R
Reddfoxx1
Guest
First. Congrats to the Atlanta Braves and all of our resident Braves fans on GC. A championship is an incredibly hard thing to achieve. The Braves also really helped my fledgling 2021 gambling ledger.
The story of the Braves fan who went to all 6 games and got to party with the team was AWESOME.
southcarolina.forums.rivals.com
It reminded me of my trip to my only Super Bowl in 2006. It’s not as good as THAT story, but it’s pretty good, and it has Columbia, SC ties. All of this is 100% true.
It’s Wednesday night before the Super Bowl and I get a call from my boy Chaz. He calmly says, “Hey, you wanna go to the Super Bowl? I’ve got an opportunity to get some pretty good seats”. Our Steelers were playing the Seattle Seahawks.
The price was negotiable, he told me.
“You got the tickets in hand?” I asked.
”No, they are in Detroit”.
Crap, I realized. The game is in Detroit. In February.
“Screw it, Let’s go” I blurted out.
We booked a flight to arrive in Detroit Saturday night and fly home at 6AM on Monday. (There weren’t many options 3 days before the big game)
The week before the game, there was a death in the family of Gamecock legend Duce Staley. Duce and his agent were in Columbia for the funeral. Duce played for the Steelers at the time, but was injured. Little did I know that EVERY player on the team got 16 tickets to the big game (to do with however they pleased). Word got out that perhaps some of those tickets (held by Duce’s agent who had only 3 NFL clients) might be for sale. Through back channels we “secured“ 2…or so we thought. A plan to meet up in Detroit with said agent was arranged and we took off, with a bunch of cash in my pocket.
We met up with the agent at the Hilton parking lot Saturday night around 7pm.
Oh yeah, we didn’t have a hotel room. It was the Super Bowl after all. We found a Days Inn on the skirts of Detroit (the bad skirts) but to say it didn’t meet our standards is an understatement. Perhaps the most disgusting “hotel” I’ve ever seen. We passed on the $400 a night hellhole and determined we would sleep in the Escalade we rented. That’s right. An Escalade.
Did I mention it was 8 degrees…..anyway back to the Hilton.
We entered a stretch limousine to meet Duce’s agent, his wife, some of Duce’s cousins, his uncle (I think) some friends of his, a couple of ladies that seemed a tad underdressed for a February night in Detroit. Then, across from us was a tanned put together 40 something white guy with a Staley Jersey on who I recognized put couldn’t put my finger on.
It was Richland County sheriff Leon Lott. No shit. Why Sheriff Lott was in the limo you can make your own inference. Leon had a friend with him. I will leave it there. I have a buddy who is a RC detective so when I induced his name, Leon was immediately taken aback.
We went to some SB party on the 35th floor.
The agent didnt have the tickets on him, but we went ahead and gave him the $$. I mean the sheriff was in the car.
We jumped around to a couple of parties, met Merrill Hoge and one of the Barber brothers (Tiki I think) and heard some good Duce stories, but by midnight, still no tickets. And no hotel. Uh-oh.
We finally reconvened with the agent at some casino around 3AM. It was jumping. He said he was waiting on some “other tickets” (not the ones we thought we were getting) and oh….he was gambling (and losing) with OUR MONEY.
After dropping Sheriff Lott’s name in a sort of threatening way, he reluctantly handed over the 2 tickets. At 4AM.
We found a parking garage and snagged maybe 2 hours of car sleep, then headed into Greek town for some breakfast.
Who do meet? Dion Rich. He’s the guy who has snuck in EVERY Super Bowl. Wha a character. He was holding court in some awesome diner peddling his book. His story here. https://www.rollingstone.com/cultur...-rich-is-the-godfather-of-gatecrashing-39217/
We made it into the game, sat with the Steelers players family and friends. Steelers won (and covered). Great time had by all.
Fast forward to after the game. We get a call from the agent asking if we wanted to go the team party. Duh.
”it’s in Pontiac” he said. (That was 40 minutes away)
We decided to test our luck. We show up around 11 to a non descript Marriott off the highway. No sign of the agent. He was looking for more $$$. He had zero clout we quickly realized. But, we were at the right place.
