Another Day in Paradise – Episode 4: College Football 102

November 5, 2017

Good Morning and welcome back sports fans to part deux of this double header of by blog, Another Day in Paradise.

When we left off, your host and company were debating whether or not to attend a USC football game this season. In prime position to complete this task was this past Saturday’s tilt against the nationally ranked Arizona Wildcats.

Step 1: Tailgate

As my fellow Spartans will attest, tailgating with a limited budget and no grill is possible. Fortunately, my two amigos and I had been making connections all season and had finally secured an invitation to a top notch tailgate (tailgates, in general, are a slightly more formal affair at USC than at MSU).

Since this was a night game, we arrived on campus in the evening, and jumped right into the swing of things and what a swing it was. We (myself included) were like kids on Christmas, there was food, there were cool decorations, and there were interesting people who were all getting ready to go to the game.

Step 2: Secure Tickets

We took part in the time honored tradition of walking to the game while asking everyone nearby “Hey, do you guys have any extra tickets?” Luckily for us, one gentleman did. They weren’t the best seats, but we thanked him for his generosity. You sir, can take this blog post directly to the Karma bank and redeem it.

Step 3: Game Time

We found out seats fairly easily. The stadium was actually surprisingly empty considering this was a matchup between two top 25 ranked teams in November with Pac 12 Championship implications.

No matter, we did out part and “fight-ed on” so hard that we made up for at least 10,000 empty seats at the Coliseum.

We were actually rewarded with a pretty great game. USC roared out to a big 21 – 3 lead behind the strong arm of future New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold and the swift feet of Ronald Jones II. But hold it there (I’m looking at you 20,000 more fans leaving), no one told the Wildcats that the game was over.

Led by some (insert halfhearted positive modifier) officiating and phenom Kahlil Tate, the Wildcats clawed back and knotted the score at 35 with 8:23 remaining in the game.

But we never doubted the outcome and neither did the remaining 40,000 fans. Darnold and Jones did what they do best and brought home the W, pouring it on en route to a 49 – 35 victory.

In the cool evening air, Los tres amigos walked home and basked in the victory. We even almost celebrated with a food cart hot dog but decided it was too expensive.

Good times, good friends, and a good victory to keep the Pac 12 title hopes alive.

Midterm Grade: A+

Stay tuned next week to see if your fearless protagonists can master more optimization of oil reservoir flow models before the College Football 102 final exam in two weeks versus in city rivals, the UCLA Bruins.

 

Published on November 5th, 2017

Last updated on November 24th, 2017


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