Good to be back on the road. It's been too long.
For the disappointment about last night and the negativity surrounding this season, I have to say that it was a nice feeling to wake up without an alarm clock early this morning, so excited about making my way out here. I doubt I'll ever lose that feeling.... I never did from the bad years before this one.
I didn't realize, until I drove out there in 2012, how far west in Alabama Tuscaloosa sits. And I didn't realize until the other day how far east in Mississippi Starkville is located. The two towns are only about 85 miles apart. Never knew that.
The drives to each Mississippi school from Atlanta involve an awful lot of empty space. Just a lot of trees and farm land... I haven't spent any time in Starkville before today, but I think Oxford is probably the better town. I don't know, I guess I'm not giving this place a fair shake yet, but my first impressions are that there isn't a whole lot here.
I had lunch at Hank's #1 BBQ in Columbus MS, about 25 miles east of here. I have to say, it was A+ stuff.... I combo'd the ribs and brisket.... The former you should shake off the bone with toddler strength, the latter was as flavorful brisket as I've ever had. The sides were good too. They had a baked potato salad that was very creamy, but consistent, and also carried a deep flavor. It actually reminded me of the potato salad at Vortex in Atlanta. Maybe that bodes well for the weekend. It was as good of road trip BBQ as I've had in quite awhile. Next up, is (hopefully, I assume they're still open) Mallet Brothers in Texas, between Houston and College Station.
And, I got the Jim Rome Show (which I like a lot, but get to listen to very often) crystal clear for the last hour or so of the drive. Maybe that bodes well too.
I spent a lot of time on the ride over thinking about where things are, how they got here, and what can be done to get things on track. It's a long answer to all three of those, I think, more than I'm willing to devote to it now. I think one thing that sports teaches us, and one lesson about becoming an adult, is that sometimes the best you can do is approach a situation with class and dignity, do as well as you can, and let the chips fall where they will. If everyone plays as well as he can tonight, I think we'll all sleep just fine, regardless of the score. That's not to say the result doesn't matter, it does, but where we are now, we just need to play a good, solid 9 innings. We need to prove to ourselves that we can do that, I think. I'm not willing to say this team is going nowhere. Not yet. We've got 26 conference games left. This doesn't have to go poorly.
For the disappointment about last night and the negativity surrounding this season, I have to say that it was a nice feeling to wake up without an alarm clock early this morning, so excited about making my way out here. I doubt I'll ever lose that feeling.... I never did from the bad years before this one.
I didn't realize, until I drove out there in 2012, how far west in Alabama Tuscaloosa sits. And I didn't realize until the other day how far east in Mississippi Starkville is located. The two towns are only about 85 miles apart. Never knew that.
The drives to each Mississippi school from Atlanta involve an awful lot of empty space. Just a lot of trees and farm land... I haven't spent any time in Starkville before today, but I think Oxford is probably the better town. I don't know, I guess I'm not giving this place a fair shake yet, but my first impressions are that there isn't a whole lot here.
I had lunch at Hank's #1 BBQ in Columbus MS, about 25 miles east of here. I have to say, it was A+ stuff.... I combo'd the ribs and brisket.... The former you should shake off the bone with toddler strength, the latter was as flavorful brisket as I've ever had. The sides were good too. They had a baked potato salad that was very creamy, but consistent, and also carried a deep flavor. It actually reminded me of the potato salad at Vortex in Atlanta. Maybe that bodes well for the weekend. It was as good of road trip BBQ as I've had in quite awhile. Next up, is (hopefully, I assume they're still open) Mallet Brothers in Texas, between Houston and College Station.
And, I got the Jim Rome Show (which I like a lot, but get to listen to very often) crystal clear for the last hour or so of the drive. Maybe that bodes well too.
I spent a lot of time on the ride over thinking about where things are, how they got here, and what can be done to get things on track. It's a long answer to all three of those, I think, more than I'm willing to devote to it now. I think one thing that sports teaches us, and one lesson about becoming an adult, is that sometimes the best you can do is approach a situation with class and dignity, do as well as you can, and let the chips fall where they will. If everyone plays as well as he can tonight, I think we'll all sleep just fine, regardless of the score. That's not to say the result doesn't matter, it does, but where we are now, we just need to play a good, solid 9 innings. We need to prove to ourselves that we can do that, I think. I'm not willing to say this team is going nowhere. Not yet. We've got 26 conference games left. This doesn't have to go poorly.
