There and Back Again: A Tiger's Tail
December 3, 2007 at 9:45 p.m.
The Final Tally:
Miles Traveled: 1,933
Hours in the LeSabre: 31 hours and change
“That’s what she said” count: 147 (There were an abundance of them on the ride back)
Columbia welcomed us home last night/this morning. San Antonio we hardly knew ye. This is final installment of The Tiger Ride, the conclusion of the term paper that began with a ride toward destiny and ended with a harsh dose of reality.
It only took until the last post, but we finally have pictures to share with you. It’s time to say good-bye to the seven of you that are reading this, as we hand out The Tiger Ride’s weekend awards.
The Iron Chef Golden Ladle: Café Ole
Located on the river walk, Café Ole gave us free chips and salsa, our food was out in less than 15 minutes and they had excellent beers (aka Shiner Bock) in tap. What more could you ask for.
Runner up: McDonalds breakfast
“Did you know gullible isn’t in the dictionary?” Award: Oklahoma fan Meghan
Freshly graduated Meghan from Oklahoma was tailgating next to us when she spotted my “MIZZOU DAD” T-shirt and asked me I actually had children.
I told that indeed I did, twins in fact, and this was the conversation that followed:
OU: “When were they born?”
Me: “November 13th”
OU: “Congratulations! What are their names?”
Me: “Rucker and Donna.”
OU: “Rucker? With an ‘O’? How did you get that name?”
Me: “No, with a ‘U’, well my girlfriend/fiancée (“Oh My God Congratulations!”) and I are from Mizzou and Martin Rucker is our favorite player. We always liked the name so we decided to name our son Rucker. Donna was the name of my girlfriend’s grandmother.”
OU: “Do twins run in your family?”
Me: “Not on my side, but I believe her (pause to look like I am trying to remember) great aunts were twins.”
OU: “That is so neat!”
Me: “Well, thank you. Hey could we use your football to play catch?”
OU: “Sure, no problem!”
I don’t look like I have graduated high school, much less be the father of two children. Clearly the admission standards at Oklahoma aren’t very discerning, although I must admit I do like the name Rucker.
Runner up: Random OU mother
Me: “Bob Stoops eats babies!”
OU mom: “What a HORRIBLE thing to say!”
MVB (Most Valuable Beer): Lone Star Light
Runner up: Bud Light (Lone Star State Edition)
Eat that humble pie St. Louis, and wash it down with a Lone Star Bud Light.
LVS (Least Valuable State): Kansas
You are the black hole of the United States.
Runner up: Oklahoma (South Kansas)
You are the little brother of the black hole of the United States.
The Road Trip All-Star Playlist:
You Know My Name : Chris Cornell (007: Casino Royale theme)
International Players Anthem : UGK feat. Outkast
What Would You Do : City High
The Oh of Pleasure : Ray Lynch
Snow (Hey Oh) : Red Hot Chili Peppers
Boondock Saints theme song
God’s Bathroom Floor : Atmosphere
Brown Paper Bag : DJ Khaled
Deliverence : Bubba Sparxxx
Send me on my way : Rusted Root
Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) : The Killers
The Mark Mangino Smelliest Traveler Award: A four-way tie shared by all of us at various times during the trip for various, unsettling reasons.
Runner up: The Man in the third stall at the Subway/Conoco station in Texas.
Seriously man, get that checked out.
To sum it all up:
The trip was a college experience that I will never forget, one that ranks near (if not at) the top of the list. Although the game itself was a complete and total meltdown, it reminded me of one thing If I may be poetic for a moment, it reminded me that often our dreams aren’t realized, they often die before ever taking shape. But in those few hours when the dream could come true, when there still is a possibility that the dream will turn into reality, the feeling is pure magic.
I will not soon forget the energy that ran through my body when I would convince myself that I would be watching this Missouri Football team play for it all, nor could I contain my excitement thinking about watching the Tigers punish the Sooners live and in person.
And even though neither of those things happened, the fact that they could of is good enough for me. For now.
To everyone that helped make The Tiger Ride possible: Drew, Oz, Danny and Joe (briefly), Rob Weir, Laura Dotson and Lauren Burke – Thank You. To all of the readers, I hope you got good a glimpse of the life of a Tiger: you laughed with us, cried with us and all the other stuff that people do.
This is the Tiger Ride.
And remember, M-I-Z…
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