certainly no Xs and Os person, so if you want that sort of thing, try here. What I will say is that I am impressed with the character of this VT team. When things aren’t going their way in a game, they don’t give up…they continue to fight and often fight harder. This would be a big game to win. It puts us in the BCS Orange Bowl; it gives us the ACC Championship – and completes a perfect season in ACC play; but most importantly, it’s a step toward winning the “big” games. This team has shown me they’re plenty full of the heart to do it.

Let’s GO!!

Change in Plans

So, my darling husband has done something for which I'm trying very hard to be forgiving. Many weeks ago, we made plans for this weekend to have dinner with some work friends of his. This was, at the time, without knowing exactly when the Hokies would be playing today. I told him, that was fine, but it is a(n away) gameday, so I would still want to be able to watch the game before dinner. Last night he tells me that he has changed plans so that we're heading over to dinner around halftime (it's a 3:30 game) and we'll watch the rest of the game there. (Admittedly, this is a nice concession on their part. I'd've hated to have to cancel completely...)

But, wha??? Hold the phone! If you know nothing else about me, I am quite certain that you have picked up on the oh-so-subtle fact that I am a Pretty Intense Hokie Fan. I go to all the Home games (driving four hours, each way), I plan my weekends around watching them on tv, I don't "do other things" while the game is on. I am a fanatic. (I know this. And I would apologize...but, I sorta like this about me, lol. What can I say?)

Anyway, so now I'm put in the untenable position of A) shuffling my weekend game-watching plans around and B) having to be "social" - already a challenging enough task for me - WHILE watching the game. Basically all of the things I never do.

I know what you're thinking - this is good for me, I'll stretch my boundaries, grow as a person, all that jazz...But can't I do that when the Hokies aren't playing???

Oh well, at least these folks are sort of sports people (ie, they watch baseball)...and, we're still watching the game, while aslo having tacos and CORONAS! Wait. Did I just talk myself into liking this?

I think I did.

We're at UNC and down a couple of key players this week - Dyrell Roberts is out for the season, David Wilson has mono, and Chris Drager is still suffering from some aftereffects of the Georiga Tech game...But we still have Tyrod "Superman" Taylor and some of the best running backs in the nation.

So, this afternoon, I will be watching the game - first from the friendly confines of my living room and, then, from the (hopefully equally friendly) confines of some new friends' living room. I'm just hoping that "Touchdown.....HOKIES!" counts as dinnertime conversation???

Take THAT, Bumblebees!

So, we totally won that junk! What a crazy night in Blacksburg...

Coach Johnson (Georgia Tech), what do you have to say about playing in Lane Stadium on Thursday night?

“...I can tell you one thing. Blacksburg is pretty loud. I have had the opportunity through the years to play in front of probably 95,000 people in different arenas and I have never played anywhere that was louder than Blacksburg was on Thursday night. Especially when the game got tight in the second half. Our guys had a hard time hearing.”

Considering I am STILL recovering my voice, I say thank you, Coach Johnson. It was a pleasure. ;-)

GO HOKIES!!

Can We Skip Wednesday?

It is Tuesday.

It is not, unfortunately, Thursday.

Even though I desperately want it to be Thursday...

It. Is. Not. Thursday.

YET.

As of right now, we are less than 48 hours away from the pure bliss of the Thursday Night Game Experience. The Thursday night game is the perfect combination of all things football: Plenty of tailgate time. Being under the lights at Lane. Fireworks!! AND, while every Joe Schmoe out there is grumbling away at their computer desk on a typical workday…YOU, good VT fan that you are, are midway through your second pitcher of beer during a late lunch in downtown Blacksburg…only to be followed by typical tailgate shenanigans. Yup. You can just have another beer and thumb your nose at those folks that haven’t figured out the college football is a perfectly acceptable reason to miss work. Cheers! (buuuurp…)

So, as I mentioned, it’s Tuesday (aka Not Thursday) and here I sit in my office…thinking about the tailgate and contemplating the finer points of S’mores construction and ingredients (true story!)…This is what you do when you’re a diehard like myself. You schedule your life around The Game. You put off vacations until after The Season. My friends and family know that if they want to see me from September to December…odds are they’re going to have to go to the tailgate. (Rachael has gotten with The Program; what’s up with you, Dad?) Game weeks are a breathless flurry of planning emails and phone calls – tickets, food, travel, ETAs and carpools, cocktails, & supplies. Checking the forecast multiple times (and planning tailgate gear and clothing contingencies). It’s an interesting way to go through life, I can tell you that. When my husband heard on ESPN the other day about a Michigan State fan that, much to the chagrin of his family and friends, put off his pacemaker surgery because he wanted to attend an important game, why was I not surprised when my husband turned immediately to face me and said, “no” – as in, you are not allowed to do that, or anything like it, at any point! (How did he even KNOW what I was thinking??)

