The game is on

This will be the last blog post until at least halftime for two reasons:
Number 1: Live blogging is not allowed.
Number 2: Anyone who would read this is probably busy watching the game.

Oh give me a home ...

Colorado has one of the cooler mascots around Ralphie IV is a live 1,200-pound female buffalo. According to the media guide, the current mascot was donated to CU by Ted Turner. That's kind of surprising because Turner runs Ted's Montana Grill which includes bison burgers on its menu.

Two local groups

Cecil Garrison and Anthony Pate brought their families from Lincoln. Pate had planned to come for a while, but Garrison decide to come on Thursday. He and his crew left around 5:30 Saturday, drove until midnight and then got up and came the rest of the way this morning.

Pate (who was quoted in my print story this morning) and his family say they like the bowl because of the increased access to the team and the field. Pate's son Colton was able to get on the field yesterday and said he ran around and did a Reggie Bush-style flip across the goal line.
"It was awesome being in there," he said.

LSU fans are out in force

The surprise of the night so far is the number of purple-clad LSU fans. Some of the more impressive tailgating setups are from the Tiger supporters. Walking through the tailgate area, there were about three Alabama fans and two LSU fans for every Colorado fan.
I guess if you are an LSU fan in Shreveport you could come to the game just like I'm sure there were a few Bama fans at the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham.
Lincoln resident and Bama fan Cecil Garrison had another theory.
"They're here to boo Saban," he said. "They said we love your fans but we hate your coach."
I'll be interested to see what kind of reception he gets at the game.

Pictures from tailgating

Nathan Davis, Super Fan

A better picture of the Monroe billboard

I found a better picture of the La. Monroe billboard here at the War Eagle Reader. I saw the board on the way in but in my post I was only able to get a blurry-bigfoot-in-the-woods style shot out the car window. The rest of the site is full of anti-Bama stuff, but I thought I'd include the picture.
All right, now it's time for tailgating. -aj

Warming up to Shreveport

I know that I've made a few posts talking bad about Shreveport, but it's really a pretty nice place. We had lunch at the Louisiana Boardwalk which is right on the Red River and is right up there with cities like Chattanooga when it comes to a nice place to walk around and eat or shop. Here are a few more pictures of the boardwalk (which is actually all concrete). Next I'm headed out to the tailgating area.

Winning record the only prize

Here is Creg's print story. -aj

By Creg Stephenson
Star Sports Writer

12-30-2007

SHREVEPORT, La. — Finishing the season with a winning record will be the reward for the winner of tonight's Independence Bowl, but just getting here was a near-epic struggle for both Alabama and Colorado.

Considering how it played the final month of the regular season, Alabama (6-6) is lucky just to be back in Shreveport for a second consecutive year. The Crimson Tide returns to the Independence Bowl after losing its last four regular-season games under first-year coach Nick Saban, to finish with a .500 record for the second consecutive year.

On Oct. 20, Alabama sat at 6-2 and ranked No. 17 in the country after blasting Tennessee 41-17. But consecutive losses to LSU, Mississippi State, Louisiana-Monroe and Auburn knocked the Crimson Tide from its perhaps prematurely lofty perch and had the team holding its breath when bowl matchups were announced earlier this month.

"It's not like we intentionally wanted to lose our last four games so that we could wind up in Shreveport again," Alabama defensive end Wallace Gilberry said. "Unfortunately, we fell off at the end, but there's nothing we can do now to change that. The only thing we can do is focus on what we need to do to improve and go out and get a win."

Judging by where it was a year ago, Colorado (6-6) is ecstatic to be playing in a bowl again, any bowl game. The Buffaloes went 2-10 in 2006 under first-year coach Dan Hawkins, but rebounded for victories against the likes of Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Nebraska this season.

Full story

Bama fans show spirit at Independence Bowl

Here is the print story that ran this morning. -aj

By Andy Johns
Star Staff Writer

12-30-2007

SHREVEPORT, La. — One night earlier this week, Edna Daniels couldn't stand the wait any longer. She was ready to go at midnight, too excited to sleep. She forced herself to sleep a few more hours before getting up at 3 a.m.

She wasn't waiting for St. Nick. She was waiting for Coach Nick.

"We started to leave at midnight but we made ourselves sleep," said Daniels, a Munford resident who left for the Independence Bowl in the wee hours Friday morning. "We were so excited."

It was raining in Munford when they left at 5:20 a.m., and it rained on them all the way to Meridian, Miss. But she had faith that there was a bowl of gold at the end of the rainbow.

"We knew it would be sunny here, because Nick is here," she said Friday. "We're all Nick Chicks."

