The most terrible day of the (every other) year
Tomorrow is Black Saturday. More accurately, tomorrow is Black and Gold and Cardinal (and sometimes a little navy blue) Saturday. It is the Iowa/Iowa State football game.
I don’t like football Saturdays anyway, because there are too many rowdy fans being drunk and rude and driving badly and shouting obnoxiously. This one is the worst, though, because it’s a game that’s easy for a lot of people, local and otherwise, to get to, and there’s this very negative vibe. Some people even have t-shirts with extremely distasteful statements on them regarding the team they don’t like. Can’t you just support the team you prefer? Why all the hate? Where is the love?
I grew up in Ames, and I’ve lived in IC for over a decade, and therefore I have absolutely zero preference on the outcome of the game (except that my brother is a lot more pleasant to hang out with when Iowa wins). Football fans boggle my mind. I just don’t get it. Almost all the star players on either team are recruits from out of state; how on earth can you feel like some kid who’s just here for 4 years somehow represents you?
If it’s all in good fun, that’s one thing, but people get downright mean and destructive about it. Calm down, people. It’s just pretend.
I plan to ignore the whole situation as much as possible. Maybe I’ll go apple-picking at the orchard outside of town.
In other news, there’s a Project Runway Season Finale party in the works. I’m trying to think of good theme foods I could bring for the occasion, besides the obvious Moët champagne (which, dang, costs $50 or so. Maybe I’ll buy cheap champagne and tape a Moët label on it).
I was considering crepes all wrinkled up like that garbage dress that got Allison kicked off. A cake with 20 billion rosettes like Angela’s stupid trademark? That would be fun, but it would require learning to make frosting rosettes, which I do not know how to do. Any other ideas?
if you want to make rosettes there is a super easy way. go to hobby lobby or michaels (or even walmart has them probably) and get a decorating tip called “2D.” if you use that, you can make what are called “drop flowers” and all you have to do is squeeze the bag and turn your wrist. here are the wilton instructions: http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/dropflowers.cfm
or another way you could do it that i actually think is easier is to use a star tip (wilton tips #13-#22, the larger the number the larger the “hole” and thus the larger the rosette or whatever you make will be). then you just sqeeze the bag and make a little circle, like this:
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/rosette.cfm
Great tips! Thanks, Linds.
Bubbly tip of the day:
Cristalino is a lovely and affordable Spanish cava.
http://www.selectwinesllc.com/crcabr.html
Its name is such that you might happen to scribble out the “-ino” at the end with a Sharpie. Then you have “Cristal” for your party!
I don’t like football Saturdays either. Working in food service for eight years in Iowa City will do that to a person. I’ve never even been able to go to a game. A tip for the “Food Eaters”: don’t be rude to anyone involved in the preparation of your meal.
Not sure how elaborate you would like to get but you could go with something of the black and white variety (I’m not a good foodie, chocolate cake, white icing?) to match the cocktail dress assignment. It could also technically match everything Laura has done or worn (except those awful riding pants, why did she even bring riding pants?)
If table cloths were a detail you were concerned about, something to match the tablecloth-y fabric of Jeffrey’s winning couture dress (which was awesome).
As for football Saturdays, this was one of my favorites. Aside from the occasional negative mouthyness and inappropriate shirts, all of the jabs were very much in jest and I saw lots of ISU folks joking with UI folks, vice versa. As an outsider, I said several times while sitting in the stadium, “Iowa is a great state.”
I’m not big on academics and athletics mixing or clashing but I think the atmosphere of two instate schools and their fans getting together was really fun to experience. Animosity or not, when you get 100000s of people together and then get them all drunk, people’s classiness level is going to drop a few notches.