Thursday, December 6, 2007

Day 1: The Show Me State

Ever been to Missouri? No? You're not alone. Home to the St. Louis blues, the Arch, Yogi Berra and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the "Gateway to the West" is exactly that. A great place to pass through. But if you do intend to come to Missouri, here's what you should know.

Next to New Orleans, Kansas City is the most lax city in the United States when it comes to drinking. There are no open container laws. There is no regulation for alcohol sales, meaning even drug stores and gas stations can sell hard liquor. Parents can legally serve their children alcohol. There is no such thing as 'drunk in public' and absinthe is permitted. But, as with most things, you have to take the good with the bad.

The bad is the weather, and the general lack of anything worth doing. On the 2 hour drive from Kansas City to Maryville--where the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats call home--we saw absolutely nothing but horses, cattle, and open fields. That, and a freak starter blizzard that put about 4 inches of snow on the ground in 3 hours. The state doesn't seem overly concerned with plowing roads (though one man in a golf-cart-turned-snow-plow was trying in vain to plow the football field while we set up instant replay...every 20 yards he plowed, the previous 20 was covered up). In hindsight, the 50% off upgrade offer for an SUV probably shouldn't have been declined. We thought a Chrysler 300M sounded nice enough.

After a few slips on the road and a brief encounter with death and an 18-wheeler in the oncoming traffic lane, we made it safely to the NWMS stadium and completed the fastest replay install in the history of DVSport.

Next stop, WalMart and our temporary place of residence at the Super 8 Motel. Smoking rooms only available. Dinner at Applebee's was an immediate disappointment when I remembered the Redskins game was on NFL Network, which is carried by no one.

As for the rest of the evening, I have been confined to my dank hotel room watching Villanova get pummeled in basketball and trying to keep up with my 'Skins with live stats online. Not a fun way to enjoy a football game.

Post-publishing note: Villanova came back from a 21 point deficit to take their first lead with about :5 seconds left in the game on a 35-13 run to beat LSU. One of the more exciting final 10 minutes of a basketball game I've ever seen.

And, go Redskins!

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