Black Hand Productions

Yesterday I headed up to Evanston for the Northwestern – Penn State game at Ryan Field.  If you’ve never seen a game at Northwestern I recommend it.  It is by far the smallest stadium in the BIG TEN which means you’re going to get much closer to the actual game than in any other stadium.  Not to mention tickets to Northwestern games are by far the cheapest and easiest to get.

It was a pretty solid game until the fourth quarter when Penn State’s offense finally clicked with Daryll Clark throwing a 53-yard touchdown pass and Evan Royster breaking a 69-yard touchdown run.

* Side Note:
* Being that it was Halloween Dan went as a Blind Referee:

** The other two College Football games I attended this year:  Ohio State – USC and Illinois – Penn State.
*** The rest of my photographs from the game are on Flickr.

Yesterday I headed down to Champaign with some friends for the Illinois – Penn State game at Memorial Stadium.  Penn State managed to get back on track and win 35-17.  I must say it seems like Juice Williams has been playing since Antwaan Randle El graduated from Indiana, seriously… he has to be in grad school at this point.

The weather was wet and cold but not nearly as bad as last year when I was in Champaign.  We setup a decent tailgate considering the last minute planning.  A good time was had by all.

* Side Notes:

The rest of my photographs are here.

Today a caravan of people traveled the 2 plus hours to Champaign, IL for the Ohio State – Illinois game.  Considering this was the second 11am kickoff in two weeks it was much easier to get up this week than last but that probably had a lot to do with the lack of Cosby Sweaters.

We made it down to Champaign where we utilized Emily’s parents parking spot right across from Memorial Stadium in the “Loyalty Circle”.  Our spot was next to Kentucky Fried Chicken’s but it seems the Colonel decided to sit this one out.

The game went about as well as the Northwestern game.  Pryor was spot on, Wells’ toe is the only way to tackle him and Ron Zook is a great decision maker.

Our seats were pretty good but as you can see from the pictures we were slightly obstructed by the Illini bench.  We had some what of an incident when a bunch of drunk douchebags showed up directly behind us.  They were all gun-ho for about 10 minutes and then two of them passed out.  About 10 minutes later one of them vomited on themselves.

I adhere to a strict rule when attending sporting events:  

If you vomit, you leave.

It’s pretty simple and I believe Civilization hinges on upholding this standard.  After telling the guys who were with the offender that he’d have to go they decided otherwise.  Nick and I decided that we’d have to get the usher.  Needless to say the issue was resolved when the Illinois State Police got involved.

* As a side note this is the second time in as many days that I’ve been at a sporting event where some one has thrown up in the seats behind me.

View Larger Map

** This is my last BIG TEN Football game of the year leaving me with just two stadiums that I need to visit in the coming years:

1. Iowa
2. Minnesota

*** The rest of the photographs are on Flickr.

On Saturday Nick, Emily and I headed up to Evanston for the Ohio State – Northwestern game.  The game started kind of slow but Ohio State pulled away early in the third quarter.  Terrelle Pryor could consider this his breakout game after some of the touchdown passes he threw.  Northwestern’s game planned consists of the Quarterback Draw and the punt.

View Larger Map

Up next:  Illinois:

Saturday night I went to my first football game of the year, Penn State at Wisconsin, I was able to add another notch in my BIG TEN stadium belt by visiting Camp Randal Stadium for the first time.  The game was a blow out from the second quarter on as No. 6 Penn State rolled to another victory.  The above picture is of Penn State’s Derrick Williams as he returned a punt for a touchdown in the third quarter.

View Larger Map

*After hearing bad things the last two weeks about Wisconsin fans in Madison I’d have to say it was a cake walk.  The only thing (and I stress the only thing) that happed to us was a random middle finger at halftime to which I respond by asking:  ”Really?  A middle finger?”.

** The rest of my photographs are on Flickr.

Julie and I added to the list of Big Ten stadiums I’ve visited on Saturday by seeing the Indiana – Penn State game this weekend in Bloomington. For it being Indiana Football the game was a rather competitive. Indiana made a late rally but still came up short 36-31. Nearly all of the points in the game were scored in the opposite side of the stadium where our seats were. That side of the stadium is a construction zone (literally there’s a bulldozer and re-bar everywhere) and there is no net for behind the goal posts. So everytime a field goal or an extra point is scored the ball just sails into a dirt and then some kid goes and gets it. Classic Indiana.

