Joyce's Pumpkin Carving 2009

No, it's not technically tailgating, but it does have the following in common with our Saturdays:

1. Competitiveness (there is voting, just like the BCS)
2. Alcohol (beer, wine, fru-fru drinks)
3. Decapitated Barbie dolls (OK, maybe this one is different)

Thanks to Joyce who made her umpteenth annual Pumpkin Carving contest the best in recent memory - even if her garage was the perfect setting for an Addams Family/Hee-Haw/Justin Timberlake video. (Yes, there was hay. Good alfalfa hay, by the way - not that cheap Cary hay) Appearing here is the contest winner from this year - the lesson: cannibalism is always a winner.

Oktoberfest On Tap for Nov. 7

Can we do Oktoberfest in November? Well, our two games in October were missing some of our regular crowd and, actually, the real Oktoberfest (in Munich) is actually in September. So there! The 3:00 kickoff for the Duke game will allow much revelry and a celebration of good food, beer and company. The annual Oktoberfest tailgate is traditionally one of our biggest and best - the recent move to the expanses of the Friday Center lot should do nothing but add to the party. All my beloved readers (yes, both of you) are invited to attend: we will be set up in the (free) lot by 10:30 to allow time for the post-lunch Oktoberfest beer tasting. Details to follow.

Disgusted, etc.- Heavy on the etc.

No other way to describe Thursday night's FSU game, other than to note the f0llowing:

1. My house is exactly 10.8 miles from Kenan Stadium and I arrived home at 1:26 AM, after:
a. I did not enjoy watching our $2 million coach oversee a second-half collapse against a team with virtually no defense
b. For the first time in three games, someone I asked for a hot dog during the game did not disappear (yea, Kent!). Yes, this is a bit creepy (and I will want one for the Duke game, so watch out)
c. Navy jerseys AND pants look like crap (It's freaking CAROLINA BLUE)
d. I followed the University's suggestions and took the Park-and-Ride option - giving up my Park Place parking space - and still had less than 3o minutes after the game before NC last call to get a beer
e. The $2.50 import drafts at Brixx on Thursday rock (particularly for the Half-and-Half)
f. FSU fans are generally OK (at least the traveling ones)
g. Beer pong needs the translucent Solo cups (as pointed out by Dave)
h. Tailgating is better with more people
i. Chapel Hill is the best place in NC to be in - but the worst place to get to and out of
j. For a Fall Break game, the students did an admirable job
k. To the visitors' side, the Liquid Pleasure halftime show accompaniment to the band was off tempo (but the idea excellent)
l. I will try not to add too much to the Erin Andrews hype (the ubiquitous comments from behind us at the game did enough of that) but I will submit that, for someone that spends all her camera time from the waist up, she was sporting rather clingy garb in Chapel Hill on her lower extremities; perhaps she was meeting recent grad B. Frasor at Players' after the game (sorry, Bobby - you could have worse rumors attributed).
m. ACC officiating is the tops - ranking right up there with MLB (it's called the Rule Book, by the way).
n. Chapel Hill Country Club may be exclusive, but the course quality does not approach the layout or conditioning of UNC Finley right now. The Finley green fees are out of line for a "public" course, but compared to its closest neighbor, Finley's course is a clear winner.
o. Public buses to the game are great places to meet people - from Roanoke Rapids Yellow Jacket supporters to folks heading home to Marion and Winterville - we are truly THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
p. People continue to bash Coach Shoop and the UNC offense; however, how many fans would have assumed an easy win if they had been promised 27 points?
q. Though the ZZW has been in existence for only nine years (in various forms), its editor has been fortuitously married to the most wonderful woman in the world for ten as of October 23. As we pass from our first ten years into the next 1oo, I cannot overstate her influence on my life. Saccharine though it may be to wish happy anniversary wishes to her via electronic means, no vocabulary can encompass what she means to me. Happy anniversary, honey.

