Sally Ann Shurmur: Finally, A Sandwich In The Car

Columnist Sally Ann Shurmur writes, “Maybe (probably) it’s genetic, but tailgating is not as fun for me as the game. Or it could simply be that I have been going to college football games for so long that I remember when nobody tailgated."

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Sally Ann Shurmur

October 10, 20244 min read

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Maybe (probably) it’s genetic, but tailgating is not as fun for me as the game.

Or it could simply be that I have been going to college football games for so long that I remember when nobody tailgated.

We ate lunch at home on Curtis Street, got the little sister settled with the sitter, and drove to the stadium, where we parked on the south side of the Fieldhouse, just steps from our seats in the lower West.

Wrangling two of us, Peggy Jane the Mom was usually running late, and sometimes we missed the kickoff, which even at 6 “bugged” me.

I fully well realize that I am not normal and some think I am a crabby b—.

But I go for the game. And even at 1-4, that is plenty of entertainment for me.

The three home games in September were all “events,” and with 100 percent attendance, I barely survived.

Each was exhausting in its own way, although we did each differently.

You recall the extortion we experienced in Laramie. I heard later that one of the nicer hotels was $700 a night for Homecoming weekend.

We stayed a weekend in Cheyenne in a very lovely room at a third the price of Laramie, but didn’t get back to the room from a night game until midnight.

And then the third time, the most emotional and heartbreaking when we had a memorial for our dear Leon Broussard, we made it down and back in an 18-hour day.

By the time we got home from that, I was emotionally and physically done.

So this Saturday is the day I have been eager for. A down and back with a 1:30 kickoff, just like the old days.

The weather will be perfect, although I wouldn’t mind a little cooler.

And I am making and packing our lunch, to eat on the way down. If everything goes according to plan it should be just over a 10-hour day.

That’s cutting it close, but it’s all about the game.

We park near an RV row in Summit View, because it’s close to the sidewalk and easier for the wheelchair driver.

Sadly, that half of the lot will be permanently closed after Saturday as construction for a new pool begins.

We love watching this one couple prepare their older but darling motor home each week.

Last time, I bet the gal made 100 trips up and down those stairs and back and forth to the car, where the fresh supplies are kept.

They haul tables and chairs out of the motor home, erect canopies and fly huge flags overhead.

This must be what normal people do.

She invited us over for a drink, which was so kind, but Owen was in the middle of a power nap so we didn’t go.

Along Tailgate Alley in the Ford Lot, there is some fancy stuff going on.

One party is catered every week by American Heroes BBQ out of Glenrock, and one gal with beach music blaring from her RV was walking around with a tray, giving away shots.

Normal people go to football days to party.

In a future life, I dream of having a tiny motor home there at the stadium that would save us the motel expense, allow my cooking to ramp up a notch and provide a cozy spot for Sophie to snooze during the game.

But I still would leave my own party to get to my seat way before kickoff.

My party is a big homemade sandwich, a handful of yellow Lays and a deli sized dill pickle.

And the best party is a sack without targeting and a pass breakup without PI.

Go Pokes! Here’s to 2-4 and 2-0 in the MWC.

Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at: SallyAnnShurmur@gmail.com

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Sally Ann Shurmur

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