It's week 7, and conference play is well under way. The weather is really starting to turn here in the MIdwest, but it's still beautiful for tailgating. Wherever you spend your weekend, and whatever your drink of choice is, be safe and have fun. This is where the staff of OTE will be, what games we'll be watching, and what we'll be drinking.
Graham Filler: I will be tailgating on Red Cedar Avenue in East Lansing, Michigan, about 100 feet north of the stadium. The tailgate features last week was some of the most delicious pulled pork and beef I've ever had in my life and a scrumptious baked mac and cheese. The cupcakes were made with brandy, I believe, which added a nice twist.
I will be concentrating on my Carlsberg again this week before walking due south into the stadium to see the Spartans and Hawkeyes battle.
JDMill: I will be attempting to hit up a couple of tailgates pre-Gopher Homecoming game where I anticipate partaking in a few drinkies. It's an 11am game, so I anticipate being offered bloody mary's, but I'm really not much of a morning booze drinks kind of guy. I've just never fallen in love with bloody mary's or screwdrivers. I do, however, enjoy a little concoction that my uncle and his group partake of called "Bloody Bulls." It's essentially a bloody mary type of concoction, but uses beef broth for taste and a lot of it if you're me. It can be mixed with the vodka, but I also enjoy mixing it just with beer. Sometimes I even like to drink it without the Bloody Bull mix. Straight beer is really my favorite morning tailgate drink.
C.E. Bell: In-laws are visiting, and Northwestern is on the road. That means my father-in-law and I venturing over to my friends apartment to watch Northwestern-Minnesota, with me trying to unsuccessfully moderate my consumption of beers in front of the father of my lovely wife while suffering through what is sure to be yet another close Northwestern game. I'm guessing we'll do some Bell's -- either Amber Ale or Oberon if I can still find it -- and/or Honey Brown Lager which is a favorite of my father-in-law. We might even drink a little bourbon, since that's increasingly becoming a tradition for my game-watching/tailgating crew every week.
Not sure about plans for watching the later games, but I do know we're going out to Las Tablas (an excellent Columbian steakhouse in Chicago) for dinner, so that'll be awesome.
Hilary Lee: I will be in Davenport, Iowa celebrating the wedding of a good friend and getting drunk on whatever beer they have in the kegs. I'll be keeping up with games on my phone. Yeaaaah BTN2GO.
Jesse Collins: Bye week. I'll be catching up on everything I've pretty much ignored around the house for the past month plus and catching whatever is on. I'm sure I'll catch the Iowa-MSU tilt, but I have no qualms with spending a week in recovery, just pretending that next week football doesn't break my sports fandom heart.
Ted Glover: I will be at Casa De Football, also known as my house. Second weekend of three with wife out of town. I will watch a DVR of the 1997 OSU-Arizona State Rose Bowl when I wake up, and then live college football. All. Day.
Seriously, all I'm doing is drinking beer, eating food that's probably not healthy, and watching college ball. All day and well into the night. Unless the Cardinals are in the NLCS and their game is on. Then I will be going back and forth. I'm probably not even going to put on pants.
As for my beverages, I'm going to crawl into a 12-er of Strongbow, a great cider ale that I absolutely love. When that runs out, I'm getting into some Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat. When I plow through that, that liter of Captain Morgan doesn't have a chance. I'm more than likely going to be hung over like a bastard, but a day sans pants will allow me to crawl into bed and go right to sleep. So there's that, I guess.
MN Wildcat: Well, it's at Minnesota, and I just happen to be in the neighborhood, so I'll be getting there, parking in the State Fair lot with the padre, and following his example of "slamming a few beers there, stuffing your pockets with a flask and more beer, taking the bus to the Vault, and walking from tailgate to tailgate saying hi to people you know." (My dad's fucking awesome.)
Along with that, I'll be giving a hearty hello to the members of NUMB making their unofficial away trip (read: tailgating for once at a football game), enjoying drinks with a couple U of M friends, and praying that the 'Cats don't find a way to screw this one up. Maybe I'll even shell out $8 for a beer in the stadium--just to say I did. After the game? Dinner with the girlfriend's family, interspersed with currently unknown beer and cocktails.
Jon Franz: Low key Saturday on the Western front. I'm going to get up and take a nice run around Griffith Park then plant myself in front of the television for the late morning/early afternoon slate. Sierra Nevada's Tumbler Brown will be the beer of honor. Around 4:30 p.m., I'm meeting up with a few friends to watch the Ohio State game at a to be determined establishment (because of their distinct Buckeye/Columbus ties, Happy Endings, The Blue Palms, and the BW3s in Hollywood are the early favorites). After the games, I'll head back to my place to smoke a cigar on the front porch and keep chipping away at my novel.
Graham: But what kind of cigar Jon FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHAT KIND OF CIGAR THESE ARE THE DETAILS THAT MATTER...
Hilary: Agree with Graham.
Jon: Haha. Usually, I'm guilty of providing too many details. My current cigar a la mode is the Oliva Cain 660 Maduro. It's a terrific, full bodied smoke with subtle hints of leather and chocolate. It pairs especially well with two fingers of Bulleit Bourbon and a crisp fall night.
Graham: Beautiful
Hilary: Whenever it is that we all get together, I command that there be cigars. [ED NOTE: I Heartily concur]
BabaOReally: West Lafayette. Coke/Coke Zero. If I wake up in a crazy mood, I might try a hot chocolate for the morning drive.
MN Wildcat: I like your taste in pop, Baba. Cherry Coke Zero is like manna from heaven.
Graham: I'm making an addendum. A friend just brought me 20 New Glarus Spotted Cow beers from Wisconsin.
I will be drinking that. [ED Note: Bastard. That's a great beer]
Mike Jones: Bob's 47 Octoberfest at my place. I'm still balls deep in a 30-some hour CLE class that doesn't get done until Friday afternoon so I know I'm going to get shitpants drunk this weekend.
JDMill: "Balls deep" and "shitpants drunk" FTW!!!!!!
Hilary: Nom nom New Glarus