Bars in Chapel Hill

OK - Thursday night kickoff this week, and since the ZZW has arranged for a sitter for Thursday afternoon, your intrepid reporter and his beautiful and talented wife will be descending upon the Hill early as our parking space is not available until 5:30. We do sympathize with those UNC employees displaced by the Thursday game (we're all about academics, right?), but the important thing is that we are faced with a decision on pre-game festivites. Of course, we have the old standards - Bub's (shuffleboard and $2 pitchers - oops, that was 1993), Linda's (loaded fries...mmmmm), T.S. Eliot's (home of watching great hoops victories) and He's Not (blue cups...mmmmm). The question is what to do? Though the ZZW is partial to Carolina Brewery and its barbecue and Oktoberfest brew, it may be the time for an old school afternoon - Linda's for lunch (home to the Bush Push - sorry, Mark and The Book) and He's Not for a blue cup before heading south to our Park Place space...has anyone been to the "R&R Grill" that has taken the old Goldie's (or, for you 1990s grads, Papagayo's) space? That's where the Tar Heel Sports Network postgame show is originated - from whence legendary UNC tight end Deems May stated two weeks ago that UNC needs "wholesale personnel changes" on offense. No word as to where UNC will find new offensive linemen after having nine injured since the spring.

Zoomba Golfer Makes the Big Time

Finally, one of our own showcases her golf game on the big stage - Sanford's Taylor Frazier prepares to lead her team toward the State Championship. All of us could learn a lesson from her free-flowing, fundamental swing. Fortunately for us, she doesn't want to be seen playing with us old guys.

http://www.sanfordherald.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Golf-+Cavaliers+complete+unbeaten+season%20&id=3990943-Golf-+Cavaliers+complete+unbeaten+season&instance=main_article

New Tailgate Spot a Hit

Though the crowd was short a few stalwarts this week, the move to the Hwy. 54 Friday Center lot Saturday was an unqualified success. With perfect weather, plenty of grassy space and the addition of Jason, Barbie, Samantha and Emily to our regular group, the Georgia Southern tailgate was relaxed and prepared us well for an excellent showing by the UNC defense. Though Dave, Pam and Don were missing in action (all with good excuses, however), we look forward to returning to the space for the Miami and Duke games in November. Because the crowd for the Thursday night Florida State game will be small and UNC lots not open until 5:30, the Hunters, Neills and Creeches will be beginning their tailgate in downtown Chapel Hill and finishing in the "old" Park Place lot. No comments on the game as the Heels enjoyed what was basically a scrimmage that cost $50 to watch.

First-ever Change of Tailgate Location this week!

The University Baptist Student Association has seen fit to raise the parking fee for its lot adjacent to the Park Place lot from $10 to $20. We feel it is unfair to ask our guests to shell out that amount just to join us this week. Therefore, for the first time in nine years, we will be moving our tailgate to the Friday Center parking lot just off Hwy. 54. Not only is the lot free of charge (yes, in Chapel Hill) but it has plenty of room and has bus service directly to the stadium and back. This is a temporary change, we believe, but we will be carefully monitoring the level of fun Saturday to determine whether a permanent change is prudent. This week's party will be smaller than usual due to a few outside commitments but we anticipate an interesting afternoon with a fresh perspective on tailgating. The current plan is to be in the lot by 12 noon for the 3:30 kickoff.

What About the Booing?

It only took one home game after being ranked in the Top 25 for the debate to begin: should fans boo at collegiate athletic events? It was apparent against UVA Saturday that several folks had no moral issue with the question as the offense was booed from the first possession (regardless of which side of this issue you're on, that's a bit early). The debate was brought to a climax in our section late in the fourth quarter when an otherwise low-key gentleman sitting a few seats to our left stood up and yelled at some folks behind us who had been espousing negativity throughout the game - he had had enough hearing about how terrible all the players were and expressed that to the aforementioned screamers.

Fans can get hostile to their teams, coaches and players - in addition to their opposing fans, coaches or players - because of their emotional involvement in the outcome of the contest. Some people would undoubtedly say that this involvement is not healthy at any level; "it's just a game." However, as long as this involvement ends (or at least subsides) after a reasonable amount of time following the event, I would argue that placing one's faith and hopes in an athletic team is not unhealthy but can provide an outlet to emotions that could otherwise harm relationships in one's life that matter much more than an athletic contest. As my credentials in psychology are somewhat suspect, I will simply address the booing issue here. (Though I will mention that there is a difference between college and professional school/team loyalty, significantly that folks largely cheer for schools that share somewhat in their personal values, which can be rooted in geography, religion, personal attachment (alumni) - you will not generally back a school for which you wish not to be identified as a fan. Professional rooting interests are almost purely geographically based.)