But, back to my point. Here I sit, thinking of S’mores. Because this week will be chilly…so, of course we’re thinking FIRE PIT! And (like those word association games the psychiatrist who saw me about my football obsession played), who can think fire (pit) without thinking S’MORES!?! (um. No one.) So. I’m all about it. And, now in typical FP Planner Mode, I thought I’d run a few options by a friend (who also happens to write on this blog) and get some advice. This was something akin to a moment of enlightenment. Apparently there are true S’mores aficionados out there, and these folks have a particular method to their S’mores creation. (I can honestly say that is not on my, admittedly impressive, list of skills.) After multiple s’mores planning emails (go figure – not exactly a phrase you ever think you’ll type!), I think I’ve come up with an appropriate method: Ergo - I will have a variety of chocolates & marshmallows & graham crackers to appeal to different taste palettes. I have found that, when in doubt on things like this, it is best to just go with the Buffet Approach. Give ‘em a little bit of everything and they’re going to find something they like. Just make sure it’s assembled prettily to distract them. Otherwise, they’ll end up finding the ONE thing you didn’t bring. (Worse comes to worst, you can then go to Contingency Plan A: Lie – i.e., “Oh! We just ran out of THAT!”)

So, as if the inclusion of S’MORES wasn’t enough to get your heart pounding for this week’s game…we’re also talking pepperoni rolls, beef and chicken chili, and various other goodies.

Plus, ya know, the fact that there’s going to be a GREAT game in Lane Stadium, complete with fireworks!! Ryan Williams is feeling nearly 100%, so we will have three starting RBs to work with. Tyrod is on fire right now and is going to juke the GT Defense out of its shoes. Hosely isn’t done snacking on opposing QBs yet – I see another interception for him. And this is the week our D really figures it out. We’ve been saying they were young and inexperienced all season…well, here we are, 8 games in…they’re experienced now. They can play with the big boys. John Graves is going to gobble up Josh Nesbitt. Get some, baby!

Plus, as much as it pains me to say it, this is the next to last home game. (it’s a good thing you can’t see my lower lip quivering…sniffle!)

The weather might not look fabulous, but everything else will be awesome!!

Shout out to Trey and April, who won’t be joining us for this year’s Thursday night game…we’ll miss you, but you know we’re going to party it up in your honor!

GO HOKIES!!

Good Tech: 35
Bad Tech: 17

-FP

Symmetry, to a Hokie

Note: GameDay pics from the Central Michigan game should be up soon. If you really must know, we had a slight technical glitch (which revolved largely around the fact that I, um, misplaced my camera...)

So, here we are…another GameDay is (almost) upon us!! I hate to say it, but we might be a little Gurus Gone Wild this weekend, as we are more or less “unsupervised” this go ‘round…Can you say, “trouble?” (bwa ha ha ha!) Ok, we will do our best to behave…but, I think you know that you don’t get to be Gurus of Good Times by behaving…so there!

First on the agenda is me, getting my Hokie-fied self down I-81 and into Roanoke this evening. I am teleworking at the moment, which largely consists of me reading things for work…and then taking regular breaks to put together my list of things I need to take to the tailgate. What can I say…life is good! ;-) Anyway, so I am planning to shove off around 3:30, putting me into ‘Oke-town around 7:30(ish), and I think it goes without saying…the fun will commence immediately. (Although not too much fun, April – we’ll be good enough to function Saturday!) [Sidebar: SO - you might notice the little coincidence that I'm leaving today at 3:30 and the GAME is at 3:30 tomorrow...well, kiddies, if you think it's a coincidence, you must not know me very well. That is called the Circle of (Hokie) Life. Symmetry, dude. Symmetry.]