Five reasons I now know Indiana is known as the Land of Mellencamp:

1. The IU band insisted on playing Mellencamp’s greatest hits between plays.
2. Memorial Stadium is just a stones throw from John Mellencamp Pavilion training facility.
3. I actually heard Jack & Diane on the radio while in Indiana.
4. The open end of the stadium is literally a dirt pile.
5. When I tried to call a cab in downtown Bloomington the operator asked “What town are you in?”

Sucking on a chili dog indeed.

Google Maps: Big Ten Stadiums:

View Larger Map
So far, so good. I only have Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota left on my list. Bloomington was about 4 hours from Chicago (compared to the 2 hours it takes to get to West Lafayette) so we made it into an overnight trip.

On Saturday I drove to Ann Arbor to meet up with Luke and catch the Michigan – Penn State game. The morning got off to a great start when I woke at 5:40 am head to the shower and head out only to find there was no hot water. Perfect. Luke and I met up with his friend from college Danielle and her boyfriend Tobias.. We grabbed a couple beers and then began our march to the Stadium. As you can see by the pictures below it was interesting to say the least.

Of course Michigan won the game. I’ve been to probably 7 Michigan games with the hope they would lose and I think it’s only happened twice. Considering their 0-2 record when I bought the tickets this game was a sure thing. Or so I believed. Michigan was able to run between the 20′s pretty effectively but the difference in the game was an early fumble by Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli in the first quarter which lead to a touchdown. There were several shady calls (Instant Replay and Pass Interference) which only confirms my belief that playing at Michigan is nearly a certain defeat if it’s a close game.

Other than that it was a good time. Our seats were great, the weather was perfect and the assholes who sat behind us left at Halftime. After the game we headed out with Luke’s friends for a couple drinks where we had Strongbow on draft. With those drinks and the two pints of Magic Hat #9 I had during dinner made it a successful trip.

Thanks to Tobias for driving me taking me to two different liquor stores in search of a case of Magic Hat. The search was unsuccessful but at least an attempt was made.

Google Maps: Big Ten Stadiums:

View Larger Map
Since moving to Chicago my goal has been to see all of the Big Ten Stadiums. I’m nearly halfway.

Appalachian State’s upset of Michigan is The Game of the Century. By far there hasn’t been a bigger upset in the last 7 years (hence the Century term). Put strictly in historical terms:

Appalachian State has a winning record against the University of Michigan.

This is just another reason why College Football is the greatest sport ever. Meanwhile, ESPN is attempting to break into my football watching for the second consecutive night to show me a potential no hitter. Who cares. Wins & Loses. That’s all that matters. Ask formerly #5 Michigan.

Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr after the game:

“I’ve never been part of a loss that wasn’t miserable, and I don’t think I ever will be.”

You’ve also never beaten Appalachian State.

Yesterday the College Football season offically began across the country, I partook in the festivities in Happy Valley. After a 4 hour drive and a 2 mile hike through mud and rain we made it to the first bar we could find, Bill Pickle’s Tap Room. There we caught some early games on television and warmed our souls with a couple pitchers of beer before heading to the stadium.

Besides the continous rain the game was good and oddly enough there was really no running game by either team. Penn State managed to pull away late in the third quarter for a 34-16 victory. Penn State’s Quarterback Athony Morelli made his collegiate debut yesterday against Akron going 16-of-32 206 yards with three touchdowns.

The photograph above was my view from the game. As you can see it was pretty wet.

This past Saturday I visited Happy Valley for what was a sloppy but good football game. The Nittany lions of Penn State defeated the Golden Knights of Central Florida 37-13. Despite several turnovers by senior quarterback Zack Mills (4 fumbles, 2 INTs) the Lions managed to win their third game of the season by more than 20 points. Tony Hunt lead Penn State with 125 yards for 3 touchdowns.

Next up for Penn State: Wisconsin