NerkBuck
Junior
The recent chatter about a possible OSU-UM Orange Bowl matchup has me thinking about 2002 and the surreal NC night in Tempe. I'd like to share my celebration of that night with all of you.
I was lucky to be in the stadium that night, and after the on-field celebration concluded, we staggered out (sheer emotional exhaustion) into the streets, looking for a place to celebrate. Ran into Sapp's "limo" (unusually quiet) and Eddie G. (all smiles and emotionally exhausted like the rest of us). Unfortunately, all watering holes closed shortly after gametime, as did convenience stores. Escapes to our hotels were impossible, as cab waits were 1-2 hours.
3 of us (friend and his wife) saw a cab waiting for some UM fans, we quickly greased him with a fifty, and he took off with the UM fans chasing us down the street.
Once back to my friends' hotel, we grabbed our beer, put my friend's wife to bed, and hit the most beautiful large stone jacuzzi that I'd ever seen. Around 3:00am, a heavily tattooed biker dude comes out and asks us for a beer. He's from Columbus and is a Buckeye, so of course he joins the party. At 4:00am, an executive from Texas calls down from his balcony, and asks if he can join us. He's a Buckeye, so he's in, along with his Cuban stogies and Stoli that he thoughtfully brought down with him.
From 4 until sunrise, the 4 hard core Buckeyes from disparate backgrounds, recounted the game and our respective heritages. The best part occured about every half hour when we would spontaneously point to the center of the jacuzzi (think 4 derelicts in a 16 person jacuzzi, each sitting equidistant from the next, passing around beers and vodka while smoking Cubans) and then to the star filled desert sky, at which time we would all scream "We are The National Champions!", jump out of the jacuzzi, climb up an adjoining stone wall and cannonball into the adjacent pool. At sunrise we went our separate ways, and I stormed to Denny's to have breakfast while reading my Fiesta Bowl program.
Excessive? Yes, but I'll never forget it. Hope you enjoy it.
Go Bucks!
I was lucky to be in the stadium that night, and after the on-field celebration concluded, we staggered out (sheer emotional exhaustion) into the streets, looking for a place to celebrate. Ran into Sapp's "limo" (unusually quiet) and Eddie G. (all smiles and emotionally exhausted like the rest of us). Unfortunately, all watering holes closed shortly after gametime, as did convenience stores. Escapes to our hotels were impossible, as cab waits were 1-2 hours.
3 of us (friend and his wife) saw a cab waiting for some UM fans, we quickly greased him with a fifty, and he took off with the UM fans chasing us down the street.
Once back to my friends' hotel, we grabbed our beer, put my friend's wife to bed, and hit the most beautiful large stone jacuzzi that I'd ever seen. Around 3:00am, a heavily tattooed biker dude comes out and asks us for a beer. He's from Columbus and is a Buckeye, so of course he joins the party. At 4:00am, an executive from Texas calls down from his balcony, and asks if he can join us. He's a Buckeye, so he's in, along with his Cuban stogies and Stoli that he thoughtfully brought down with him.
From 4 until sunrise, the 4 hard core Buckeyes from disparate backgrounds, recounted the game and our respective heritages. The best part occured about every half hour when we would spontaneously point to the center of the jacuzzi (think 4 derelicts in a 16 person jacuzzi, each sitting equidistant from the next, passing around beers and vodka while smoking Cubans) and then to the star filled desert sky, at which time we would all scream "We are The National Champions!", jump out of the jacuzzi, climb up an adjoining stone wall and cannonball into the adjacent pool. At sunrise we went our separate ways, and I stormed to Denny's to have breakfast while reading my Fiesta Bowl program.
Excessive? Yes, but I'll never forget it. Hope you enjoy it.
Go Bucks!