Second on the agenda, is getting the truck packed up and making sure we’ve got all of our tailgate gear in order. Sorta goes without saying, but I’m sure you can imagine how many times we actually get this done the night before…I will give you two guesses, but I am thinking you will only need one. (hint: see above re: fun commencing immediately.) ;-)

Third…is, of course, getting up bright and early in order to head down to glorious Blacksburg!! (happy dance)

We’ve got some surprises in store this week…looking forward to upping the ante yet again!!

Oh, just a few words about the game…We play Wake. Wake is bad. Hopefully this will be another Skipper-filled afternoon…and we’ll finally get to see Lane under the lights…been a long time coming this season! Still no Ryan Williams (boo) but, it’s better that he be fully rested and recovered by the GT game anyway. Get all your little tailgate ducks in a row…and start bouncing…it’s almost time!!!

Gobble, gobble, b*tches!

VT – 35

Weak Florist – 10


--FP

Love to Love to Love Ya, Love Ya, Love Ya --- HOKIES!

Well, the Hokies have been playing a bit better, which is nice to see :) I truly hope it continues through this weekend's Homecoming Game. Things have been just WILD at the tailgates lately...We've have some absences, and some new additions...overall...I'm very pleased with our tailgating season thus far. Ready for a new tailgate this weekend...hoping to see Doomsday around again soon...Pinecone already made his appearance this year. Andy even changed his shirt....only for me to take on his normal behavior...I love my new Hokie shirt. So, I wear it to every game...after a brief washing of course. Shout out to the other tailgaters making this season so memorable...Jessie, April, Trey, Steve, Meggan, Mike, Andy, Ashley, Brian, Leslie (new baby in the oven) and Tommy!!! We've had special appearances by Scott, Rob, Adam, Alex, Nick, Kevin, Kirsten, Pinecone (Dwayne), and Amanda. Notice how Rob got moved to the special appearances section...and must attend more games to get back into the "regular" crew. LOL....I'll post pics later...It's been massive FUN! Can't wait to rock out to a 3:30 game this weekend! Shout out to Nick from Section 3 in Lane Stadium for hooking me up with such awesome tickets to the last game...I got to see them looking for a pinky finger. Love it!

OhthankyouJesus!

OhthankyouJesus! Another tailgate is almost upon us!! (I have to say, I’ve been oddly…at a loss as to what to do with myself these past two weekends…) And, more than that, the Hokies are on a 3-game win streak! We’ve beaten those crazy purple pirates (arrrrgh!) from ECU at home…and won two straight from previously unbeaten ACC foes on the road (BC and NC State). Even notching the greatest comeback under Beamer last week against State. Dare I say these Hokies have given me back a little bit of the excitement that I had going into this season?? (Not all of it, that would be crazy and, wacky as I might be, I refuse to set myself up for that kind of heartbreak again when my poor little heart is just now starting to heal from the pain of Week 1.)

Our offense is coming to life (which, after being nearly mistaken for dead in the not-so-distant past, is quite impressive).

Darren Evans has demonstrated he’s fully recovered from his knee injury.

Tyrod still might not be the best quarterback in the nation, but when he needs to put the team on his back and make plays, there’s nobody I want doing it more; when he lets himself go and just plays, it can be magical.

Heck, Stinespring even engineered a decent game – his OL/TE formation which freed up Andre Smith for a TD was actually, I have to say it, quite brilliant.

I can’t help it, guys! Hope is starting to bubble back to the surface. As much as I try to squash it and ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist (la la la la la la la, I can’t hear you!)…I love my Hokies and will always hope that they can pull it off…that they can rebound from the adversity and put it together.

And, well, they always seem to improve as the season goes on…so, maybe there is hope, after all? (I guess the lesson is to just stop scheduling these HARD games as season openers, huh?) We’ve got four – count ‘em, 4! – home games over the next five weeks, all against teams that we can beat. (Although, none are gimmes; JMU taught us that stomach-churning lesson.) This is a chance for us to really put it all together and get a nice swell of momentum behind us as we roll into November and tough away games at Miami and UNC. Hopefully, it’s just what the doctor ordered.

