Tusk to Tail 2014: Counter a Dragon attack with Bloody Marys and Mimosas

It wasn’t the outcome a lot of us were looking for in Little Rock last Saturday. The Hogs continue to make costly penalties and turnovers that are game changers, just too much for a young team to recover. Not to mention the fact that all four of our SEC opponents were top 10 teams when Arkansas played them. 

That, however, will not be the case this week in Fayetteville. The Alabama-Birmingham Blazers are coming to town. With what is essentially a dragon for a mascot, the UAB is 4-3 and they have beaten some OK programs along the way. The Hogs will have to stay focused and play for all four quarters to get the win against an improving UAB program, but I think they will do it. They’d better if they want any chance at a bowl game this year. 

Early in the preseason, I struggled with what the menu might be for this game. I was trying to pair something with the Blazer’s Mascot. Chinese food came to mind but I just wasn’t sure that would be great tailgate fare. However, the suits up in Bristol (ESPN) helped make up our minds for us by putting the kick off at 11 a.m on the SEC Network.  Luckily, the weather looks to cooperate with a cool start to a perfect fall day and a high of 73.

I don’t really mind one early game a year. It helps break up the menus and honestly, this late in the season, if the Hogs are playing a mid-major type school, it leaves lots of time after the game to hit the town or to just stay at home and watch other games you might miss if you were in the stadium.

We will order in some breakfast biscuit sandwiches and kolaches (rolls with sausage stuffed and baked inside of them) as well as chicken nuggets. Some Tusk to Tail members have volunteered to make and bring several breakfast casseroles, a cinnamon cream cheese Danish, and cinnamon rolls, not to mention banana nut muffins, donuts and other treats from the bakery.

The bar area will be busy, as we will add a Bloody Mary bar and mimosas to the assortment of beverages made available to our friends and guests. I’ll keep an eye out for another drink that might be suitable, as well.

It will be an early start to the day for the set up crew, as we will try to be on site by 7 and up and running by 8 a.m. in time for Game Day on ESPN. We will keep the TV’s running for a while after the game so we can get a bit of our money’s worth out of the tent on what will be a short day no matter how we stack it compared to the last few weeks of 13-hour tailgates.

The best tip I have for a breakfast game is to have the food ready early. If it arrives too late, it may not be eaten, so push to have folks arrive around 8:30 to 9 a.m. because they will be leaving for the game by 10:30.

Go Hogs, Beat the Blazers!