Full story

We made it

Busy night tonight. We are here at the media hotel. More tomorrow.

Take 1 tsp. salt, add to wound

For Alabama, the route to the Independence Bowl both literally and figuratively goes right through Louisiana-Monroe. And the fans in Monroe want Tide fans to remember. Below is a bad picture of a billboard along I-20 in Monroe.

It reads “Tide Rolled!” and then the score of Alabama’s loss. If Bama wins that game we’re on the way to Memphis or Nashville or Dallas or Atlanta. I don’t mean to rub it in, but I bet the Monroe fans do.

In Cajun Country ... well not really

We’ve crossed over the Mississippi River and are now in Louisiana. The part of the state we are in reminds me a lot of South Georgia or South Alabama. Shreveport is a long way from the bayous of New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Everything was going smooth until we have run into this traffic jam about 80 miles from Shreveport.

While we’re stuck I’ll post some pictures from Louisiana. Below are pictures from crossing the Mississippi.

"Moving on to Mississippi" or "Chugging past Chunky"

We’ve crossed over to Mississippi now and stopped for free coffee at the Welcome Center. The parking lot had several cars with Alabama tags and more than a few UA flags, stickers and window paint.

One of the tags was from Talladega County and I talked to the driver, who was walking his dog. They were both wearing Alabama shirts—the man and the dog.

Anyway they are from Sylacauga and I gave them my cell number (256-310-3222) and they said they would call me once they got set up to tailgate.

A hundred miles back or so we saw an R.V. decked out in Georgia Bulldog gear with window paint saying they were Sugar Bowl-bound. Kevin and I sighed and thought about what other more glamorous locations we could be headed to if it wasn’t for a loss to La.-Monroe or Mississippi State. Oh well, no use crying over spilled bowls.

So far Mississippi looks a lot like Alabama. Just inside the state we saw a road sign for Chunky, Miss.

Shortly after, we saw this sign:

I’d like to hear how a real estate agent could sell land that borders the Chunky River. I don’t even want to know what chunks in the water gave it that name. -aj

On the road

Star photographer Kevin Qualls and I left Anniston about 9:30 this morning. We're through Birmingham and in Tuscaloosa now.

Mapquest said the route is around 500 miles and will take almost 8 hours. We're hoping to get to Shreveport in time for the Pep Rally on the Louisiana Boardwalk tonight at 6.

From here we stay on I-20 through Mississippi until just before Texas. The map I looked at said Shreveport was 18 minutes from the Texas line and 40 minutes from the Arkansas line.

I talked to a group yesterday who left Anniston at 5:30 a.m. bound for Shreveport. More on them later.

-aj

Backwoods Smoker

The Competition Hog Cooker by Backwoods Smoker

If you're going to the Independence Bowl and want to drop some serious change into your tailgating, help will only be about 15 miles away.

I saw an ad for Backwoods Smoker in a barbecue newsletter I get through the Kansas City Barbecue Society. The ad said the smokers run from $785 to $7,434 and are built in Shreveport.

When I called Mike McGowan, who runs the operation, and he said he's been building the smokers for 20 years about 14 miles north of downtown Shreveport in the backwoods. That's truth in advertising. He said most of his smokers are sold to caterers and professional barbecue teams, but there are plenty of normal residential folks who buy them. He said people stop by to see his handiwork from time to time.

He said he's never been to the Independence Bowl, but it's entirely possible some of his smokers have been. I'm hoping I can catch one in action in one of the tailgating areas. Anyone serious enough to drop that kind of money into a smoker, probably knows a thing or two about ribs.

-aj

Heading for Shreveport? The Star wants to talk with you

From staff reports

Updated 11:45 a.m.

Star staff writer and certified barbecue judge Andy Johns will be heading to Shreveport, La., Saturday to see Alabama and Colorado square off in the Independence Bowl. He’s looking for tailgaters and fans from northeast Alabama who are making the 500-mile trip.

If you are bowl-bound, call him at (256) 310-3222 or e-mail him at ajohns@annistonstar.com.

This beat blog will be updates before and after the game.

Saban cutting a rug

Here's some helpful hints on watching this video.

1. Cut the audio completely off. It's still funny wihout it. Plus, the sound quality is very, very bad, and probably of greater importance there's a couple of words (ones that wouldn't end up in the Anniston Star, but are commonly heard on a football field) used -- I think it's twice.

2. Either bear through the first part of it, or either jump ahead about midway through to the 0:58 mark. Otherwise you could get motion sickness from the poor camera work.

Independence Bowl poll

The Bama Beat blog now has a poll running about the Independence Bowl. It's over on the right side of the screen a few inches below Creg's lovely mug.
Be sure to vote.