But, enough football talk…because, well, even though this IS a football blog, I know ya’ll really want to hear about the tailgate and the Good Times. Can’t say as I blame ya much there. ;-)

However, we are facing every tailgater’s worst nightmare this weekend: The Nooner. (dundun duuuunnnn) 1:30 games are hard enough (especially after you have spent the previous night being forced, FORCED I say, to have beer after beer with Rachael under the guise of “pre-game warm-ups”), but at least you can get a solid 3 hours of tailgating in beforehand. 12:00 games are just hideous and should really be reserved for…hell, I can’t think of any good reason for ANYone to be forced to kickoff that freaking early (I mean, most football watchers haven’t even finished the morning paper and the Saturday morning Target run by then…what is the freaking deal???). Except maybe for UVA. The Fighting Chris Longs should face nooners as punishment for failing to put forth a decent football team in years…at least until they demonstrate that they actually have a football team again. But, I digress…

So, given how early we need to arrive, we’re talking about a good ‘ol southern breakfast tailgate – eggs, hash browns, biscuits, bloody mary’s, bourbon, and beer. ;-) Oh, and Red Bull, LOTS and lots of Red Bull. You know, the basics.

I have no clue who is coming to this game (other than the fine folks that will be riding along with me, that is). I’m sure it’ll be a lighter crowd than we’ve had thus far, but that’s ok. Mr. FP is planning on going (although, if history is any indicator, you would be wise to “believe it when you see it”). Mr. Rachael is also planning to give this whole tailgating/football thing another shot. And, hey, that right there is reason enough for me to get excited – I am *thisclose* to converting yet ANOTHER person to the Hokie Nation.

Another tailgate is almost upon us…the weather is supposed to be gorgeous…the Hokies are winning again…in essence, all is right with the world! Let’s go, Hokies! Beat Central Michigan!! (And then we can get down to planning the sweetest thing in the world…the 3:30 kickoff tailgate next week for Wake Forest. The perfect mix of pre-game tailgate time and gametime under the lights...and you still get home in time for dinner and a full recap on GameDay Final. Ahhhh, bliss!)

Hokies - 33
Chippewas - 17

-FP

Will the Real VT Please Stand Up, Please Stand Up?!?

OK, peeps. That was a nice coma…But, now that I’m back, what does one say at this point in the season, when we’ve witnessed just about every possible way this VT team can play – good, bad, average, spectacularly bad?? Well, let me tell ya, “We may not win them all…But We've Never Lost a Party.” Take THAT, JMU!

Bleh.

Why did I even bring that up?

OK. Shaking that off. And getting back to the task at hand…

We were on the road last weekend at BC. Did a fabulous job on defense, blanking the (B)Eagles. I can’t be the only Hokie who was truly impressed by how quickly and thoroughly Bud has whipped these young guys into shape. Yeah, they’ll still make some mistakes, but they are looking like yet another Foster (“Australian for Defense”)-quality group of guys. Some minor tweaks to the scheme and his boys are off and rolling.

Sadly, the same cannot seem to be said for our offense…despite loads of hype to the contrary. Who else heard (and believed) all the pre-season chatter about how unstoppable this group would be? I seriously had visions of 30+ a game…Believe me, I just can’t accept how I was fooled AGAIN! This is certainly a topic that has been hashed out in MANY other forums, so I don’t want to belabor the point too much, but it is just a darn shame when we have so much talent and experience on that side of the ball and have to settle for 4 field goals at BC. Come on, O! Come on, Tyrod! I know you guys can defy that albatross of an OC and get this thing going.

Anyways…so this weekend we’re on the road again at NC State. State is 4-0 going into this game, ranked #23, and sporting a pretty impressive QB. The injuries they’ve had in the past are not a factor and this should shape up to be a very exciting game (as long as the GOOD Tech shows up, which, as we know, is something of a toss-up)…

I will be living room tailgating for this one…and looking forward to getting back in the saddle again next weekend for the nooner against Central Michigan (the Chippewas??). After that game, I THINK, we will have played, in recent memory, every possible directional school from the state of Michigan. Should be a good time, as nooners usually are, but we’ll check back in next week with a bit more of a preview for that one.

Wow. This was such a completely unfunny post. Sorry for that. It’s a weird time to be a VT football fan…but it’s always good to be a Hokie.

LET’S GO!

VT 24, NCSU 20

-FP

Waaaaah. That is all.

(Note: Apologies in advance for a downer of a post; just, well, just...sorry.)

