This is primarily a Tulane football blog, although I do occasionally comment on all matters Tulane that may or may not be any of my business. I love following Tulane Greenwave football, zing-zang Bloody Marys, hostessing cute tailgating parties, and life in New Orleans. It's fabulous. oh and I adore Mr. Hullabaloo.
PS This blog is not affiliated in any way "officially" with Tulane University or Tulane Athletics. It is purely the crazy antics and obsessions of Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo who love them some greenwave (I say tee-ay (!) y'all).
I is so happy, I may actually forget how much next year's schedule sucks and how furious I was that they cancelled our away game to Starkvegas to play Mississippi State. Or was it Ole Miss that they cancelled?
Anyways, today was like the first time in like ever, that Tulane managed to put out the announcement of our future opponents prior to the celebration of Purim. And they also actually included the date of the American Conference championship game on the list of games, omg ha!
This is no longer your same ole Greenwave y'all!
My WAY too early predictions? Southern, UL (please let it be a humiliating payback, puh-leeze!), Massachusetts, SMU, UConn, and Tulsa. Go out and buy a powerball ticket y'all.
So yes! We had a press conference announcement today over in the Glazer Club. Hullabaloo Ray Ray!
Coach Fritz went all ARGGG! on us tossing a ROLL WAVE into his introduction speech. Most of us Greenies are still so shellshocked by all the losing from the Dickson Era that we didn't quite know how to respond and just gave him our polite golf claps in response. The moment captured by the Times Pic. Look at President Fitts. lmao. He's so cute.
LOL. I wish that Buggy lived in Nola so that he could have stood up and lead a spontaneous round of Hullabaloo for the occasion.
It was a decent crowd, Gail Benson was there and she looked fabulous. Another photeaux by the Times Pic.
They had cake and cookies again, and the infamous Sodexo fudge brownies and lemon bars.
Another neat thing is that I got to finally meet and chat with Glenn Cuillette.
And I got a photo with Coach Pierce's wife who I have such a crush on.
She is the cutest wife ever. I told her she needed to come watch me ride in Cleopatra since Mardi Gras is early this year and baseball doesn't start til later in February.
And I got to steal Coach Fritz' wife for a second and chit chat with her.
We chatted shopping since she admired my sweater and phone case. Lawd, she has no idea. Mrs. Hullabaloo shopping for Greenwave outfits is like a full time gig. I have a whole pinterest board for Tulane outfit shopping and everything. If you perused the board you can probably tell I have a Greenwave Mobile (VW combi truck) thing going on right now.
Anyways, I thought the #1 Jersey thing that they did was such a cute touch. First photeaux by Times Pic, second by Parker Waters.
The #1 Fritz
So, can I tell you I just cannot wait for the winning portion of my Greenwave career to begin? It's like the last 17 years were a dark nightmare and we are finally seeing sunshine.
Before the announcement that Coach Fritz was our guy I was getting umpteen texts about the pending Optioncapolypse that could potentially befall Greenwave Nation. I did stop and hesitate about that for like not at all, because we lose to the Option regularly so I wouldn't mind being the one embarrassing an opponent for a change. It is refreshing that we are hiring a guy who has a football philosophy from this century and he knows how to coach his scheme and has a staff that potentially would include a special teams specialist among them. There's not like a question mark that he maybe may have to go dig around amongst the Grad Assistants to paper scissor rocks it on who gets to coach things. No, those days are O-V-E-R.
Hallelu! I foresee lots of Booty Shaking by Mrs. Hullabaloo next fall. Woo hoo!
What a difference, oh my goodness gracious. Mrs Hullabaloo is allowed to be a happy fan again.
Huzzah!
The press conference on Friday was as I hoped it would be: positive, hopeful, full of enthusiasm, and there was cake and cookies. There were no backhanded compliments sneered at fans. No weather tragedies to lament and harp on. And thank you sweet baby Yahweh: no excuses!
You could practically feeeeel a new page being turned.
Coach Hullabaloo and I cleaned up good for the occasion.
I also took photeauxs with Councilman Jason Williams and with our new First Lady of Tulane Athletics, Mrs. Amy Dannen.
Don't you just love?!
So since Ted Lewis wrote his snarky "To Do" list, I thought I would do my own list of priorities. Just in case there are lurkers reading this, you know.
