The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

One of my favorite football movie characters of the 80’s were the cheerleaders from the Goldie Hawn movie Wildcats. “U-G-L-Y! You ain’t got no alibi! You ugly! You! You! You ugly!”



From time to time when I get in the zone at games I start cheering that to opposing teams for giggles. Such a fantastic cheer! And plus the lyrics about alibis are just so appropriate for them fighting tigahs. ha.

Which I just have to address this: OMG about their incessant whining from the Championship to National Signing Day. Talk about u-g-l-y.

Silly me, I thought that Alabama completely embarrassing les tigres live on National Television would be the end of it. But no. When one feels entitled, then it’s imperative to complain, complain, complain (and it made me wonder which would have been worse: the gloating if they’d won or the never ending whining which ensued).

I just knew G-d would punish me somehow for gloating about this most awesome smack down in the history of America. And for laughing about the “Mantrums” (yes Peggy christened this word) which Peggy and Koozie witnessed. The complainers took it to the airwaves. and in the paper. and on the news. By air, land and sea. Oy! Enough Already!!!

About midway through football season, Peggy and Koozie took up the hobby of working Sundays at the Superdome for the Saints games which meant they got to work the BCS game. and Lawd did they have some stories about the complainers upriver.

At the end of the game, Peggy got to greet people as they left (which they did in droves). “Hope y’all have a great night! Thank you for coming!” "Enjoy your evening!" and she drolled this out there layered on REAL thick just because she could. ha ha! I love her!

Which by the way, I don’t think I can mention enough that their fans a) left in the third quarter and b) boo’d the players! Yes, they boo’d at children who play for free, don’t get an actual education and yet undertake this all for their selfish entertainment. Koozie had to work security on the field and was in front of the Golden Girls who were all forced to sit and watch the meltdown with mascara streaming down their faces.

Isn’t that fantastic?! Just enough to tide me over til September. Or this spring if we manage to beat them in Baseball.

Anyways, I just have to also point out that these quote/unquote “Fans" had the nerve to gasp and clutch their pearls when an Alabama fan went rogue and acted a fool in the Krystal’s on Bourbon. Because really, there isn’t a single solitary classless fan in the history of Louisiana A+M. That doesn’t excuse Mr. Downing for his behavior, but when you lower the bar for acceptable behavior, this is what can happen.

And then, for the cherry on top: les tigres went into a complete tailspin all the way through to signing day when their recruits started bailing on em. Because would you want to go before a sports tribunal for going 13-1? And Sweet Baby Jesus, if there is one thing I am grateful for in being mostly ignored by the media is that we don’t have whack moms, whack fathers or whack coaches who then go viral for talking out their mouths and looking like maroons. (or for that matter fans piling on by verbally lynching the high school coaches!)

So, now, meanwhile at OUR Glass House:

The Good: Tulane got it’s first four star recruit in a decade and we stole not 1, but a total of 3 recruits from the SEC. Yes indeed.


Fudge Van Hooser - turned down offers from Alabama, Auburn, Oregon, Stanford.


Kedrick Banks


Darion Monroe(!) - our twelfth hour 4 star coup, who switched his commitment from Texas A&M to the Wave and teared up explaining his decision. Holy Facundus, right?!


Joshua Rounds and Royce LaFrance, some more local kids for good measure. Shown here representing The Wave at Manning's

And there was gossip that there was – gasp- an LSU recruit who was wavering on his decision up until 7am that morning about jumping ship to come to Tulane. Could you have imagined? It’s actually a scary thought because since these people are in some kind of mood, they might have marched down and torched Tulane down to smoldering embers.

The Bad: I honestly don’t know if I should feel exhilarated or more tepid in my emotions about our Legendary Signing Day due to the impending fracas which is "Conference WTF"* that was birthed via negotiations by our very own Scott Cowen. The new conference name I am using is, of course, a joke since the conference has yet to be named. But I think it frames the situation perfectly.

How low our situation has sunk over the past decade is such a nightmare of epic proportions – and the fact that TPTB just allowed this slide down while every Greenie Dat could see it from light years away and yet were powerless in the situation – makes me really need to talk about food to push it aside and pretend it’s just not happening for the time being.**

So I won't think about Conference WTF right now. I'll think about it....in a year when I have to.