Back to the issue - should a fan boo a college athlete? Their are two main arguments here: First, at UNC fans have paid at least $50 for their ticket, probably $10-20 for parking and some have donated money to the Rams Club (money that they see going directly to Coach Davis - we'll get to that in a minute) and they feel they have the right to express their opinions loudly whenever they want. The most often heard opposing view is that you should never boo college athletes because they are not being paid and that "amateur" athletics should be purely for the spirit of competition.

The differences here are that, yes, you have a right to express displeasure and boo if you want -but you do not have the right to unreasonably impinge on other fans' enjoyment of the game. This is the tipping point of the argument - what is unreasonable. Obviously the gentleman on Saturday felt that his point had been reached. He was assailed, of course, with the "wine and cheese" argument from the louder fans. I can personally log an opinion here - three years ago I realized that my language at games was out of line at times, finally noticing young children around us that shouldn't be exposed to that behavior (this epiphany probably catalyzed by the birth of my own daughter). This is also where professional and collegiate sports diverge for me - if you go to a pro game you need to expect a different level of decorum; at a college sports event, you cannot complain about it being too loud (or folks standing up in front of you, UNC fans) but you do have the right to not have to listen to repeated profanity.

This gets me to my final point - yes, one has a right to boo at a college game - but only directly at participants who are paid to perform at that game. This includes coaches (whose salary is paid directly by a large number of fans) and, of course, officials. There is no reason why a coach paid in the top tier of his profession should deliver a product similar to that of a predecessor paid in the lowest tier; unfortunately at this point in 2009 that is exactly what is happening in Chapel Hill. So, feel free to boo the inevitable first play in each possession - the ubiquitous off-tackle run for 1 yard - but do not boo Mr. Yates for throwing an interception on 3rd and 21 after he's been sacked twice.

In Honor of This Week's Visitors: Stay Off Our Grounds!

Hey, UNC isn't in this Top 25 either, though I'm sure some folks would disagree...
http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_10779

I would have given Mr. Jefferson's University more votes; no way Duke is that much more...er...prententiously predilected (?) than the kids in Charlottesville.

2009 Season Begins with The Citadel

A bucolic day to begin the 2009 tailgating season as the crew settles in at Park Place to prepare for The Citadel. The Bullocks from Rocky Mount, whose daughter spent the afternoon cheering her mates from The Citadel, joined the traditional crowd for brats, beer and popsicles.

Welcome to the e-ZZW!

I have reluctantly made the move to an e-edition of the famed Zigga Zoomba Weekly in response to the urging of friends and to my wish to make the invaluable prose of the ZZW available to a larger audience. While the web undoubtedly offers a wider palette for literal and figurative illustration of UNC tailgating, I grew up reading newspapers, savoring the beauty of the written word and learning my (admittedly amateur) craft of description and satire. Though I decry the lack of depth in reporting continually exhbited by the majority of television and online news, I make this move in hopes that, like those early editors accepting the Gutenberg press, my belief in the beauty of a turn of phrase will survive the modernization of its delivery.

Though anxious due to the gravity of the move, I am excited about the opportunity the new format offers its consumers - no longer will you have to take my excruciatingly witty (and good-natured) comments about you with no venue for response; those of you that are familiar with blogging know that it allows something no conversation with most of my friends allows - a free and clear opportunity to respond to any argument or statement without interruption. Should be quite a departure from most of our conversations.

If you've read this far, you have hopefully discerned that my writing here will result from no less effort than that of the print edition; whether you think it's as enjoyable (or if it ever was) is up for (virtual) debate. As the ZZW approaches its 10th anniversary in 2010, I hope that it will continue to be a forum for friends and family to express themselves and celebrate the events that bring us together six or seven times each fall.

Now that this sappy intro is done, let the besmirching begin!