A New Head Coach, duh! But you already know that. Would be a grand Hanukkah gift!
Cease and desist scheduling Army. (ditto Massachusetts, Maine, Southern Alabama)
Only 1 weeknight game and 1 morning game a season, puh-leeze.
Find a way to put Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and USM back on the schedule. And another trip to Hawaii please while I'm axin. And if we could somehow find a way to beg and plead for Georgia Tech to have us back. Because that was fun.
Reinstate Men's Golf. Because like Jordan Speith.
Put Riptide in a real scholarship mascot program and not whatever the current non-situation is. Coach and Mrs. Hullabaloo will be the first donors to the Riptide Scholarship Fund, we promise. And please replace his eyes, they creep me out. And that can't be good for small children.
Bring back the Seadoo! Completely against the Fossil Fuel Devestment that the students advocated for, I know, but still fun nonetheless.
Hot Chocolate stations throughout Yulman pretty please. and not just hidden in one corner. And for that matter: Access to concessions if sitting in Section 101-102. Because that is like Area 51 at Yulman, one way in, one way out and nothing for miles.
Ok, that's all I got. But I'm getting antsy about planning a Head Coach Press Conference outfit. So chop chop!
With Jordy Joseph in to play this week we had 25 first downs (! a veritable Tsunami of first downs if you ask little ole moi), 23 of 41 (10 of 13 in the first half) and had 4 passing touchdowns.
What the hades has he been doing with a clipboard the past four years?!
This was legitimately the only "Moral Victory" of the CJ Johnson era that I could get behind and not be gnashing my jaws over. The team played with guts I haven't seen since the Bowl Wave season. I was SO proud of my Greenwave! Aaaand we didn't have officiating that sucked! Hallelu, thank you sweet baby Yahweh.
Most of all, THANK YOU for finally giving us our All American Tight End back!
CHA-Ching!
Although some thanks can go to the refs for blocking for us on that Charles Jones touchdown lol. That's right! We finally got us some home cooking.
I can get used to this.
And how about them tackles by Marshall Wadleigh? I'm telling you: Beware the Hair! And along those lines of scratching our heads over the all of the sudden/out of nowhere spark on our team, Coach Hullabaloo wants to know why we've been sitting on Devin Glenn this whole time on the kick returns. Photeaux by Nola Dave.
We got us a little Thunder n Lightning with our Greenwave, Wham Pow!
And then I just loved, loved this sack for a 30 yard loss. Ha ha!
Anyways, on to the more important topics of why you read my blog: For my gameday atmosphere color announcing.
We finally won Coca Cola's Tailgaters of the Game. How do you like us now, huh?!
Of course there were only like 100 people tailgating on the quad. And it was literally our most slacker tailgate ever.
Everyone brought leftovers from Thanksgiving, I had no cute centerpieces or tablescaping theme. Thank goodness for my girl I'm calling Jessie's Mom for picking up my slack and bringing all of the nice tailgating refreshments. Everything was crammed onto one folding table in haphazard fashion which normally drives me totally nuts because I am too OCD and need everything to be cute and perfect. But I was so exhausted from cooking and entertaining all week at Chateau Hullabaloo that I just didn't care. I didn't even plan an outfit, I just tossed together whatever and went out the door.
It was all so un-MrsHullabaloo-worthy that I didn't even take photos to save for posterity, save this cute one with my Football Mommas. But Coca Cola gave us a really cute new folding tailgating bench with cup holders and a nice tailgating table with a Tulane greenwave logo on it. I shall display it with pride at our future tailgating. Thank you Coca Cola!
So Perry Mason changed his mind and joined us for tailgating and for the game and I am so glad he did, because I hadn't laughed like that at a Tulane game in I can't even remember how long. First Coach Hullabaloo got us totally in trouble because he drove our car onto the grass to our tailgate to load back up after tailgating was over and so of course security came over to arrest us. Not really, but Perry Mason being our official General Counsel of Hullabaloo Huddle Tailgating had wandered away, seen the Police march over to us, and in his haste to save us from certain doom in Central Lockup, he tripped over the unmarked concrete steps coming off the quad and landed toe up.
Luckily we just got a stern warning, we apologized and so I hope we can get forgiveness for that terrible lapse of judgement.