*I totally stole this from somewhere I can't remember, but if it belongs to you please let me know and I will happily give you proper credit

** yes, yes I know I just finished penning that it would be cool to have Hawaii in our conference. But I didn’t mean for an implosion to happen first for this to conveniently take place.

So now to items of real importance. Yes, my brothers and sisters: The 2012 Tulane Greenwave Fall Schedule was released and I promptly decided on our tailgating menus. I call it my swan song for the “Ex-CUSA” of a situation Tulane Football finds itself in.

Rutgers: Cheesesteaks and trimmings!

Ole Miss:  Shrimp n Grits brunch

ULM: Louisiana favorites

SMU: Chicken n Waffles, oh yeah!

UAB: BBQ

Rice: Greek-Mex!

ECU: Cochon du Lait

My friend Jack says that Cheesesteaks aren’t really NJ food, even though I’ve had delicious ones in NJ. But whatever – I think it will be delish, so I’ll just consider it a Rutgers-Adjacent themed menu.

As you can see I am going though serious football withdrawals. For my final hurrah of football season I had put together a totally cute par-tay for the Saints play offs hoping that I could extend tailgating festivities until the beginning of February. Alas it was not meant to be. Mr. Roman Harper. (yes I'm calling him out).

I admit I do have some residual bitterness and spent Superbowl Sunday shopping until I was kicked out of stores when they closed for the day. But as a more well-adjusted fan used to losing, I will only lash out about it on occasion. Besides, the last time I went to San Fran I was completely underwhelmed so I’m already on record about hating on it. and Jim Harbaugh can't touch Sean Payton with a ten foot pole in the class department.

For my partay I did a whole San Francisco Menu that came out really cute and delicious: Rice-A-Roni salad, Asian BBQ Spare Ribs (recipe below), California Rolls, Clam Chowder and Irish Coffee Cheesecake (recipe below). Nell brought Fruit (get it?) Salad and Peggy brought egg rolls and her awesome Sonoma Chicken Salad. FF brought a bunch of California artisanal beer and Coach Hullabaloo went nuts with the California wines at World Market.

My tablescaping was so cute, I loved it.


We even put bunting on the house and I made this fab wreath for the front door.


So I hope you enjoy these recipes. Now, onto planning our final hurrah in Ex-CUSA....

ASIAN BBQ SPARE RIBS
2 lbs pork spare ribs or baby back ribs
2 tbs hoisin sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp five spice powder
3 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs sambal oelek (asian crushed chili pepper)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbs honey

Cut ribs in serving pieces, one or two ribs per cut. Wash and pat dry with paper towel. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. This will yield a wet mixture, not saucy. Rub onto the ribs and cook in a slow cooker overnight. Before ready to serve, broil them in an oven for 15 minutes on each side until brown and seared.

IRISH COFFEE CHEESECAKE
22 crisp oatmeal cookies
3 tbsp of cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp of brown sugar
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs
3 tbsp of coffee liqueur or milk
1/2 tsp of vanilla
2 tbsp of instant espresso coffee powder
1/3 cup of Irish whiskey or milk
1 tsp of instant espresso coffee powder
1 tsp of granulated sugar
1 tbsp of whipping cream
1 1/2 cups of whipping cream
2 tbsp of granulated sugar

Butter a spring-form pan. Rough crush the cookies in a food processor. Add tbsp of brown sugar, butter and cinnamon to processor to combine. Mush it into the pan into a thin crust. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes and then let cool completely.

Beat cream cheese with a cup of brown sugar, add eggs until smooth. Add vanilla and the coffee liqueur. Dissolve the 2tbsp of espresso coffee powder in Irish whiskey. Add this into the cream cheese mixture and pour into crust. Bake at 350F degrees for 50 minutes and then let cool.

Dissolve 1tbsp of whipping cream with 1tsp of espresso coffee and 1tsp of granulated sugar. Separately, beat 1 1/2 cup of whipping cream with 2tbsp of granulated sugar until the mixture become stiff, and then fold in espresso mixture. Spread as garnish on top of cheesecake.

Proud Member of the Greenie Dat Nation

and representin'!

I can't WAIT until this is over and I can reclaim my city. These sheeple are crampin my style here. Geaux Home....

I'm glad that the Tulane banners are hanging in the Superdome if only just to annoy the crap out of all them.

Peace out....

