Tuesday Potluck: Changes // B1G 2018

If there’s any one thing that’s constant in life with P.J. Fleck, it’s change. The man is a damn whirlwind of energy and attempts at constant improvement. Nothing is sacred (don’t worry about taking notes, this will be in my manifesto later about why he’ll never be Notre Dame’s coach), and everything can be tweaked and made better. Oars can be added, uniforms can be adjusted, serving and giving can be done as more than just punishment. Even if it’s not broke, it can be fixed a little bit. It’s just like me when I’m fiddling around in the kitchen. Sometimes the little things can make a huge improvement to a process. And because I don’t have the brainpower to come up with two catchy segues in one post while working on month-end financial reporting, what’s the one change you would like to make to your team’s stadium to make it better? It could be big (completely razing camp randall, burning the rubble, and pissing on the ashes would make wisconsin’s gameday experience much better) or small (when TCF Bank Stadium opened there were just calculators and cash boxes in the concession stands. Adding actual cash registers was HUGE!)

What’s your favorite little change to a simple food or drink that that makes it much much better?

WSR: #DadLyfe has me making a ton of grilled cheese all the time. Between that, macaroni and cheese, and pancakes, I’m constantly making the same things over and over and over again like an unfunny version of Groundhog Day that definitely doesn’t include a 1993 version of Andie McDowell. The one thing that’s really helped the Grilled Cheese is the addition of various spices to the butter on the bread. The easiest is just putting garlic salt on, then grilling it to add a little flavor.

LGHF: Put chips in a basic sandwich. Boom. Crunch and flavor.

Boilerman31: Probably the easiest thing for me is adding extra cheese to a dish. Whether that’s a microwave dinner, frozen pizza, or your basic hot dog. Cheese will never steer you wrong.

MNW: WSR’s definitely got it with the garlic salt on the grilled cheese. That’s a personal favorite of mine, too.

Aaron: I make a lot of tuna salad during Passover every year, and I’ve learned over the years that a little horseradish goes a long way to making it taste somewhat exciting.

BRT: Add diced sweet potatoes to your chili recipe. The mild sweetness works amazingly with the spiciness. I get compliments on that addition every single time.

Stew: For all frozen pizzas I add freshly chopped garlic and some of the herb and cheese blend from Papa Murphy’s. Easily spruces them up.

Beez: For food I’d have to say hot sauce of some kind. Crystal, choloula, Franks, something. Usually in chili or on leftover pizza or added to something that’s kinda mediocre to make it more interesting to eat. For drinks? Um...ice? I’m always surprised how much better a coke is in a glass with ice than out of a can or bottle.

If you could change one thing to your stadium, what would it be?

WSR: There’s no reason to change anything with TCF Bank Stadium. It’s perfect. Until the NFL collapses upon itself like a bloated, corrupt neutron star and we need to add a 3rd deck.

Boilerman31: Now that lights have been added, Ross-Ade really needs the South End Zone updates to happen. The beer garden was a nice gameday touch, but it’s time to take it next level.

MNW: Nuh-uh. Nope. You won’t get me here. Good try, bub.

Aaron: More seat backs! The bleachers were fine when I was a student and standing for the entire game, but now that I’m old I would like to lean back every once in a while. I remember my first game with a seat back was a few months after I graduated against Illinois in the 2008 Big Ten opener. It was glorious, but my old roommate and I had to sit high above the south end zone in order to score those seats. Fans should be able to enjoy seat backs throughout Beaver Stadium!

BRT: Take down the signs. You know the ones. Otherwise, it’s a lovely stadium and you should all visit at least once.

Stew: It’s really a toss up between using the fancy new video boards for things other than advertising and offering food other than generic, shitty, overpriced Aramark.

Beez: I haven’t been to Camp Randall in 13 years, but my answer is the same as always. I’d change how the student section is organized or how people are seated or whatever you want to call it. It was a disaster of a “system” when I was in undergrad and I’ve heard it’s still terrible. It slows down entrants from the beginning of the game through the second quarter, it encourages cramming into the lower ⅔ of the seats making it look empty up top, and insert a third thing to make this list look fancy and complete. I don’t have any solution, but I’ll enthusiastically bemoan the problem. #OnBrand