Then we were walking to the stadium and there were some little kids playing catch with football on the intramural field in front of Reily Center. The ball came sailing towards us, spiked on the grass and in order to save us from certain injury Perry Mason deflected the ball with his hand and as physics seems to work the way it does, the ball spiked right back into the little boy's face! Poor little guy was grabbing his face in pain.
I turned to Perry Mason and ask him what he was going to do next. And then he promptly started waving his windbreaker and the knots to tighten the elastic popped him in the forehead, broke the skin, and so the rest of the night he looked like an Indian with a red scab on his forehead. LMAO
And did I mention how the sprinkler system on the LBC Quad turned on in the middle of tailgating? All 100 of us out there got soaked. Oy only at Tulane. I wish I were making this up!
And then to put the cherry on top of the hilarity, Tulsa's coaches went completely ghetto on us. There's a reason I call them "Aslut" (Tulsa backwards if you are not fluent in Pig Latin: Aslut-ay). Here's the story.
Coach Hullabaloo and I have yet to sit in our seats in Westfeldt for the duration of a game. While it's a better view, only just a few of our peeps are up there, and plus it's extra windy and cold, and the rain, and so we have therefor migrated at will and sat all over the place. So this game we went and sat with Perry Mason at his seats in mid-field on the Press Box side behind the Tulsa bench.
After halftime, we kept noticing that the Aslut equipment people were taking their hurry up sideline boards (you know the big ones with the pictures to signal the plays?) and making a little tent with them for their players to urinate on our sideline. !! Directly in front of us! Like I could have reached over and lifted one of the signs and had us a show. A group of guys a bit further down took their plastic megaphones and started mouting off at the Tulsa peeps. I don't really know what they said, but security escorted them away. A lady next to us who works in public health had some serious commentary to give to the Tulsa Sideline Monitor Guy.
His name is Chad Cain. He is officially in charge of monitoring Aslut's sideline. And he is a fool.
Mr. Cain and his foul mouth yelled back at Public Health Lady to "Shut the Fuck Up" - YES! He said the F word! I am not making that up or being a whiny drama queen. I swear on my cats. Public Health Lady was saying "Take it to the Tunnel!" I mean it's not like Yulman is this expansive stadium and besides halftime had just happened. And lawd, we could catch the clap if some of it splashed up at us. Mr. Cain and his potty mouth wasn't having it and so he threatened to come in the stands and beat us up!
What is this? The Malice in the Palice? The Detroit NBA where the opposing team went in the stands and beat up the fans?! Seriously, and then another Aslut coach with cauliflower ears came over and mouthed off at us too. I couldn't find his name and matching photo so that I could out him on the interwebs for his irresponsible and unprofessional behavior, but the rest of the night we made pissing jokes at them, asking them if they'd eaten asparagus and about how they still have outhouses in Tulsa, instead of indoor plumbing, and such.
Unbelievable.
Police came over to interrogate Public Health Lady and were equally appalled. Next thing you know, Barbara Burke and Vince Granito marched over to have a stern, hand gesture-full discussion with the Aslut PTB/Brass on the sidelines about their completely inappropriate urinating on Benson Field at Yulman stadium. And so then I guess it was agreed that Aslut graciously move their urination station a few feet forward to in front of their equipment box which was still between us and the sideline marker, but not directly attached to our handrail. And they politely had the players urinate inside gatorade bottles which they flung into the garbage cans within whiffing distance of us.
Anyways, I hope they choke at their bowl game now. But you know that Tulane PTB is smacking their foreheads now that where there's drama I happen to somehow be involved or in the area. Mrs. Hullabaloo is just a whole lot of trouble. In my defense, I cannot be held responsible for urinate-gate!
Sigh, so you are also probably wondering about my take on "The News". Leave it to Rick Dickson and Tulane to take something routine and simple in the football world and making it completely ridiculous. Rick Dickson has been AWOL since graciously announcing his retirement 2 games into the fall season, but yet piped up with his "No Decision" press release like if a national publication like USA Today were into running breaking stories full of inuendo and unsubstantiated gossip. And then today Dickson went on to made sure to make it was properly noted that his decision to fire was done on Saturday morning and not a minute earlier. Eye roll.