The Cajuns Played a Bowl Game FYI

Yeah, yeah, yeah - this is stale news. But y'all I had presents to open, meals to cook, carols to sing and Coach Hullabaloo had his fireworks to burn.

I am still not all caught up yet on all the celebrating that needs to be happening. Twelfth Night is just around the corner and that means Mardi Gras! My life is a whirlwind. (plus, get this: the TU Alumni House actually called me a week ago to see what I thought about throwing a pre-game tailgate party for the TU v. USM basketball game. Which now it appears that the Saints will be in a Wilcard Game downtown the same day. I was tickled to be called nonetheless)

And speaking of celebrating - how genius is this invitation sent out by Big Mike to his holiday party?


LMAO - "more foot stomping music than a Saturday night at Shady's!" ha! ha! Tulane peoples are famously irreverent - we just love hatin on the tiggers - and Big Mike just cracks me up! He is so unaplogetically not PC and that is refreshing.

At a recent holiday party we were both at he was griping about Team Wilson Center on many recent issues, including their evasiveness in addressing whether or not the new stadium will have lights. One would think this would be a "yes" or "no" answer. But sigh, Team Wilson Center is scairt of the Audubon Boulevard homeowners and Big Mike rightly pointed out the obvious: "We have an entire law school full of Jewish lawyers. If Tulane can't figure out how to win that battle, we've got a lot bigger problems than 10 neighbors complaining about lights!" ha! Gotta love Big Mike - and his cocktail weanie recipe which I will share below.

So while on the topic of weanies: I had some words with some fellow "credentialed" members of the New Orleans area media. They were completely useless a few weeks back as evidenced by their email response. I also sent me a letter to the Times Picayune for finding new ways to be pathetic.

42,000 Cajuns and San Diegans in town for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and the Times Pic buries a story about the nail biter finish on page 11 the following day. The "Mighty 690" Weanies didn't even mention it at all. You'd think they'd need to have naked mascots or something to get some coverage.

Oh wait, but there were naked mascots. ha!

My rampage to hold "credentialed" New Orleans sports media accountable was quelle hilarious because after I sent me off that Letter to the Editor at the Times Pic-A-Sheet, my phone rang. The Times Pic actually called and asked me if I wrote it. Well, yeah - you gonna run it? Just because Scott Cowen won't say nothin to Board Member Ashton Phelps about the bull his paper runs, doesn't preclude me from offering a piece of my mind. Plus - Scott Cowen is too preoccupied approving purple and gold ads for the Medical School it seems.

Anyways, the Times Pic uh... chickened out and ran another, more ummm, congenial letter pointing out to them that they blew it. and Gawd do they bleaux! Because unless it involves purple and gold, the Times Pic and the "Mighty 690" Weanies don't know whether to scratch their watch or wind their butts.

So since every "credentialed" media outlet is completely cast into a psychotic purple haze for at least another week I shall have to pick up the slack and give you my most colorful post-mortem as possible of the other sporting events happening with "local" teams in "Our City."

My story begins the day before the New Orleans Bowl. I had asked Coach Hullabaloo if he was interested in partying with the Cajuns at the Dome. I was thrilled to see that I had indeed piqued his interest with the prospect and so I then immediately went in for the kill by mentioning that it is "prime" oyster season happening right now and we could pit stop at Drago's before going to the Dome for a date night. Totally genius.

My sorority color is cardinal red, so I have got all kinds of cute red outfits happening. Coach Hullabaloo's fraternity is also cardinal red, so with color appropriate outfits and delish Drago's ersters we were all set to go mingle with the Aztecs and the Cajuns.

Outside the dome, there were some very sweet cajuns who had plaza level tickets just one section over from our normal Saturday dome seats. They even had some kind of special booster club pricing so we got them at an awesome price. Excellent football karma happening for us.

Well....Then Coach Hullabalo waded his way through Champions Square hunting for the ATM machine and came back reporting all kinds of drunkeness happening amongst the Cajuns.

I admit I got scairt. Here I was envisioning this lovely evening with delightful Lafayette-ans and I hadn't quite thought through how these peeps would be unleashed after 45 years of not having a winning season. It's bad enough for us that we are approaching 10 years, but 45!? That's like centuries.