Well, the Boise game did NOT go how I’d hoped. Yet another big game slipped through our fingers. I cannot imagine a crowd that has worked harder to will their team on to victory. I am not exaggerating when I say I am just now coming out of the funk. Nor am I exaggerating when I say I gave serious consideration (ME!) to not going to the game this weekend. The bloom is so far off this rose for me right now, I can hardly fathom the idea of getting excited for a tailgate again. But, I’m going to quote two of my favorites – Scarlett O’Hara and Annie – it’s all about tomorrow. It is, after all, “another day” and “only a day away.”

In a rare spot of good news – Steve has managed to secure us parking passes again this year, so it doesn’t look like the tailgate crew will be split up as I originally feared. But, they cost more and there’s no discount for the season like they’ve had in years past. Grrr.

I can barely muster enough energy for this blog and, for that, I’m truly sorry. Oh well. life goes on, somebody else has it worse, at least we’re still ranked #13, blah, blah, blah. Go hokies. Or something. Just don’t friggin’ lose to JMU or I might slip into a coma. On purpose.

Blah.

I'm #@$^%#$ Pumped!!!

Sooooo, it’s about that time again and all I can say is THANK GOD. I have been mentally packing my truck with Gameday gear for weeks now. We are mere days away from the beautimous thing that is College Football Season (I guess less if you’re a Gamecock fan). I, for one, cannot wait. It has been a LONG offseason. But, thankfully, it’s given me the time I needed…to accumulate more and MORE fantastic tailgating gear! As I talked about back in April, we are moving on up (to the East Side!) and are now the proud owners of the thing that sets real tailgaters apart from pretenders: The Tent. We are now prepared for (just about) whatever Mother Nature throws at us. Take that! Moreover, I upgraded vehicles in the offseason…and can I just say, I love my truck. (Author’s note: If this is the first and last time you hear this, consider yourself lucky.) Third row seating (to squeeze in those extra tailgaters) and lots of trunk space otherwise, to make sure all the coolers and gear get there! We’ve got a bunch of other goodies, but we’ll just have to unveil them one at a time – I can’t ruin ALL my surprises! But, suffice it to say, that Rachael and I have been busy little Hokie bees this offseason!

But, this brings us to now…as in…5 days from kickoff! If you aren’t pumped for this game, you (or a friend) should check your pulse, because you might be dead. Seriously. So many unanswered questions. So many things we’re SURE of (but which could be wildly untrue anyways.) Is Boise for real…or does their cream puff conference create a false impression of how good they are? Is this the best Offense we’ve ever fielded? (and the corollary, can we actually get all those amazing pieces to work together?) Will Bud just reload on Defense, as per normal? Is this, dare I say it, The Year? Maybe, most importantly, what is up with the black uniforms??? All of these questions (and more!) will be answered soon enough.

We’re doing the Buffett concert/Hokie kickoff weekend spectacular again! This time, we’re gonna get it RIGHT. Hurricane Earl had better twist and turn in another direction, because nobody named Earl is raining on my parade. (Hokie tent or not!) We’re gonna waste away in Margaritaville on Saturday, recover on Sunday, and then go absolutely effing bananas on Monday. Just like, by the way, the entire freaking VT team is going to do. (Smack talking commences in 3…2…1…) Boise, meet Tyrod Taylor. He will shred you guys. No way can you effectively gameplan all the ways he will do this. Also, allow me to introduce you to the 3-Headed Monster of Ryan Williams, Darren Evans, and phenom David Wilson. Prepare to have tracks up your back as they run over you. Kellen Moore, you throw up some serious Nintendo numbers, but you’d better watch out for our Defense – talent, skill, speed, and, more than anything, sheer WANT TO. If our Offense lets you on the field, you’d better act fast.

So, load up the cooler, make that run to the liquor store, bring out the lucky Gameday Shirt…Do whatever you have to do…

Because my gut tells me this year will be special.

YouTube practically confirms it.

All I will say for sure is, “I believe.”



-FP

What do you mean it's still Baseball season?