In his effort to be all gentlemanly about letting CJ bleed out via a zillion papercut, he left our program twisting in the wind and recruits prime for the picking with all of the uncertainty. Rick Dickson just really sucked at strategy thing and this was just frustratingly handled in such a Rick Dickson manner. Anyways, good riddance Rick Dickson.
Despite my snarky commentary, I do feel terrible that this didn't work out for CJ to be here. I saw the trainwreck coming the moment CJ opened up his mouth 4 years ago at his Wilson Center press conference. I am not pleased about that. Trust me, I would rather be eating crow and have my beloved Greenwave with a winning record, locking up local recruiting, and planning my bowl game tailgating instead of chewing my fingernails about what is going to happen next. CJ was always friendly to me in person, more than I deserve for my insufferable behavior, and lawd I have always been in love with his wife Angel. She was the classiest, most stylish woman in all of Greenwave Nation and there won't be another like her.
Here is a parting photeaux of me before the season started with Angel. I will always admire her sparkly personality, her sensational sense of style, and her positive, cheerful attitude. And her adorable mom Mildred and all the cute hats Mrs. Mildred would wear to our annual Pre Season Teas.
Another thing that I will miss of the CJ Johnson Era is how the team does this wave thing before running on to the field and before kick offs. Don't you just love this? I watch this and it's like we are a real team with swagger ready to just kill it.
So cheers to new traditions my Greenies. Let's get us some wins to go along with them. Roll Wave!
2. Our blocked punt streak continues (#1 in NCAA! Huzzah!). We also attempted an onside kick, can you believe it?! Yay us!
3. Larry Dace caught the first touchdown of his career, yay! Roll Wave! (Game photos by Nathan Hunsinger, Dallas Morning News)
4. My boots were cute, and I love my Coach Hullabaloo who puts up with this nonsense because it's my alma mater and he loves me and wants to see me happy.
5. Jordy Joseph scored us two touchdowns, Bam Bam!
6. Parry Nickerson will not let us down
7. The hot chocolate at Gerald J. Ford Stadium was hot, plentiful, and not watery, yumm-o. I had about 3 cups and it helped me stay toasty warm #winning . Also, I got to enjoy another football outing with my dad. and we looked cute all bundled up. He's behind me and Mrs.Preacherman wearing the silly orange cap. Oy Daddy :-)
8. The brisket and ribs at Pecan Lodge are by far the best we've had in Texas. They were perfection. Even Rick Dickson would approve of this restaurant review in the midst of a football discussion.
9. David Vitter is, thankfully, not going to be an Ex-Officio Board Member of the Tulane Educational Fund #pheeeeeew
(Unless Vitter decides to run for Mayor of New Orleans or Superintendent of Public Education)
10. and lastly: Because Baseball Season
Anywhoozies....Last night, I hope and pray, is finally, mercifully, the beginning of the end. Please, please, please Saint Vince GibEllenderRink. Not really a saint, but I include them Greenies in my prayers.
I really dislike looking back four years ago when some people vehemently disagreed with me about my negative nelly-ing about the hiring of Coach Johnson. Even Sean Payton got on my case and called me out on the news. And y'all I gave it my best shot to get on the bandwagon and show my support. I hate to say "I told you so" but I told you so.
One last commentary. I have refrained from blogging out my mouth about the AD search, but I will add the following. I was forwarded an email early last week from a friend of Arnie Fielkow disseminating his "blueprint" as a last ditch effort to spark outrage that he wasn't getting an interview. Before the Eric Asher implosion. I read the blueprint and was woefully unimpressed. Not with the validity of the ideas, but with the lack of specifics. I thought the blueprint was quaint and naive in the same way that Rick Dickson's "Playbook" was quaint. We are going to win the AAC championship! Mmkay, how? Honorary Faculty Captains for All! Very nice. Corporate Sponsorships! win, and they will come say I.
Did you see everyone coming out the woodwork for the opening game at Yulman? Like hello there! Thank you for noticing there is a college team in New Orleans. If I can scrape up boss donations for my piddly little silent auction with our pitiful W-L record, just imagine what will pour in when we are winning!
People are ready and waiting to do their part, Tulane needs to step up and do it's part.