And y'all - were they unleashed* period exclamation point. Coach and I naively took our seats on the UL sideline in what turned out to be ground zero of Cajun madness and after about oh, 5 minutes looked longingly over to the San Diego sidelines and decided that it was more our speed over there.

(*So here's the perfect plan: Let's let the unleashed Cajun Fans and the Tiger fans just duke it out until there's nobody left standing.)

So we headed over to the SDSU side and ran into Coach TD Woods and also into Booty! Booty was selling programs, which she does in order to get into Saints games. But unfortunately she was a major party pooper and said she wasn't staying for the game. I am here to say that she. missed. out.

Coach and I had agreed earlier that we would be agnostic for the game, although we had a soft spot for the Cajuns. It was starting to be hard to not root for SDSU though because the level of immaturity coming from some of the Cajun fans was just really putting a damper on my evening. I was so sad about that. Near us on the SDSU sideline seats there were some particularly immature (and ungroomed) Cajun students who appeared to have come straight from their OccupyLafayette meeting. Lawd have mercy, these chirrens started acting all kinds of ways. Coach Hullabaloo initially thought they were hippies from San Diego, but they were using all kinds of foul language that can only be found I think in a backwater. After a few downs, Coach could tolerate it no more so he had them bounced.

First Coach Hullabaloo went over and told these Cajun chirren to zip it and that they were making the state look bad - he wasn't going to tolerate such behavior with our out of town visitors. They looked at him and said "Yes sir" and then as soon as Coach turned around they went right back to yelling foolishness to the SDSU families. Oy. So Coach Hullabaloo snapped up and went to go find him some cops. It took him for-ever and I was starting to get worried because SDSU men were getting up from their seats and yelling back and these Cajun chirren. Yes, it was escalating!

Finally Coach showed up with officers in tow and they snatched the kiddos right up. Cops shoulda been equipped with muzzles in addition to handcuffs because these kids continued to yell obsceneties the whole way out. Coach said he was delayed because the cops were busy breaking up all kinds of fights around the dome and he had to wait.

So back to the game: The first quarter I was somewhat glad that Mark Hudspeth and his baby momma, the UNA cheerleader he knocked up and divorced his first wife for wife decided to stay in Lafayette instead of accepting the offer to coach The Greenwave because he was dialing up some really lame plays and the Cajun Kicker, Brett Baer couldn't kick an extra point to save his life. SDSU was carving them up.

And y'all - the SDSU band was vastly superior to the Cajun Band. Bless their hearts the Cajuns have a lot of catching up to do on fun game day traditions. And gameday outfits. Because I saw all kinds of attire. This should be a rule: Tulle skirts are appropriate for toddlers, not adult women.

The Cajun Band only played "Dr. Who" it seemed like the entire game - I was about to poke my eye out. In contrast, the SDSU Aztec band was very lively. And their fans have a very cute cheer that they do to one of the band songs: S! D! S! U! S-D-S-U-FIGHT-FIGHT-FIGHT!

The cheer/song was sooooooooo cute that Coach Hullabaloo and I have decided that we are introducing this at Tulane. We even practiced by chanting our made up Greenwave version everytime the SDSU Band played it:

T!...U!...GREEN!...WAVE!
T-U-GREEN-WAVE-ROLL-WAVE-ROLL!

And the poor little Cajun Pepper Mascot - all he has is a little head piece.


I hope he earns a proper mascot costume after this bowl payout.

Well, I can't really say anything about not having enough costuming because SDSU peeps also seemed to have either lost their luggage or they dress half naked on purpose.

Just look at this woman.


The ripping up of gameday shirts into flashdance creations?

But then y'all - Mr. Aztec.

Actually I think his proper name is Monty, as in Montezuma. I immediately notified Booty that she had missed her opportunity for some kinda Mascot encounter.


Just look at this man's washboard abs. It made me want to stand up and applaud.


That kilt thing he was wearing looked like it was barely clinging to his hip flexors. When your mascot can be confused for a Chippendale's costume: clearly an indication that your mascot should be more appropriately attired.

Anyways: the game - I thoroughly enjoyed the exciting finish, despite being constantly distracted by the half naked mascot. When SDSU took the lead with 35 seconds left to the game, Coach and I looked at the sad Cajun fans, crying and witnessning the game slipping away from them. And well, we took pity on them. Then outa nowhere boom, boom, boom - the Cajuns manage to get into field goal kicking range and won it back. It was un-freaking-believable. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. Their poor kicker, Brett Baer had missed 3 extra points earlier in the game.

