Uh-merican: Hotty Toddy!

After the Armed Forces Bowl on the last day of December (Houston 34-28) our (i.e. Jonathan, Chad, Rob, and Erik) trip took us to Dallas on January 2nd for the 73rd and last Cotton Bowl at the Cotton Bowl Stadium. The 2010 game will be played at the new Cowboys Stadium, which ironically sat 2 blocks from our hotel in Arlington and is currently under construction. The game featured the high-powered Texas Tech offense versus the resurgent Ole Miss Rebels.

I went into the game rooting for Ole Miss because this past summer I read two great books with Ole Miss ties – The Blind Side by Michael Lewis and Meat Market by Bruce Feldman. The latter of the two dealt with an entire season of recruiting leading up to the 2007 National Signing Day for the Rebels. Although Houston Nutt, not Ed Orgeron, is now the head coach of the Rebels, many recruits of Orgeron’s were playing pivotal roles in the turnaround season from 3-8 to 8-4.

Another interesting dynamic of Ole Miss football games is The Grove. The full linked article will explain the atmosphere in its entirety. I can attest that The Grove moved to Dallas. Co-eds in dresses with pearls around their necks. Guys in slacks or khakis accompanied by button down Polo shirts, some with ties. Older couples, mostly alumni, dressed as if they were attending business meetings. Blonde-haired women a plenty. Southern gentlemen with the exact same haircut (somewhat long on the top, somewhat shorter on the sides). It was like a whole different culture and definitely intriguing.

Our seats were in the Ole Miss section. It was here where we learned even more about Ole Miss fans – they can drink. As Jesse, a 33-year old fan explained, “We may not win every game, but we sure do win every party!” He was right. His wife snuck in vodka in a flask that imitated a cell phone. He had Bourbon, the main drink of choice for Rebel fans. Everyone in our section was wasted and chanting after every decent Rebels play:

Hotty Toddy
Are you ready? Hell yes! Damn Right!
Hotty Toddy, Gosh almighty
Who in the hell are we - Hey
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
Ole Miss By Damn!

Check out some of the pictures from the game. All-in-all it was a great 5 days down in Texas. We saw three great bowl games and had plenty of fun. Now its off to New Orleans for Erik and myself!