So anyways, I was completely turned off by the manuevering. Very unseemly and below the fray. And that made me sad, because Arnie was my dream candidate. I will, however, thank him for bringing it to our attention that Women's Soccer will be added. Yay!
So my little cabbages, I think the best part about this road trip to Dallas for the SMU game was the banana pudding I had from Hard 8 BBQ. They crumbled the nilla wafers up into fine crumbs and covered the top of the pudding, and then the pudding part was custard-ish almost like creme brulee. Deeeeeelish, I shall be trying to replicate this for tailgating some time because banana pudding makes everything better.
Sigh....and just like that, our "bowl season" is over.
Boo Hiss.
Back to our comfort zone: losing our homecoming game and finishing out just playing for pride.
So thank goodness for the rain, right?! I mean we ran Scelfo off and he actually won us some games in the rain. and on real grass fields. But we have been running out of what else to say to defend why our non-existant offense (henceforth "Noffense") isn't working.
Our Noffensive playbook is so square that even UConn has it figured out. Which will make the Army game at West Point even more intolerable, Oy. So thank you rain for your timely appearance.
So yes, it was homecoming this weekend as well as my reunion year. I got to see some of my friends from my freshman dorm. Yes! Our dorm had a reunion at the reunion. Not everyone came, which made me sad, but I was glad to see some of my girls.
Me in 19ninety-something
and Now. Look at us old ladies!
But anyways, on gameday, after fervently praying novenas all week, the weather mercifully held out just long enough to enjoy tailgating with our peeps. I got these new table toppers (from a designer on redbubble) to debut for homecoming. and I just love love l-o-v-e them. I can't wait to tablescape with them again.
We had tailgating classics: burgers, tater salad, cole slaw. Perry Mason grilled for us. I had these adorable cookies made for Mr. and Mrs. Buggy who are in our tailgating group, in honor of their VW Combi truck that they drive to lead the Tulane Marching Band.
Shannon's cousin started a new jello shot business in Metry called Wasted Fruit and they made us these custom jello shots she called The Greenie. They were blueberry something in green and blue, and quite tasty. Go check their facebook page out: Wasted Fruit
As you can imagine, it's usually a little hectic at tailgating for us, but I was able to steal a few seconds with Coach Hullabaloo to take this cute picture.
I love my Coach Hullabaloo.
So sighhhhhhh, the game. What more can be said? At least the Homecoming Court presentations were cute. This is Tulane's official photo of the moment captured by Paula Burch.
Peggy and I lol'd and lol'd during the presentation at halftime. First, our adorbs new Queen immediately started bawling when her name was called like she just won Miss America or something. And then her King ran over and threw himself on her, practically attacking her when he was announced. It was hilarious and just lacking a teeny little bit of decorum, enough to say ermagerd, what is he doing to her?! And then the rest of the Court proceeded to stand there with their umbrellas and left her getting drenched in the rain like they wanted her tiara to rust and mascara to streak.
Peggy and I were hooting with laughter.
So Coach Hullabaloo and I stayed until the very end of the game, just like some of our favorite students!
We stayed, because we are nuts, but also because Coach Hullabaloo was hoping upon hope that they would pull Tanner and put in Jordy Joseph. Jordy knocked our socks off for the Memphis game. Where has he been all of our life?! As Peggy was sayin - we weren't playing a defensive juggernaut in UConn and so even if just for giggles we should have put him in there to see if we could give them just a different read or something.
Nope. denied..... If only the staff took requests from the sidelines, right?
Our fake punt play is still paying dividends though. It accounted for one of the 10 first downs of the game. So there's that positive.
But anyways, Greenies: The writing is on the wall. Not only has Goldring said "No" to upping the ante and Greenbaum wants to re-up Dickson again, but President Fitts went and said at his Town Hall on Friday that he wants to observe this fiasco for yet another year (!) before making any hasty decisions.
So check back at the end of 2016 to find out if something may be amiss with our football program.
The new Riptide creeps me out. I like silly rasta riptide. I wonder what he did to get banished.
Hey now .... if a $500 robbery can garner headlines, then maybe the $925,000 head coaching salary on top of the checks being collected by the man responsible for the hire (who is currently on this extended retirement situation) can also get some sort of attention. Maybe.