But win it they did and the celebrating in the dome was deafening. And the 690 Weanies missed out on some very fun post-game discussion that coulda been happening on Monday after the game. Instead, they act like fools.

And y'all - this cocktail weanie recipe care of Big Mike will bring a cascade of applause at your next gathering. I promise!

BIG MIKE'S FAMOUS COCKTAIL WEANIES
Little Smokies
pound bacon - cut strips in half
cuppa Brown Sugar or so
Toothpicks

Big Mike says this is a labor intensive party dish in that wrapping the bacon around the little weanies can be exhausting. So maybe have a friend help and roll em up with some cocktails to pass the time.

Soak your toothpicks in water so that they don't like catch fire in the oven. Then you wrap each weanie in a half strip of bacon and then secure with your toothpick. Line em up side by side in a caserole dish. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top until covered. Broil in the oven for a spell until the bacon looks cooked and crisp. Keep warm in a chaffing dish or a crockpot on low.

I think these weanies would be awesome for a brunch tailgate with a Hashbrown casserole. mmmm....

Alright - next up I'll take about the funnest game I've been to in for-ever: The ladies basketball tourney. Soooo much fun! Can't wait to share. It was great.

You Can Never Have Enough

I was on facebook this morning and the ad for ModCloth, just called my name! Just LOOK at this treasure trove of adorable-ness for gameday outfits and homecoming apparel. (click on the links to purchase)

Worth the expense at ModCloth.

Between the outfits you need for The Hullabaloo Auction and Party, Tailgating and then perhaps a costume change for the game, you have to start scouting these things months and months ahead. Mark my words: you can NEVER have enough adorable olive and blue outfits. Between Football, baseball, and now basketball - being fashionably prepared is like half the battle.

So happy shopping!


Don't look at the price tag, just buy them. At ModCloth


$64.99 from ModCloth

$49.99 from ModCloth


$47.99 from ModCloth

I'd Like to Thank The Academy

Y'all we are gonna have an on campus stadium.

Excuse me for being a little speechless on the matter. I give all of you the unvarnished truth, whether it's funny, sad or whatnot. I hope you appreciate that.

I've been vascillating between being just beyond incensed from Monday's presser - which was horrid by any measure. If you can believe it, I was actually crying to Coach Hullabaloo about it. Yes, girls cry - so sue me. I even asked third parties to intervene and walk me off the ledge for my thoughts. Because my Greenie Dat World was literally crashing down around me.

And then I went on to being disappointed to hear that the new stadium was indeed going to be 25k seats with 5k in standing room only area - I've well documented my feelings about that.

To now being mildly excited about what I am christening as Fergie Field (ok, yes this is in my mind, but I've suffered enough for the past 20 years and I've hostessed my fair share of tailgating parties to have earned naming rights, so there.)

So here they are, the renderings of Fergie Field. I never thought I'd live to see the day.

If you can see, it's got the old checkered endzones like the old Tulane Stadium and they are gonna put back up the same Tulane medallion that used to face Willow Street.


I don't think anybody can fault "Naysayers" for being peversely upset about how things rolled out. What breaks my heart is that there are some fans who reacted in the opposite manner to all of the announcements who were in serious need of attitude adjustment in the "let's agree to disagree" arena. Hand to Yahweh, there's not a Tulane fan out there that I could honestly ever conceive to say I "hate." The thought would never enter my mind or my vocabulary. Because at the end of the day Mrs. Hullabaloo cherishes comraderie, festive dishes served between parking spaces and what is best for the Olive and Blue. and I'm not going to apologize for having my own opinions, nor should anybody else.

Now, today's presser was about a 150 degree turnaround from Monday. -Sigh - our Athletic Director continued to channel his inner Don Johnson/Donnie Deutsch (what's up with this new tie-less look) and soap box about Katrina, which has so been worn out it can't be worn out any further. But what made me feel 10000% better is that Scott Cowen came out, in front of television cameras and the press that he and the board are going to finally stick to their promises about funding, academic concessions and support for the football program. I swear I thought the heavens were gonna part and the angels sing. So there. Now it's on record and video taped by the news. Can now be admissible as evidence in a court of law.