Where are you, Football Season? I have been having an excellent summer – going on great vacations and doing everything I can to get my mind off of you…But my mind keeps turning back to Labor Day weekend…Boise State…FedEx Field…and then on to the rest of the season and tailgating in our fabulous spot at the German Club…spending great times with terrific people…showing off some excellent tailgate upgrades…and cheering on my favorite boys in orange and maroon in that little slice of Heaven known as Lane Stadium…

I can hear the crack of a can opening…the soft fizz of my bourbon mixing with coke…

I can smell the burgers sizzling…and taste the apple pie (giggle)…

I can see the Wave…as much as I hate it…circling Lane Stadium…

I can feel the warm September sun on my face…and the chill of the ice in the stocked cooler…

But...it’s too early for Tailgate Fever to set in.

Isn't it?

Beach Bound (Hallelujah!)

Hello Kiddies –
Granted it’s not quite football season yet, so of course you’re wondering, why are we hearing from the FP? Well, it’s quite simple. The Gurus have put together one freaking fantastic good times event – and it begins this Friday! So. I had to get on here and give you the lowdown! Want specifics? Ooooh, goody! Let me tell you!! We have rented a house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and we’re spending a week at the beach. Oooooh yeah! Believe me when I tell you that we’re completely out of our heads with excitement right now – we have total Vacation Brain going on. Work is suffering. We can think of nothing else but sitting in the sand, having some cold ones, and celebrating Good Times. PLEASE let it be Friday soon!! ;-)

Right now, Rachael and Scott get to be the lucky first ones there, since April and Mr. FP have to work on Friday…but, we’re still going to get out of town as soon as we can and head down. I mean, we even bought a new vehicle with this trip in mind! (just kidding, we actually got it for tailgating purposes. LOL. Yes. We are DEDICATED!) But, believe me, we’ll make up for being late to the party soon enough! And, while we're there, we get to celebrate April's birthday, too! Throw those party hats in the bag!

In the meantime, y’all behave while we’re gone. If you’re good – you might get to hear about some of our exploits when we get back! On the immediate horizon, we’ve got tents, towels, coolers and koozies. Sunscreen and siestas. Brew Thrus and beach bars. Water in the ocean, pool and hot tub. Ahhh, bring on the beach!

-FP

PS. One extra shout-out to Rachael and Scott - Happy Anniversary, guys!

Growing Older but Not Up

So, another year has passed…and this little Guru is hitting number 32! Personally, I think this is an excellent sign for the coming football season. I mean, hello! Darren Evans is #32, my last name is Evans and I’m 32 this year…coincidence??? I think not! You’ll see, soon enough! Boo-yah!

But, beyond football season predictions…another birthday also means another opportunity to get my party on! SO, accordingly, I am headed down to Jacksonville, Florida this weekend, to visit one of my oldest and dearest friends (who’s birthday also happens to fall in a few days). Together we will unite our Party Prowess and have some serious fun. Sand, sun, and beach bars. I am EXCITED! I hope Jax is aware of and prepared for the coming invasion!! ;-)

If no one’s heard from me by next Tuesday...please send out a search party!!

*mwah!*
--FP

You Never Know Who You'll Run Into...

Man, oh man…I gotta tell you, if you didn’t make it to the tailgate, and you can't figure it out just by these pictures, you missed some seriously Good Times! Trey, Tommy, Peggy (and her buffet of fabulous food!), along with several of their friends all made the trip to tailgate with us Gurus...Uncle John and two of his boys (Matt and Tim) made it, as well...But, most importantly...
We are now in possession of a fabulous new Virginia Tech pinwheel tent (alternating glorious maroon and orange), complete with side panels for bad weather days - boo-yah!

Why do I tell you this, you ask? Well, the tent provided lots of entertainment.

I know, this sounds like a crazy statement, but just let me elaborate. See, I’ve never really watched someone else put up one of these things before…and of course, neither had Rachael or April…so, we were kind of at a loss once we got the tent mostly up. We couldn’t quite figure out how to pop the canopy bars into place…first we thought it was just going to lock in when we spread the tent out all the way.

Well. That didn’t happen. Then we thought we could stand on tip toe and push them into place (but none of us are very tall), so that was a FAIL.

Then, we thought, hey, let’s lower the tent and push the bars in place while it’s lowered…(I know, the level of genius in action here is absolutely astounding, but bear with us, lol)...but that still didn’t work. Of course, all during this process, we were consuming adult beverages and goofing off…including some running jumps (pure Olympic-medal stuff, I tell ya!), attempting to reach the canopy bars and push them into place.

