First off, there is no such thing as a “normal” trip in the Tiger Tail Team Van. Something always happens. Lee, Tommy and Larry would all tell you the same thing and at some point I hope to get to their “better” stories. Our trips we have taken over the last several years have been no different, except for the fact we don’t stop at every Cracker Barrel along the way. This also just happens to be different in the fact that we drive a van with a ten foot tail now. The only real issue about this trip is that all the interesting stuff seemed to happen when I wasn’t around. So I’m telling much of this story second hand from videos I’ve watched and random text I got all day Saturday.
The Tiger Tail Team’s trip to God’s Country was supposed to begin at 5:00 A.M. Due to a faulty alarm clock and other mishaps, two-thirds of the Tiger Tail Team (plus two stowaways) rolled out of Birmingham at 5:45 A.M. The other third of the team was still quietly asleep, couch surfing in Auburn.
From what I gathered the trip was fairly tense due to a bet gone wrong involving Krispy Kreme and an eating contest. KJ and the stowaway we shall affectionately call Kevin, started chirping to Michael, who was driving, about being hungry. Michael reluctantly pulled over the van and was conned into actually buying the donuts via a bet. KJ is a master negotiator. He’s often behind most of the shenanigans that happen when this group gets together. KJ and Kevin bet Michael that they could both eat eight donuts a piece under an hour. If they lost the bet they would have to pay Michael back. Eight donuts is equivalent to a whole day’s calories not to mention probably about a week’s worth of sugar… and they wanted to eat this in an hour. So the Tiger Tail Team got back on the road with twenty four donuts in tow and two Kobayashi wannabees. It took less than fifteen minutes for both gentleman (I use that term loosely) to down five donuts a piece. Then either due to fear of putting on weight, having a sugar induced coma or embarrassing themselves in front of a girl, both of them didn’t down another donut. The welching on the bet was still being discussed when they arrived at our super-secret, off campus tailgating spot we will kindly call Chris and Jill’s house.
Around 8 A.M., the Birmingham crew arrived at our undisclosed spot. I was still cranky due to the fact that the van was almost an hour late and that he only had three hours of sleep… on a couch. However, I was already dressed in my “new attire” for tailgating: a blue morph suit complete with Auburn dreads and Under Armour shorts courtesy of our friends at J&M Bookstore. For those wondering, the morph suit idea was cooked up Tuesday afternoon and immediately put into action without much thought to consequences or possible heat stroke. Personally, I think it worked out well.
After a short ten minute break, we loaded up and made our way to J&M Bookstore. KJ changed into his suit in store and then the fun began. For the next thirty minutes or so we hung out in front of our van, suits and all, posing for pictures and meeting people. We then made our way down to Toomer’s Drugs to get a drink and the fun never stopped. Everyone wanted pictures with us. I won’t lie, at first it was intimidating, but after a while it just became second nature. During this time, Michael acted as our “handler” to make sure we didn’t get into any trouble.
This is where our stories diverge till after the game. Michael, KJ, Kevin and our other stowaway (who wished to remain unnamed) took the van for a spin around campus and eventually to the fields to park for the game. I made my way to Tiger Walk still in the morph suit. The trek to Tiger Walk was very interesting. I felt like Ferris Bueller racing his parent’s home trying to make it to Tiger Walk, except everyone kept stopping me for pictures. As the day went on I got more and more comfortable in the suit and it kind of takes on its own personality. I was just along for the ride.
Tiger Walk went off without a hitch and I literally spent twenty minutes trying to get back to my brother’s tailgating spot. I kept getting stopped to take pictures with kids, co-eds, alums and fans. I’m not complaining! It was an adventure to itself. For those of you who are wondering, I took off the suit prior to the football game. It was remarkably breathable for how hot and humid it was. I plan on breaking it out again this weekend.
After the game I was able to meet up with the rest of the team and the two stowaways at the Haley Center. We began the long walk back to field where they parked the van off of Lem Morris discussing what turned out to be a heart stopping game. I was allowed the privilege of driving our beloved van back to the super-secret off campus tailgating spot. She drives SOOO much better now that Tim Nash and our friends at The Caddy Shack have gotten their hands on her.
Once again we parted ways. I began to make my way to sunny, Panama City. KJ, Michael and friends made their way to Tenda Chick and then headed back to Birmingham. Somewhere in south Alabama I got a text and video that said, “we put the van in a car show in Alex City.” I wish I could post the video that was sent to me but I cannot. Apparently the crew stopped at the Arby’s in Alex City. Parked the van on the grass next to the last car in the show, and popped the hood. KJ spent the next twenty minutes trying to negotiate entry and wanted to win “best in show.” The decision to leave was made only after the team found out it was not a judged event and only door prizes were being given away. I’m sure there are some readers of this story that could iron out the details and embellishments I got in this story and I wish they would.
The Tiger Tail Team made it home after dark and I arrived at sunny, Panama City Beach without incident. At the time of publishing, Michael is still waiting on money for the donuts. Right now we are loading up and getting ready to do it again this weekend. We plan on being at J&M around 7:30 A.M. hanging out if you want to stop by and support us and one of our sponsors. I hope you have a good week and War Eagle!
No comments:
Post a Comment