The biggest beef Mrs. Hullabaloo had about the coaching search is that if Scott Cowen was going to continue with his head in the sand (which Katrina or not, he's been doing since he passed over Rich Rodriguez 13 years ago) we needed an A+ strategic thinker as our Coaching Messiah to fight tooth and nail for our Olive and Blue. If any of you saw Moneyball the movie, you'll know that this scene with Stephen Schott and Billy Beane arguing about the budget for the Oakland A's, could have been easily rescripted with Schott Cowen and [insert name of Coach here].


Coach CJ was a little mayberry and to those of us who have stood by this team through all of the suckage that has been Tulane Football since 19whatever - it was an alarming portent of the pending disaster that could ensue should everything else in Gibson Hall and Willow Street remain constant.

Well today, thank you Sweet Baby Jesus, the board members behind the 2003 review took a break from their Porche Driver's Club meetings (did you see all the porches in Rosen Parking lot at the announcement today?) to actually attend a Tulane atheltics function, show their faces and at least intimate that they weren't gonna pull another review on us after going to a Bowl game.

And so, in conclusion, I can finally take a break from always expecting the worst and finally concentrate on the most important issues at hand: strategizing on what we need to do to get Peggy's Patio officially sanctioned....

and that will make my joy complete.

Roll Wave y'all!

Ignorant Fan? Why, I'm Flattered!!

Very exciting! Mrs. Hullabaloo gets called out! By none other than Coach Sean Payton!

Oh I'm famous, my very first news bit! I shoulda had a sign or something, No? I'm thinking Like ESPN College Gameday.... Waved to the camera, maybe? No? Too much?

This was all quite unexpected. I hadn't yet committed to a spot in the room so I am still surveying. And of all the Greenie Dats, who gets caught in video footage during Coach Payton's tirade about ignorant fans? Moi! Yes! Me! kiss kiss to all the Greenie Dats out there!*

During this bit we're being instructed by Messieur Payton that there have been exactly two good decisions at Tulane: Matt Forte and Coach Curtis Johnson.

Anyways, I have to disagree with Coach Payton though. (Yes, I'm a heretic in addition to being a poster child for ignorance. I wear many hats!)

I think that Homecoming at Champions Square was an exceptional decision. The uniforms introduced under Coach Toledo: awesome. The fireworks intro for the team: amazing. Switching the regular season tailgates from the Bud Bridge out to Gate G: excellent. So there, that's at least 4 additional examples of good decisions. But who am I to nit pick? Picky is sooo passee.

What I want to know, however, is if you have a favorite decision from the Scelfo-Toledo-Hutson era....please let me know yours!

And y'all - I have to say that I can't wait to put on all the bells and whistles and give Coach Payton my most esteemed welcome to his first o-fficial Tulane kick off sometime during the Coach "CuJo" Johnson Era. Cuz call me crazy, in 6 years I have yet to hear about a SP cameo at a Tulane game and if y'all know anything about Mrs. Hullabaloo: I have my pulse on everything Olive and Blue. Maybe I'll extend an invite to come enjoy a plate at our tailgates - how exciting! And then Coach Hullabaloo can meet his twin. (remind me to share with you sometime about how Coach Hullabaloo was constantly getting identified in public by passers by as SP during the 2006 season, because some of the stories are truly hysterical!).

*PS you know who did this segment and I just have to guess that Mrs. Hullabaloo being captured during Coach Payton's discertation on ignorant fans as more than just mere cosmic coincidence. Just saying! But I'm not too above it to milk this moment!

Hawaii on Crack

or as Coach Hullabaloo has been saying: this is some Crazy A$$ Place.

First, I have to say: I love Hawaii. Love it. Love it. We definitely saved the best for last, and I say that with complete honesty.

The seedy, unkept areas kinda put a damper on the experience, but once you get past that: it truly is gorgeous here. I share these thoughts with you while watching the sun rise over Diamondhead. The sky is turning from onyx to sapphire blue. A supple balmy breeze is skimming around me like feather massage. Waikiki hasn't started bustling yet. It is just delightful.....and Channing Tatum is calling for me from our canopied bed - okay, okay, okay, Mrs. Hullabaloo is getting carried away ha! but really, Hawaii is stunning.