At which point we soon realized we were probably the laughing stock of the parking lot and figured we should quit before ending up on YouTube somewhere… At this point we had pretty much resigned ourselves to a tent with a floppy canopy until a random tall person walked by that we could convince to help us. Sad, I know, right?

But all was not lost, friends! My keen eyes noted a group of tailgaters two rows over that had just arrived and were in the middle of tent assembly! So, yeah, we totally watched them do it so we could figure out what to do and voila! We got it! (had to push some braces into place that we, um, sorta just didn’t realize were braces that would slide the canopy bars into locked position…) SO. Success! We were even so proud of ourselves that we offered to help the folks next to us put up THEIR tent. Oh yeah!

Played lots of music (my Ipod's stuck on replay, replay, replay), broke in a new VT pop-up trash can (it's amazing what little things like this add to the tailgate experience, lol) and showed off lots of new VT accessories - sunglasses fit for a Tailgate President, new shirts all around, jewelry, and, well, you get the point!...Needless to say, we drank plenty of beverages and did a little tailgate Dance Party USA action...(I think we need a disco ball to hang inside the tent.)

But, check this dude out! We ran into THIS guy while tailgating at the Spring Game last weekend...(What is UP with that the rear view!?! I've heard of someone being a hard*ss before, but never a hard-hat-*ss!)

Beer Man Trey, FP, and Rachael :-)

Inside the Merryman Center with all the cool VT memorabilia and whatnot. Nice bathrooms, too!

These are the faces of Victory!! Happy Dance!

And, the tailgate continued in Roanoke...or at least the party....with a fabulous Mexican meal, complete with MASSIVE brews.

CHEERS!

April and the Hokie Bird/Transformer on Stilts...random! Just before he posed with three other girls and Rachael made him do pelvic thrusts over their heads. NICE.

I'm Baaaaack!

Hey y’all! Hope you’ve had plenty of Good Times during our “hiatus” but the FP is back in full effect and ready for action! And it just so happens that this weekend’s little fiesta in Blacksburg kicks off one MONDO summer of Good Times! This little Fun Pusher is patting herself on the back for the fabulous planning that went into this one…we’re talking at least one significant Good Times Event a month starting this weekend with the Spring Game. We’re talking two months of getaways to warmer climes, flip flops, sand and surf. We’re talking the annual adventure of the Girls’ Cabin Weekend. And we’re talking yet MORE warmer climes, flip flops, sand and surf come August!!

And that’s when the fun most relevant to this particular blog really gets popping. For the second year in a row, we will segue from a fabulous Jimmy Buffett concert weekend (complete with regular tailgate crew!) into the kickoff of Football Season Good Times with the VT vs. Boise State game at FedEx Field on Labor Day. (Bonus: Just up the road from me! YAY! No 4-hour drive to see a Tech game. Cue choir of angels!) AND, y’all think 60,000 Hokie fans in Lane Stadium are loud?? Just you wait until there are 75K+ in one spot (I would say 90K but I assume that BSU will sell SOME tickets to the game, lol). Oh yeah. Loud and proud! ;-) Win that game and we’re poised to make a special run this season…

But wait. Focus. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First things first. We’ve got a Spring Game Tailgate to plan up for this weekend…I know I worked hard on my “conditioning” last weekend (and the weekend before), so I should be ready to rock come Saturday. Hope you are, too! The Crew is still being assembled, but should include Rachael, April, and myself, at a minimum. Oh. And at least one cooler chock full of beer & adult beverages. ;-) **UPDATE: The BrewMaster and his fabulous folks are going to be in attendance, and possibly a few other tailgate regulars. YAY!!**

We’re going to shoot for tailgating in one of the stadium lots (hopefully south end zone), but that means we need to get there early (and we haven’t been what you would call “successful” in previous Spring Game attempts…so, we’ll see)! So. It’s time to show some dedication and motivation and get the 2010 VT football campaign off on the right foot! That means getting there early!

More than that, it also means rocking all the cool new VT gear – both personal and tailgate – that I got in the off-season! Oh yeah! I mean, combining my two favorite things – VT and accessories, ladies! Totally what it’s all about. ;-)

So. Let’s recap. VT’s Annual Maroon/White Spring Game is this Saturday at 2pm. Get there early, with beverage and food to your liking. Join us at our tailgate and kick off the 2010 Good Times Season right!