What has since become known as, “Ursinus Fantasy Camp 2010, South Bend”, began right on schedule – 10:05 pm, Thursday October 7th at the South Bend International Airport. As I hear the calls of “Tuuuuuuna” coming from over my left shoulder while waiting underneath the “Arrivals” sign (it was clear their excitement was hardly tempered by a 5hr trip), I immediately pop up, spin with football in hand and roll out to my left eyeing a streaking Bret Jenkins who has just dropped his luggage to run a skinny post…it doesn’t matter that the ball was badly underthrown and barely catchable – he adjusts like a pro and hauls it in…it was the best way I could think to welcome in the boys from Philly…
After some more fly patterns and plenty of hootin n’ hollerin, we hug it out brohskie style – Dstant, Nutass, Jenk, Miggity, Vinny G….Great to see you guys…wait a second, no Vince - where’s Vince?!...“Yea, he got left behind in Cleveland during the connection. Overbooked. We tried but no luck. You know the kid can’t handle three nights anyway, he’ll be fine”…yea, you’re right – good move Vince ($450 the richer for an extra night’s restful sleep), we’ll see ya tomorrow…Fantasy Camp rolls on…
First Stop – the best spot in all of South Bend. If we’re going to get this in and do it right (after sunset), it’s gotta be right away. We pull into campus, through the gate, and drive around the 9 hole Burke Golf Course on the west side of campus… the lakes on our left; dorms and volleyball courts on our right… after reaching a clearing between the two lakes – “Fellas, you don’t have to be a religious guy to appreciate this – on your right is the Grotto…” We park, get out, and a whisper falls over the group of 5 very excited and primed mid-twenty-somethings (you’re welcome Den)…we walk up, say a prayer, and stand back for a moment to take in the beauty of the scene…naively not recognizing it at the time, this proved to be the lone moment of peace to be had for the next 72 hrs… After not long, we head back to the car. McGarv, turns to me and quietly says, “What a great way to get things started. This is a pretty special place, huh?” You know it dude, glad you guys figured out how to pull it off…
Thursday night was a great time. Got home, dropped the bags off, and then watched in disbelief as Dennis walks out of the bathroom wearing a baby blue t-shirt that’s about 3 sizes too small…when asked if he was serious, he says (incredulously), “What? It’s an XL…got it at H&M; yea, doing a lot of shopping there these days”…hey man, whatever you’re comfortable with (eyes rolling)…we walk down the street to Corby’s, the grad school corner bar. With most MBA’s finishing up finals that afternoon, there’s a pretty good crowd for a Thursday night…A guy like Steve Mignona (see picture) can stand by the bar for only so long while there’s a beat playing. Five minutes later, he’s showing up all the locals and doing the Cupid Shuffle like only Miggity can do. After a round of beers and a welcome shot, we take the party into town to Club Fever. Good time at Feve (as the undergrads call it) despite the embarrassment of having Baby Blue in the crew. Jenk – MVP. McGarv – close second (for bravely following Migs on stage). We grab a cab to the diner and we’re in bed by 4:30…long day; it had only just begun…
Friday morning, 8:30am. There’s a knock at the door. Who the hell… GLOWACKI!!! (goofy brohskie-hugs all around) Come on in brotha and make yourself at home…shortly after his arrival, I take the boys over campus to see the field. At 10am every Friday, the gates open for all the pilgrims to walk the tunnel and pay homage while kneeling at the altar of Touchdown Jesus – the home team endzone. Good spot; Couple of pictures. I’m tempted to say, “we’ll be back soon” but I hold back and keep the secret under wraps...we go pick up Vince at the airport around noon. We meet Tuz back at the place around 1. Seven now on the ground and in South Bend…still missing just one… A couple of competitive pickup games later (at the Roc) and the boys are ready for a shower. We head home to clean up, then back over to campus for a lackluster pep rally before going out to the Oyster Bar for a round of Chicken Cordon Blue’s and ‘mini-bombs’…best sandwich in South Bend...the bill comes and somebody suggests credit card roulette (the game of many winners and just 1 BIG loser) – Thanks Den, really appreciate you picking up the tab. I get the boys home, we tap the keg and get started on the Frat-House Party…Grrrrrrrreat party…lots of highlights: the Ursinus vs. ND flip cup game on the back deck (chants of Flip-Flip-Flip-adelphia by the ever-gracious Ursinus team); a dance party in the living room with a spinning beer bottle; keg stands, funnels and backup kegs in the shower – it was a full blown college party all the way….buuuuuut, the highlight of the night had to be the arrival of a man who needed no introduction. In he comes…blackberry buckled to the belt, dress shirt tucked into jeans, boat shoes protecting his feet. My dad would look cooler showing up to a college party. The guy is dressed for a dinner party that he’ll be hosting 15 years from now; hardly a Fratboy party at Fantasy Camp in South Bend…Teddy P!!!! Yeaaaa!!!!! To his credit, he enters ready to go – rather, ready to keep it going (airport bar on the layover)…About an hour after he arrives, the legend of TP starts to take root: He comes to me with a huge gaping hole down the inside of his left leg and says, “Dude, I think I need to borrow a pair of jeans…” I have no idea how you did that, but sure no problem…,”Yea, it’s weird…this is the second time the same thing has happened to me in the last month”… About an hour later, now extra confident with a fresh pair of jeans on, he decides it’s time to address the party…he climbs on top of the stool, someone cuts the music and he starts, “well, it’s not every day you’ve got 200 people looking at you…” (40 people tops in the whole house; another 20-30 out back…close to 200)… ”…and, well, we just wanted to thank Tuna for such a great weekend. We love the guy and it was really nice of him to throw this party….annnnnd…uhhhh….RUUUUUUDDDDDYYYYYYY!!!!” He gives a parting fist pump to the ceiling as the music is turned back on and a couple of the Philly boys pull the guy down from the stool….what a speech. The party ends after keg #2 is kicked and we head back to Corby’s for the balance of the evening…another late one that landed us in bed no earlier than 3:30.