It makes me wish that Hawaii were in our conference (as well as keeping Utep despite Mike Price. Because I really loved how unique and "autentico" El Paso was - it was such an adventure! and you know how Coach and Mrs. Hullabaloo love them some adventures!)

How awesome would it to be able to come here to Oahu every other year? Heck, Hawaii just traveled to play Tech in Ruston, you'd think they'd be up on coming to New Orleans. And I would just love to do a cute polynesian themed tailgate with pineapple fried rice and satay. (Don't you just love that idea?!)

But anyways, back to what you came here to read. The Lowdown on the game. Y'all I can only describe it like being on crack or taking a hit of something if I actually knew what any of that was like. It was complete sensory overload and then some. Like a SNL Variety Show being performed amidst a college football game. And I say this in all earnesty despite living in a place like New Orleans!

First a preview: Coach Hullabaloo and I didn't make it to the Thanksgiving Luau, but we heard all about it 4000 miles away. When we got to the hotel Coach Hullabaloo shared an elevator with a player and when Coach asked him about the Infamous Tulane Luau, his eyes got as big as saucers - it wasn't until the player confirmed that Coach Hullabaloo was not some official from the University that he spilled the beans. Apparently a good time was majorly had by some, including a staff member we'll call Slye Lyka. Slye went toe up drunk at the Luau, but not before giving a rabble rousing speech about winning the game that shocked players and family members alike. It sounded like a classic moment and gawd I wished I had been there to see it.

So now back to the game: Hawaii is not your traditional crisp NCAA college town atmosphere with spirit shakers and cute gameday dresses. It's kinda more Jersey Shore than The Grove - it was telling how rough Hawaiians are by how many cops (not Security, I mean COPS!) there were. (As we were walking around the crowd during halftime Coach shared this story with me from his Marine Corps days when his ship docked in Hawaii. Something about an ill-fated bus ride to the wrong part of town and having to elude a gang of Samoans hellbent on picking a fight, an overturned Suzuki Samuri was involved)

The concessions at the stadium reminded me of a bustling street scene from Bangkok. Skewered pineapple pork satay, Teriyaki burgers, Huli Huli Chicken - and enough beer stands to lubricate decades worth of Mardi Gras. Steinlager, Heineken, Nutbrown Ale, Bud, Mikes Hard Lemonade, on and on and on. And y'all, there wasn't a Hawaiian that I didn't see clutching two 32 ouncers and washing them down in one gulp. It's like a dream sequence or soemthing where you notice one thing and then you notice a thousand of the same thing. It was a sea of Hawaiian beer drinkers. Bourbon Street would be scared of these people.

Earlier when I was assembling my cute GameDay outfit, I had found the perfect green and blue necklace while spending Coach Hullabaloo's money on Kalukaua Avenue to go with the perfect adorable green and blue tropical flower dress I had found back home - I was just loving how cute it all was. And then wouldn't you know God decides to humble me by sending a monsoon storm to the Aloha Stadium.

I have to say though - how awesome is this shirt?!


Belongs to a SuperFan who won the trip by being a lifelong TAF donor. I am coveting this shirt now.

Anyways, this monsoon just didn't just come and go. It would scream in, taper off, I'd uncover my head from the damn rain poncho I had to buy then the annoying drizzle would start back up again, winds would pick up and wham-o the deluge would ensue. You know that scene in Forrest Gump where he's describing the rain in Vietnam. Ok, that was us in Hawaii's stadium. We were sitting with the parents I'll call Fun Couple. Daddy Fun Couple sat through that whole thing with a towel on his head. I don't know how he did it.

So in the middle of this crazy weather situation happening, everyone in the upper decks of the stands would shred their game day programs (that weren't magazines, they were like copies of The Gambit) into confetti and toss it out in the wind so that the entire inside of the bowl was snowing gameday programs.

- I hope that I am building up this image for you because being here in Hawaii to watch the game live was something else -

I don't know if this was Hawaiian hospitality or what, but they put the visiting section in the endzone next to the UH Marching Band. And the UH Drumline. And their dance team, The Rainbow Dancers. And the "Vili The Warrior" Hawaii Mascot, who had his own polynesian drum corps.


With the monsoon, the confetti, the dance team and all the fights breaking out, nevermind the game - you didn't know where to put your eyes from one second to the next.

And y'all. That dance team.