While loitering in the lobby, we saw Joey Porter and family. We saw James Farrior. Then Willie Parker. It was on.
But how do we get in?
I then recognized a group of people waiting for their queue to enter the ball room. They were all wearing #27 with “Williams” on the back. I had an idea. I went over and asked who would later be introduced to me as Momma, are you guys with Willie Williams, (Steelers journeyman CB)
”That’s my boy “ she proclaimed
Knowing Williams is from Columbia (he went to Spring Valley), I quickly told our story and that we too were from Columbia, SC. They did not believe me. One of the Williams group leaned over and said, PROVE IT!
I had 30 seconds to come up with proof.
I just blurted out “Lizards Thicket”
Everyone laughed and agreed that was proof Enough.
At that moment they got the OK to enter, I grabbed Chaz and through the chaos, we became one of the Williams family.
Walked in and saw Troy Polimalu praying with his whole family before entering some ballroom where the team was throwing down. Did some tequila shots with UGA’s Casey Hampton and watched Kid Rock play a set of Motown standards.
We drove to the airport at 4 AM and somehow made our flight. Not sleeping a wink. Sat right behind Leon Lott on the flight.
I told Mr. Williams (Lizards Thicket owner) that story and he loved it.
on to week 11
5-6-1 last week
41-47-1 on the season
5-3 in USC games
Back to what we know and love betting.
All Home dogs. I’ve got good reasons. Really. Just tired of typing
1. Purdue +3 over Sparty
2. West Virginia +3.5 over Oklahoma State
3. Rutgers +13.5 over Wisconsin
4. BC +3 over Va Tech
5. Arizona +12 over Cal
6. FSU +3 over NC State
7. Hawaii +7.5 over San Diego State
8. Navy/ND over 46.5
adding
9. Penn State -10
10. Air Force -2.5
11. UNC -2.5
12. Nebraska +15 over Ohio State
13. Washington +7 over Oregon
and our game
USC +20.5 over Florida
after a bye, we should be able to score points. Also should focus on the Florida run game
Florida in a huge flat spot. If we get blown out by 30, be concerned
Good luck Everyone
The story of the Braves fan who went to all 6 games and got to party with the team was AWESOME.
MUST READ: Braves fan attends all 6 WS games and gets into the team after party
southcarolina.forums.rivals.com
It reminded me of my trip to my only Super Bowl in 2006. It’s not as good as THAT story, but it’s pretty good, and it has Columbia, SC ties. All of this is 100% true.
It’s Wednesday night before the Super Bowl and I get a call from my boy Chaz. He calmly says, “Hey, you wanna go to the Super Bowl? I’ve got an opportunity to get some pretty good seats”. Our Steelers were playing the Seattle Seahawks.
The price was negotiable, he told me.
“You got the tickets in hand?” I asked.
”No, they are in Detroit”.
Crap, I realized. The game is in Detroit. In February.
“Screw it, Let’s go” I blurted out.
We booked a flight to arrive in Detroit Saturday night and fly home at 6AM on Monday. (There weren’t many options 3 days before the big game)
The week before the game, there was a death in the family of Gamecock legend Duce Staley. Duce and his agent were in Columbia for the funeral. Duce played for the Steelers at the time, but was injured. Little did I know that EVERY player on the team got 16 tickets to the big game (to do with however they pleased). Word got out that perhaps some of those tickets (held by Duce’s agent who had only 3 NFL clients) might be for sale. Through back channels we “secured“ 2…or so we thought. A plan to meet up in Detroit with said agent was arranged and we took off, with a bunch of cash in my pocket.
We met up with the agent at the Hilton parking lot Saturday night around 7pm.
Oh yeah, we didn’t have a hotel room. It was the Super Bowl after all. We found a Days Inn on the skirts of Detroit (the bad skirts) but to say it didn’t meet our standards is an understatement. Perhaps the most disgusting “hotel” I’ve ever seen. We passed on the $400 a night hellhole and determined we would sleep in the Escalade we rented. That’s right. An Escalade.
Did I mention it was 8 degrees…..anyway back to the Hilton.
