Game 4: Homecoming

First a reminder that we are collecting for Almost Home animal shelter in Lafayette this month.  Please see this post to find a list of "in kind" donations.  http://stonecoldtailgating.blogspot.com/2018/09/charity-events-2018.html

We welcome in an ACC opponent this week for Homecoming.  When the #23 Eagles roll into West Lafayette it will be the first time that Purdue has ever faced them.  It is hard to know what to expect given that BC has only played one real opponent and Purdue has lost three games by a total of eight points.  I would like to think the Boilers give us a great Homecoming gift and get in the W column on Saturday!

As most of you know my current job has me travelling to Boston on a regular basis.  You all probably also know that I explore almost every place I travel to by trying their local food specialties and their beer.  On the food front we will have a good menu including Lobster Rolls, Cape Cod chips, and our own take on Corn Chowder in the form of a side salad.  I'm sure that you all have heard of a little company called Sam Adams, but I'm here to tell you that there is a wide array of spectacular beers in the New England region and Boston specifically.  While we won't have only New England beers, we will have some to sample.  (We will also have Hot Dogs for those of you that aren't keen on Lobster Rolls.)

We will be meeting in the W lot on Saturday morning, but since it is homecoming weekend I've listed a schedule for the entire weekend.  I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Friday September 21, 2018
1:00     Anyone staying at the SCTC Lodge 1814 is welcome to arrive

I really don't have a solid plan for Friday, we'll play it by ear. 

Saturday September 22, 2018
8:00     Depart House
10:00   Food Ready (Time is approximate)
11:00   Teardown/Clean Up
11:30   Depart for Stadium
12:00   Kickoff
6:30     Dinner

Post game everyone is invited over to the house for a postgame meal, drinks, and cards.  We may head over to Harry's or out elsewhere in the evening.  I see that there is an Oktoberfest in lafayette that day, and we all know I can't resist a good German festival.

Sunday September 23, 2018
10:30    Breakfast at Vinton

Game 3: Missouri

Missouri, or Misery as my lovely wife calls it.  Misery is a pretty good description of the Purdue season thus far, hopefully we can turn it around this weekend.

We'll be competing under the lights on Saturday, so we'll be starting our tailgating a little later.  We'll be serving a "state fair" themed menu as I have no idea what food is unique to Missouri.  We'll have pork tenderloin sandwiches, roasted corn, and plenty of beverages.

We will meet at the W lot as usual, there is a map on the right side of the blog and I will drop a pin when we get to the lot.  Most everyone knows the drill by now!

Saturday September 15, 2018
11:30     Meet at the House
2:30    Depart the House
3:00    Tailgate Set Up
5:00     Target for Food
6:30    Tailgate tear down/Depart
7:30     Kickoff

Charity Events 2018

As opposed to doing one item per week we are going to dedicate our service projects by month this year.  We will be accepting any and all donations at tailgates so we can give back to the community that we spend a lot of time in.  The events will be as follows:

September - Almost Home Pet Rescue
October - Coats for Kids
November - Lafayette Food Pantry

A few words from Vincent regarding the Almost Home Rescue:

Vincent the Pooch here to talk to you about the SCTC charity event for September.  First a big thanks to Master for typing, as you know I'm getting older and I just can't see the computer screen as well anymore.  (I just refuse to wear corrective dog lenses, that's just not a flattering look.)

I'm always glad to see all you humans in Lafayette during football season, though some of you seem to be a little goofy after the games.  I'm lucky to have a great rescue home but some dogs (and cats) don't have a huge extended family like I have to love on me.  This September I hope that you'll spread some of that love as the Stone Cold Tailgating Club will be collecting donations for the dogs and cats that live at the Almost Home Animal Shelter in Lafayette.  My kind and I would greatly appreciate your assistance in the form of any donations.

The Almost Home humans will accept both cash and "in kind" donations.  A list of donation items can be found below:

• Dog and cat treats. No colored biscuits, please.
• Cat and pocket pet litter. Any brand, clay, corncob or paper litter only, please. We do not use scoopable litter. Special Kitty Cat Litter from Wal-Mart is great!
• Esbilac, KMR and puppy and kitten nursing bottles and nipples
• Advantage or Frontline topical flea preventatives
• Dog toys. Kong toys, hard rubber bones (Nylabone, etc.), tennis balls, rope bones
• Cat toys. Balls with bells, catnip toys, fur mice, etc. Nothing with strings, please.
• Food and water bowls, all sizes (metal only; no plastic bowls please)
• Pet carriers and cages, all sizes
• Rabbit pellets and alfalfa hay
• Hamster food and treats
• Peanut butter
• Heating pads
• Chew sticks, exercise balls, wheels, and small cardboard boxes for pocket pets
• Towels, blankets or rugs, any size, new or used

Game 2: Family Weekend

We didn't get the result we wanted in Week 1 but they boys fought back after falling behind early.  Who knows, with a proper application of the rule book in the fourth quarter they might have had a shot at the win?  There was a lot to like about Thursday night, especially the emergence of super freshman Rondale Moore.  In his first game as a Boilermaker he broke the school record for total yards in a game, this kid is going to be great.  Here's a video of all 180 lbs of him lifting 600 lbs:

This week we welcome in the Eagles of Eastern Michigan for a noon tilt in West Lafayette, IN.  We have very little history with the Eagles playing them on two previous occasions in 1991 and 2012.  The margins of victory have been significant in both games and I would hope for more of the same.  I can say that EMU was the first victory I witnessed as a student at Purdue on opening day September 7, 1991!  I remember thinking that this Jim Colletto guy just might be a good coach.........

We will be celebrating family day with the kids in attendance for the weekend.  We'll be doing a meal of hamburgers and french fries with plenty of adult and "kid friendly" beverages.  We're looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend.