Here's a pre-game picture of the Rainbow Dancers visiting the Tulane Tailgate.


Very innocent and sweet at first glance, yet eyebrow raising in that peephole top.


Those calendars they were selling (I can only imagine the car wash fundraisers here) were Holy Inappropriate-ness in my opinion and portent of things to come.

Coach Hullabaloo woke up still laughing this morning about The Variety Hour at Aloha Stadium. He started joking that they were probably all with chiropracters this morning. He even started imitating them by pretend whipping his hair around - I wish you could hear his "swishing" soundtrack he added as he tried some signature UH Dance Team moves. (Oh, my Coach Hullabaloo!). But y'all: those girls did not stop! They musta had a case of Red Bull each.

One minute the Rainbow Dancers are doing their interpretation of So You Think You Can Dance in that precarious peephole top, then they're lining up side by side and doing like a showdown of who can leap the best - you know one by one coming out like a game of Red Rover and doing leaping pirouettes and then - ouch- landing onto the ground in a split. Then the UH Marching Band would kick it into high gear for the next number. All while the confetti, the monsoon kicking up, and Vili, the Hawaiian Mascot, was doing his war dance thingie and our Zach Davis is bringing it back to the red zone on an interception. It was balls to the wall nuts.

This is an old 2006 video of the Rainbow Dancers amidst confetti to bring this to you as vividly as I can


The UH Drumline and the Rainbow Dancers didn't give it a rest the entire game. They just booty shaked on the sideline, marched right out and did their half time booty shaking in long form and booty shaked off the field to booty shake some more until the clock said 0:00. It was beyond impressive. I can not stop writing about it.

So towards the end of the third quarter, two fights break out simultaneously. To our right and to our left.

To our right this group of Hawaii fans (guys) I think stole a pizza or did something askew, because another Hawaii fan ("Hawaii Fan B") called the cops over and whatever sin it was, Hawaii Fan B called the perp ("Hawaii Fan A") a "F*&cking A##hole" (yes! Hawaii Fan B said this!) to the cops and well that was sufficient accusation for them. Hawaii Fan A was handcuffed up and literally dragged out the stadium.

The picture I have below is just when it was just 2 cops. Because Hawaii Fan A made himself dead weight and the two cops had to call for backup, so then there were like 7 of them at the scene.

Meanwhile Hawaii Fan A's friends are all video taping the scene with their phones and screaming "Pepper Spray Him!" and laughing at the developing drama (! Yes, they were doing that to their friend! what friends!!!). Hawaii Fan A is waving his Hang Ten Foam Fingers at the crowd and his friends (how funny were those foam fingers?) as he is literally being dragged out the stadium OccupyHawaii-style.

To our left, one of the Tulane Coach's wives had had enough of the Peanut Gallery comments from one of the player's parents who are just as fed up as the rest of the fanbase on the playcalling this season. So she got up and started screaming at the player's family that her husband had experience either playing or coaching 2 NFL Teams (? it was all happening so fast I can't remember her tirade. Besides, I can only do so much multi-tasking). She was causing such a stir that the cops who were tending to Hawaii Fan A and his drama, notice the commotion and come over to start putting the kibosh on her! OMG, it was high drama unfolding because I thought she was about to get handcuffed and whisked away. Luckily I think she identified herself and explained her beef and they let it be.

And all the while y'all the UH Dance Team, the Rainbow Dancers, didn't miss a beat like all this commotion is normal - shown here doing their conga-style Kick Line number while Hawaii Fan A is being dragged away.


This was by far the most entertaining Tulane Game of the Toledo-Hutson Era since we were 9-7 in the first half with LSU at the dome in 2007. It deserved a Tony or an Emmy or something. Jamar Thomas with that insane kick return run, Zach Davis interception, and another interception. All to the tune of the Hawaii 5-0 Score/Soundtrack by the UH Marching Band and their Rainbow Dancers (which was cute in my opinion that they included that in the repetoire). Yeah, I wished that the Wave could have pulled out a win, sigh. But this season is what it is and the only thing I can do is witness, enjoy as it unfolds and report back to you.

At the end of the game, Vili came over and then another Hawaii Superfan came over and thanked us for coming. I was honestly just grateful for the Magic Carpet Ride to have pulled back into the stop.

So I'm off to the beach now, R&R in Hanama Bay.....Mazel my petit choux!