We entered a stretch limousine to meet Duce’s agent, his wife, some of Duce’s cousins, his uncle (I think) some friends of his, a couple of ladies that seemed a tad underdressed for a February night in Detroit. Then, across from us was a tanned put together 40 something white guy with a Staley Jersey on who I recognized put couldn’t put my finger on.
It was Richland County sheriff Leon Lott. No shit. Why Sheriff Lott was in the limo you can make your own inference. Leon had a friend with him. I will leave it there. I have a buddy who is a RC detective so when I induced his name, Leon was immediately taken aback.
We went to some SB party on the 35th floor.
The agent didnt have the tickets on him, but we went ahead and gave him the $$. I mean the sheriff was in the car.
We jumped around to a couple of parties, met Merrill Hoge and one of the Barber brothers (Tiki I think) and heard some good Duce stories, but by midnight, still no tickets. And no hotel. Uh-oh.
We finally reconvened with the agent at some casino around 3AM. It was jumping. He said he was waiting on some “other tickets” (not the ones we thought we were getting) and oh….he was gambling (and losing) with OUR MONEY.
After dropping Sheriff Lott’s name in a sort of threatening way, he reluctantly handed over the 2 tickets. At 4AM.
We found a parking garage and snagged maybe 2 hours of car sleep, then headed into Greek town for some breakfast.
Who do meet? Dion Rich. He’s the guy who has snuck in EVERY Super Bowl. Wha a character. He was holding court in some awesome diner peddling his book. His story here. https://www.rollingstone.com/cultur...-rich-is-the-godfather-of-gatecrashing-39217/
We made it into the game, sat with the Steelers players family and friends. Steelers won (and covered). Great time had by all.
Fast forward to after the game. We get a call from the agent asking if we wanted to go the team party. Duh.
”it’s in Pontiac” he said. (That was 40 minutes away)
We decided to test our luck. We show up around 11 to a non descript Marriott off the highway. No sign of the agent. He was looking for more $$$. He had zero clout we quickly realized. But, we were at the right place.
While loitering in the lobby, we saw Joey Porter and family. We saw James Farrior. Then Willie Parker. It was on.
But how do we get in?
I then recognized a group of people waiting for their queue to enter the ball room. They were all wearing #27 with “Williams” on the back. I had an idea. I went over and asked who would later be introduced to me as Momma, are you guys with Willie Williams, (Steelers journeyman CB)
”That’s my boy “ she proclaimed
Knowing Williams is from Columbia (he went to Spring Valley), I quickly told our story and that we too were from Columbia, SC. They did not believe me. One of the Williams group leaned over and said, PROVE IT!
I had 30 seconds to come up with proof.
I just blurted out “Lizards Thicket”
Everyone laughed and agreed that was proof Enough.
At that moment they got the OK to enter, I grabbed Chaz and through the chaos, we became one of the Williams family.
Walked in and saw Troy Polimalu praying with his whole family before entering some ballroom where the team was throwing down. Did some tequila shots with UGA’s Casey Hampton and watched Kid Rock play a set of Motown standards.
We drove to the airport at 4 AM and somehow made our flight. Not sleeping a wink. Sat right behind Leon Lott on the flight.
I told Mr. Williams (Lizards Thicket owner) that story and he loved it.
on to week 11
5-6-1 last week
41-47-1 on the season
5-3 in USC games
Back to what we know and love betting.
All Home dogs. I’ve got good reasons. Really. Just tired of typing
1. Purdue +3 over Sparty
2. West Virginia +3.5 over Oklahoma State
3. Rutgers +13.5 over Wisconsin
4. BC +3 over Va Tech
5. Arizona +12 over Cal
6. FSU +3 over NC State
7. Hawaii +7.5 over San Diego State
8. Navy/ND over 46.5
adding
9. Penn State -10
10. Air Force -2.5
11. UNC -2.5
12. Nebraska +15 over Ohio State
13. Washington +7 over Oregon
and our game
USC +20.5 over Florida
after a bye, we should be able to score points. Also should focus on the Florida run game
Florida in a huge flat spot. If we get blown out by 30, be concerned
Good luck Everyone
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