8:15 AM comes quickly on Saturday. Up and at ‘em right away...quick round of showers, we pick up the extra tickets and parking pass (nice work Ted), and we’re sitting in fold-out chairs next to the stadium by 9:30, basking in the sunshine on a gorgeous October day in South Bend – on its way up to 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Awesome tailgate scene – bloddy mary’s, baggo, washers, plenty of beer, and a sandwich platter…couldn’t have planned it any better. We’re having a great time, when, at 1:35pm the call comes in – it’s Jimmy Z, “Hey Brian, looks like we’re a go…take your boys in through Gate A look right and find me wearing a big white t-shirt. Be there by 2:15 and I’ll take care of the rest”…awesome, these guys are going to love it. At 1:45pm, I make the announcement that this tailgate is over and we’ll be walking into the stadium by 2pm…just trust me…2:05 – we’re walking into the stadium…Gate A, where is it…Oh, crap! We have student tickets that have to enter through Gate D – the opposite end of the stadium!!! We get everybody into the stadium through Gate D by about 2:15 and start our run over to Gate A…it’s a long run…up the ramp, over two gates, back down the ramp…by the time we finally get to Gate A, you can probably guess by now that there’s no big guy wearing a white t-shirt named Jimmy Z looking for us…it’s 2:25 and it appears we’ve just missed a “golden” opportunity …I go up to a shorter lady wearing a yellow jacket (clearly part of the stadium crew), “excuse me, but do you know anyone by the name of Jimmy Z?”…she looks skeptical, “I do…”…”Well, my name is Brian and I was supposed to meet him here 10 minutes ago. I know we are late but I was wondering if he’s still around…”…”Hold on, let me go and check”….she disappears into a back tunnel and comes out 2 minutes later, “Sorry, he’s not back there. You must have missed him….” OK, thanks anyway…Now dejected, I let the guys in on the plan – we were supposed to meet Jimmy Z (who, btw, is a friend of a friend of friend that I’ve never met who paints the lines on the field) at Gate A at 2:15 and he was going to get us on the field for warmups…OHHHH MANNNN, That would have been Awesome!!!...now, they’re disappointed too…some of them go back to the lady in the yellow to ask where Jimmy Z is…I try him one more time on his cell phone…all of a sudden, I notice a pretty huge man wearing a big white t-shirt giving me the stink-eye from over by the lady in the yellow…that’s gotta be Jimmy Z...he looks pissed but at least I owe him an apology... I head over and he meets me halfway, “Jimmy Z, I’m Brian and we’re so sorry that we missed you earlier. You see, we came in through Gate D and-” (I’m cut-off) Steam now coming out his ears, Jimmy Z launches into a tongue lashing, “Were you harassing that lady over there? Tossing around my name? I’ve been here 22 years and in 5 minutes you’re going to ruin my reputation? I coulda had you guys on the field with Joe Montana…with Mike Golic…with all the celebrities!! If I tell someone I’m going to be here at 2:15, I damn well make sure that I’m here by 2:10…”…He’s pissed and there’s no calming him down. He’s already talked over every attempt of mine to explain and apologize. Finally, I realize he’s too upset for an explanation, “Jimmy Z, look, we’re really sorry
that we missed the time but we brought this for you and want to make sure you have it anyway…” I pull out the Helferich Hooligans T-Shirt (the Ursinus 6th man shirt), hold it up, and hand it over: “Thanks anyway. We really appreciate it and are very sorry for any trouble”…Jimmy Z’s expression completely changes. He takes the t-shirt and says, “Hang on a second, let me see what I can do…” And with that, he’s into the mystery tunnel…comes back 1 minute later, “Alright Brian, get your boys together…has anyone been drinking?”…Noooooo Sir…we all immediately look at the speechwriter of the group …”Alright then, these two guys will take care of you…”Chip and Pac take us back through the tunnel…we stop for pictures with the Pitt cheerleaders…
high fives to the Pitt Panther…then we come out to our landing spot for the next 20 minutes: hanging over to the wall that overlooks the ramp from TD Jesus to the field…somebody pinch me…McNutass loves his iPhone and got some great video of hanging out with the band, watching the Pitt team come off the field and then, the cooooolest part, high fives for the Irish as they run off the field to the echoes of the fight song played by our new band friends…we were all on top of the world. Jimmy Z - what a guy!! Wouldn’t have happened without that Helferich Hooligans T-shirt (Thx Smalley)…The game is a little anticlimactic after all of the tunnel exci
tement. The Irish manage to pull out a win. Our visitors enjoyed the student section while the MVP napped through the second half. The unusually warm October day allows for a post-post game tailgate that continues long after dark and includes lots of UC nostalgia as we talk about the Glory Days before heading off to the Linebacker Inn to cap off the weekend. A typical sweat-fest of loud music, tall beers, and uninhibited dancing…an appropriate ending to Fantasy Camp 2010, South Bend.It was at some point amidst the confusion of the Backer on Saturday night that Glowacki turned to me and delivered the now well-rehearsed and expected line – “Bri, I just want you to know, I’m having a really great time”…smiles ear to ear on both of us, ”So am I, Chris…so am I”.
Fantasy Camp 2011 – Destination unknown…anybody planning on an MBA? How about an SEC school...I recommend the two-year option.
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