We're parked in the W Lot and have a total of three parking passes.  We should be able to get everyone from the house over and parked in the lot together.  For those of you meeting us at the tailgate, the map is on the right side of the blog and I'll try to drop a pin to post on the Facebook page when we get parked.

Saturday September 8, 2018
8:00   Depart from SCTC Lodge
8:15   Arrive at Tailget
8:30   Tailgate set up
10:00 Target time for Burgers
11:15  Tailgate Breakdown
11:30  Depart for Stadium
12:00  Kickoff

Post game we will hang out at the tailgate for a short time before returning to the house. Everyone that is interested can come back and we'll order some pizzas.

Game 1: Northwestern

Greetings fellow Boilermakers and welcome to Purdue Football 2018!   We are very excited to see if Coach Brohm and the team can build on last year's success and keep Purdue Football at least relevant in the Big Ten West.

It's a bit of an odd situation starting the season on a Thursday, especially since it comes against a Big Ten opponent.  (I didn't look it up but I can't remember us opening against a Big Ten opponent......EVER.)  Northwestern comes in with some questions, especially at QB after losing their starter to a knee injury in their bowl game, but Pat Fitzgerald has built a solid program and I expect them to be potent on the offensive side of the ball. 

Given that Northwestern bills themselves as "Chicago's Big Ten Team" (good luck finding anyone that buys into that,) we will be having a Chicago Themed menu.  For the deep dish fans I'm sorry to report that we'll just be having some Chicago Style hot dogs and Chicago brewed beer.

I'm sure that you have all seen the photos and are aware that we have upgraded our tailgating ambulance.  We've moved into the late 90's (from the 1983 version we had previously.)  The bay is slightly larger, but the storage space is going to be a bit different than you are used to, there is no drop down bar for example.  We have had it painted but additional decorations and adornments will take some additional time to secure.  (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10217168732121363&set=pb.1561920488.-2207520000.1535364191.&type=3&theater)

We will be parked in the same location as last year, the W Lot across from Slater just west of the track and field stadium.  We will still have our normal flagpole set up and the big yellow tent.  We should be pretty easy to find if you kind of know where to look.  The map on the right side of the blog should help and as always I will "drop a pin" on the Stone Cold Facebook page.

Thursday August 30, 2018
4:15 p.m.     Depart the house
4:45 p.m.     Tailgate up and Ready
7:15 p.m.     Tailgate Breakdown
7:30 p.m.     Depart for Stadium
8:00 p.m.     Kickoff

Game 4: Nebraska

Remember boys and girls, then "N" stands for knowledge at Nebraska......

We will welcome Nebraska into Ross-Aide Stadium for a Saturday night tilt under the lights.  This would be a great win for the Boilermakers, a way to make the statement that we truly are not a bottom feeder program any longer.

We'll have a larger party this week as we celebrate our annual "guys weekend."  (We know, it's not really a guy's weekend anymore, it's more of an idea than a mandate.)  We will have a lot of people in town that we don't see regularly and we look forward to a good time to be had by all.  We will be doing our "Make Your Own Pizza" tailgate with a multitude of drink options.

We're going to be set up in the W Lot (see the maps on the right side of the blog,) I don't think anyone will have a tough time finding us.  We will have our flags up as usual and the Ambulance is pretty easy to spot.

We will be gathering in town on Friday night to do a night out at Harry's.  Paula usually plans a costumed bar crawl in Chicago for Halloween but since we're going to be in Lafayette this year I thought we would move the party to Harry's.  We always try to do a theme for our costume nights and this year's is: 1997.  That's right, we're dressing as our selves circa 1997.  (Greg, I know you still have an Alamo Bowl t-shirt hanging around.)

Friday October 27, 2017
7:00 p.m.     Meet at SCTC Lodge
8:00 p.m.     Harry's

Since the game time has been moved to a night game on Saturday we'll be doing our "Halloween" celebration on Friday night.  We'll be heading out to the bars in a group costume, but it's a theme that's pretty easy to meet: Dress as Yourself circa 1997.

I have no idea what we'll be doing for dinner, but we'll probably just grab something on campus

Saturday October 28, 2017
10:00 a.m.   Pancake Breakfast
1:30 p.m.     Meet at SCTC Lodge
1:45 p.m.     Depart for Campus
2:00 p.m.     Set up Tailgate
3:00 p.m.     Food Set Up
6:15 p.m.     Full Teardown
6:45 p.m.     Depart for Stadium
7:30 p.m.     Kickoff

With the late start I'm going to want to do a full teardown of the tailgate before we head into the stadium.  We will have some tailgate games to help pass the time.

Game 3: Minnesota

It is a bittersweet game this weekend, the university will be recognizing the 20th anniversary of the 1997 team, but unfortunately Coach Tiller’s passing will hang over the celebrations. Coach Tiller meant so much to Purdue and I expect to see him honored appropriately. The teams will be wearing patches in his honor and Purdue will be wearing the true “old gold” helmets from 1997.

Minnesota comes to town riding high on rowing their boat the PJ Fleck way. Just remember that he kept saying he was interested in Purdue and then declined the interview because he thought better jobs would be available. Nobody says our football program is unworthy but us!  (Minnesota by the way was not the job he thought he would get, he thought Oregon was going to come calling.) I want the Boilers to beat up on his smug butt on Saturday!

We are doing burgers and fries for the tailgate. We won’t have just any burgers though, we will be having Minnesota Juicy Lucy burgers, they’re cheeseburgers with the cheese on the inside!  I look forward to seeing you in the W Lot!

Saturday October 7, 2017
11:15 Meet At Vinton
11:45  Tailgate set up
1:15   Burgers and Fries ready
2:45   Depart for Stadium
3:30  Kickoff