Tricked Out Tailgating at USC v. UCLA...and Football Mania

Roses are red, violets are blue.
Bruins got creamed...cuz we're #1!

Whooooooaaa.........

S-O-U-T-H-E-R-N - - C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A!
SOUTHERN CALIFOR.....NIA!

BEAT THE BRUINS!

Ahhh...what a football season of tailgating and cheering our team on to victory over our Crosstown Rival...the UCLA bRUINs. And of course, we're going to where the National Championships should have always been... the Pasadena Rose Bowl. Too bad my name didn't get picked in the season ticket holders' lottery nor was I able to get through to Ticketmaster at 8:00:00 am this past week.

I've even seen the tickets up close, given to those lucky few who had their names picked out of the sorting hat to enter the House of Champions. I was literally less than a foot away from the pile of tickets in pretty black/white envelopes with bright red roses on the fronts. All I had to do was reach out to touch them. Of course, there were a line of anxious ticket winners behind me all watching, along with the cameras filming my transaction behind the ticket office tellers. (I was only there to pick up a couple discounted Disneyland tickets for this weekend.) Not to mention, I don't have the kind of gumption to do anything that crazy or deceitful. I'm a horrible liar. Even playing a game of "Killer" is difficult for me. A couple weeks ago, MS and I played a couple rounds with his small group friends. Round 1, lucky me pulled the card to be a Cop:

Kristy is the Killer!
"I'm definitely not the killer." [Entirely true.]
Defend yourself then. Tell us why you're not the killer.
"I can't lie. If I'm lying, you can tell. I can't hold a straight face and usually laugh. I'm a horrible poker player too." [All true except on video poker because I don't have to lie in front of someone else.]
Yeah, she's not the killer.
[phew! I'm safe.]

Round 2, unlucky me pulled the card to be a Killer:

Kristy is the Killer!
"I'm not." [I say as I try to keep a straight face, using as few words as possible.]
She's too quiet! She's definitely the killer! Defend yourself!
[Oh no...I'm screwed. I tell myself to THINK!] "I'm not the Killer! I...I..." [Burst into a fit of laughter! CRAP!]
Hahaha...OK, game's over. Kristy's the Killer for sure.

Tangent story about one of my "things." I'm a horrible liar and would be an even worse crook. So even though the thought of snagging one of those coveted Rose Bowl envelopes crossed my mind, it was just a fancy fleeting moment that dreamed of the what ifs.

So instead of requesting a vacation day from work, fighting for parking at the stadium with the other 90,000+ ticketholders, paying another $25 for a stacked parking spot on top of the $175+ face value per ticket, I'll party our victory over the Texas Longhorns in the comforts of home or a special tailgating party just for hardcore fans.

Now, since I don't have cable TV, I don't get all the great FOOD TV shows like Tricked Out Tailgating with Al Roker. But because I had season tickets this year for USC, I had ample real-life tailgating opportunities to get all tricked out, whatever that means. And for my friend, Dylan, who's never been to a college football game or a tailgate for a college football game, this post is for you.

Last weekend was the last home game of the year, and the tailgating festivities began as early as 6:30 in the A.M. Major props to my pledge mom, YMS and her boyfriend who flew down from the City to pitch their tent and table in back of the Natural History Museum grass area to claim their tailgating spot before the 1:30 pm kickoff time.

MS and I parked in the lot and took the free tram over to the Coliseum. The key to parking in the lot is to take the back side entrance off the Exposition exit off of the 110 South freeway rather than Jefferson or Grand. We learned that during the course of the season. We walked by the entrepreneurial street vendors selling USC/UCLA gear, the ESPN zone, and grabbed a couple of cups of Cabernet from our usual tailgating spot. With cups in hand, we walked over to YMS' tailgate and was greeted with a lot of USC love as others booed and taunted the UCLA passerbyers.

After drinking a bit of the wine and catching up with YMS, we were offered some special liquids with a little (more like a lot of) something-something with Strawberries in plastic red Dixie cups. We had to water it down a bit with some ice, but their special recipe definitely had a big punch to it. My small almond shaped eyes popped, and my senses were all on alert!

With cups in hand, we walked back to the Chop Suey Cafe and Lounge tailgate to get our grub on. Tables were lined with red linens. Smoke filled the air from the open grill and outdoor wok. The food is always good, but with the extra something-something, everything seemed to taste that much more delicious. The mouth-on-fire spicy orange chicken wings, the teriyaki sweet BBQ spare ribs, the sesame drizzled chinese chicken salad with mandarin oranges, the mixed asian fried rice with soy sauce, the crispy green sweet peas and celery in the pan-fried chop suey noodles, the side of cool and refreshing bite-sized fruits. I had second and third helpings that day, and later...succumbed to getting some stadium kettle corn popcorn and five-dollar lemonade to satisfy my second quarter cravings for munchies and need for some re-hydration in our sun filled stadium seats in Section 25.

Can't wait for next season to start up again! Here's to a THREE-PEAT on January 4th, 2006!

Fight on!