Y'all. I am seriously beginning to give credence that this is all just a case study being conducted by Tulane and that there is a textbook being written for Sports Management classes: "How to Sell Losing, Hide it From Your Alumni, and Stick It To Your Fans" with the subtitle "All While Getting Paid To Do It!"
I mentioned on twitter that I might do a football pool for this week's press conference/radio show with each of the squares being a different excuse. $10 per square. Who's in?!
As you read this the former employer of our current OC beat Ole Miss 37-24. And their band played "We're Not Gonna Take It" to close out the game lol. And ESPN replayed former Coach Tommy West reading the riot act when he resigned about how Memphis needed to get behind the program in order to win. But meanwhile we in the Greenwave Nation aren't allowed to dare to dream.
Coach Hullabaloo believes that we were no less than Houston. I agree, except for them slicing through our line like butter. But as far as Ass Kickings go that I've been through in my 25 years of being a Tulane Fan - this one actually was not among the worst. I was expecting wham-bam-pow right in the kisser from the get go, but it was a smooth trickle. Very much a soft landing on the tushie. According to Toledo's measuring stick, we are losing better now I guess (remember that? lol).
Anyways, my friend who I call my Cajun Queen posted on my facebook this morning that she sure wished it had been a win, but since this is her team she will not turn her back on them. Oh my goodness I just love her! She is such a doll and I am such an awful cynic. So it reminded me to point out the positives: things like that we looked super cute at the game yesterday.
I bought my dress for $8 at WalMart (yes girl! come follow my pinterest gameday shopping page). I styled Coach Hullabaloo with a cute dress shirt I found at SteinMart. When life feels like it is spinning out of control, go shopping. Like perhaps maybe at --> www.greenwavegear.com
And another somewhat positive is that in honor of Punting being so effective and in demand yesterday, Tulane fashioned the programs accordingly. Very proactive, bravo.
The Marching Band's halftime performance was truly adorable. I wasn't sure how the "It had to Be You" cover was going to go, but it was really cute.
And how can I possibly wait this long to mention: Holy Trick Play Toledo, the highlight of the game, THE FAKE PUNT!
Tulane with the 52 yard fake punt (and TD on next play). #24 Houston 14 - Tulane 7. Roll damn wave. pic.twitter.com/1eEAZldY4P
And lemme tell you, I had some pretty bad karma hit me for being such an insufferable fan: literally at the moment that the team lined up for the punt, my contact lens crumpled up into the corner of my eye and I missed the play entirely! What?! How does that happen? The Universe tried to poke my eye out for being such a whiny baby complainer! lol Hilarious. Rolllllll Wave Rollllll!
Anyways, we didn't put up an official tailgate for our Hullabaloo Huddlers yesterday so I don't have any cute centerpieces or recipes to share. We just strolled around to all of our various friends' tailgatings which was a nice change of pace because we are usually so wrapped up entertaining people at our thing. Most of my chickadee students went home for fall break so I did not get to ply them with the heaping plates of yummy tailgating food which I normally do.
Coach Hullabaloo surely did enjoy the margaritas up in Westfeldt and afterwards we went to Dat Dog on Frenchmen.
I also very much enjoyed watching the Houston spirit organizations keep their fans pumped.
I must comment that with the departure of Kevin Sumlin that their fan base is now a whole other group of people. These people who came yesterday were actually civil and not nearly as trashy as the Cooters of Yore. Although whoever at Tulane Athletics approved of them bringing that bell really needs to be addressed, because what was up with that? Let's agree to not do that.
Anyways, I completely admired UH's spirit. Their fans cheered them coming on and off the field at the beginning of each half. Their band played and the dance team shook their booties the entire game. There was literally not one moment that anybody stood still over there. I salute them, Mrs. Hullabaloo was very impressed!
It was pretty big of a contrast to see their sideline versus ours and that pretty much encapsulates how their team was prepared/pumped in comparison to our $925,000 situation. And this is to OUR sideline music!
It made me sad to watch our team all still like they were watching a funeral. I was also sad that our team discipline has gotten to where a player thought it was ok to sass back at a ref like that. Excuse me, but no, we will not behave like that.
Coach and Mrs. Hullabaloo stayed til the end. Again.
We went over the student section to sway to the Alma Mater. Afterwards we shook hands with a few of the players who also thanked us for staying to watch them play (omg, just rip my heart out please)
