Looking back on an historic football weekend, these notes made their way from a reporter’s scribbled handwriting to the Sports Headliners home page.
11:30 a.m. on Friday: I return a call to Gopher football fan Mike Wilkinson. He wants to know if I am excited about the TCF Bank Stadium opener. Yes, but I don’t verbalize the hesitation I feel from years of Gopher disappointments.
Wilkinson mentions he did a trial drive to the stadium on Thursday. Then he passes along the news President Barack Obama will be in town, adding to potential traffic problems. I know someone who frequently sends out anti-Obama emails and is a Gopher fan. You can bet he’ll blame Obama for any traffic snafus.
9:30 a.m. on Saturday: Working on estimated tax payments, so the morning is off to a dark beginning. The tax code needs to be revised but it’s kind of like the common cold. A lot of people talk about changing the code but we don’t come up with a cure.
10:30 a.m. Dave Mona calls and we agree the Gopher-Air Force game will be close. So do the odds-makers who have the spread down to about three points. If this game were in Colorado Springs the Falcons would be favored. We pick Minnesota to win.
11:15 a.m. Overmatched Syracuse is playing with heart against Penn State. Last week the Orange was one for 12 on third down conversions against the Gophers. No way Air Force does that tonight (finishes 12 for 21).
11:50 a.m. Fresno State goes up 21-7 on Wisconsin in Madison. What a swell Saturday if the Badgers lose, Iowa State beats Iowa and the Gophers win.
Noon: I find a check in the morning mail. Things are looking up.
1:25 p.m. Head for the health club before testing the traffic on the way to the stadium.
2 p.m. I think about Gophers coach Tim Brewster who is always upbeat, but today is something special for him and the players as they open the stadium.
2:07 p.m. Feel bad that I couldn’t come up with tickets for my son. He waited too long to ask, though. Someone will read this and email that they had extra tickets.
3 p.m. Drive by Metrodome on way to campus. Just miss the Twins crowd exiting the stadium and also avoid an Obama blockade. Earlier in the day my wife’s car was “parked” for about 15 minutes on Crosstown Highway 62.
3:10 p.m. I pull into my parking space about six blocks from TCF Bank Stadium. There are only a couple of cars but people are tailgating here and all over campus.
3:45 p.m. Near Oak Street and Washington Avenue a grandmother makes this comment on a gorgeous summer afternoon: “When it gets to be 10 degrees in November one of my grandchildren will be in my seat.”
3:50 p.m. There won’t be any alcohol served in the stadium but there’s plenty available nearby including at the McNamara Alumni Center. Maroon and gold dressed fans are everywhere enjoying themselves like they had waited 30 years for this.
4:10 p.m. A friend wearing a University of Arizona cap with a large “A” is targeted by an Arizona State fan. I guess you never know when a college football rivalry will surface.