The Finale: Maryland vs. Rutgers @ Noon on Saturday

First, everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving, and if you've got nowhere to go you're always welcome to roll by our house in Tinton Falls; just RSVP and be here by 3 p.m.

Otherwise, what better way to wrap up the season and send Kyle Federico (similar to several of his FG tries and kickoffs) exit stage left along with his fellow seniors...and probably Coach Flood...than with a tailgate for the finale this Saturday at noon vs. winless (in the B1G) Maryland!

If lobster can go with eggs...
so can Maryland crab!

The forecast is for a slight chance of occasional showers, but for all intents and purposes it's going to be relatively mild and conducive to a final gathering for our wonderful group.  

Really, there's nothing more to be thankful for this season than your great company, as evidenced by the successful rollout of our blog and the fun-filled photos and dialogue on this otherwise drab football season.

As traffic should be light getting into what I'm expecting will be a half-empty stadium, I'll propose meeting at 9 a.m. at our usual spot.

I'm also going to propose a breakfast tailgate and will offer to make 2 "Jersey Shore Tomato" casseroles (one with crab instead of Taylor Ham to comply with our Maryland food theme and the other with veggies).  If people aren't up for that, please offer suggestions for what to eat.

If we do the breakfast theme, we could use home fries, bagels, etc., so mention what you'll bring and how many people you're bringing.  

If anyone's bailing, please speak up, but figure at least Kaitlyn, Shane and I being there Saturday morning to cheer on the Scarlet Knights!

Tailgate Recap: Rutgers-Nebraska

The group gets together for a picture towards the end of the tailgate 

Although down our leader, and missing the emotional lifeblood and concierge

Tom, Andy, Nebraska Sue and her husband

of our tailgate (BRES) as well as a few other key members (JC, Donna, Chris, etc.), BREP Nation once again took to the Black lot to put together a solid (if abbreviated) tailgate experience. Joining us in the lot was Andy, an RU alum and former WRSU Knightline co host with Tom & Bill. Andy also brought along Nebraska Sue and her husband, who while rooting for the wrong red clad team, contributed some excellent wings and awesome red velvet gourmet cupcakes.

Good Guys vs. Bad Girls 

The corn hole matches were spirited and very competitive, with the Good Guys and the Bad Girls squaring off in a tough grudge match, the Good Guys narrowly escaping with a slim margin of victory (Clearly someone had been practicing!). The walk into the stadium also featured several armored military vehicles on display in honor of our veterans, with the scalpers out in full force with NO ticket takers to be found. Unfortunately, Rutgers fell behind early, and despite a nice rally early in the third quarter, were no match for the Cornhuskers on this day.

BREP Nation poses with an armored vehicle in front of the stadium 

A scalper trying to unload all his tickets - GOOD LUCK!!! 

The group in our seats looking directly into the sun for the first quarter. Wasn't much that was good to see for RU anyway!

 

RU vs. Michigan trip Part 3: BREP Nation invades the Big House

Panoramic view of The Big House (courtesy of the artistry of BREB)

After our long trip with many great stops on the way, we finally arrived at game time. While the results of the game weren't as we hoped, seeing a Rutgers football game with over 109,000 fans was quite an experience. Feeling the history of the stadium, coupled with the great football atmosphere (and the welcoming Michigan fans) made the day one we won't forget.  Below are some of the pictures of our game day experience.

BREP nation crew settles into our seat area before the game  

Chris pausing for a moment to think and reflect on the moment 

The sun shines brighltly as BREB anxiously awaits kickoff 

Flags unfurled on the field prior to the National Anthem - Michigan honors the veterans 

The Hobo clan enjoying the game with the other RU fans 

The Michigan band at halftime (courtesy of the artistry of BREB) 

A final group shot before leaving the Himalayan Resort (courtesy of the artistry of BREB)

One final trip note: On the way home, one last important stop was required to fulfill a boy's dream:

WAFFLE HOUSE!!!!!!

RU vs. Michigan trip Part 2: Pre-Game

The Holobowski on the porch of the Himalayan Lodge  (with BREB looking on)

Bongos, Bongos, and more Bongos

After our trip to the R&R Hall of Fame, the BREP Nation crew made the trek to Ann Arbor to settle into our house for the weekend.  Kudos to Bill on setting us up in this unusual weekend retreat, aptly named by the owners as the Himalayan Lodge.  A truly unusual house, with bongos, unusual artwork, bongos, tales of mountain 
climbing, more bongos, and other musical instruments.   

Getting ready to take on the Blue and Maize!

 After getting fired up for the big game at the Big House, the crew went to the famous Maize and Blue Deli, for a long wait for the excellent treat of hot pregame sandwiches. We then made the short walk through town to the Big House. Check back later for Part 3 of our trip - BREP Nation invades the Big House!

Bill Knows Bo, 

BREB joyfully awaiting his sandwich outside...... 

......as the rest of us wait inside 

RU vs. Michigan trip Part 1: BREP Nation Rocks the R&R Hall of Fame

BRES pays homage to the King's gold suit 

BREP Nation welcomes you to the rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!!!!!!!!

Our resident RU Bad Religion fan 

On our way to the Rutgers-Michigan game, B-Rep Nation took a detour to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Our crew enjoyed a fun day looking back into rock music history. After a walk around the outside of the building, to marvel at I.M. Pei's interesting architectural design and soak up the neat Cleveland waterfront, our group began our journey into rock's past.^[I think we were all surprised by the amount of instruments, costumes, hand written lyrics and other cool things like the HoF inductee signature wall, the many video rooms, and "The Wall" we discovered during our roughly five hour stay in the museum that was way too short.

While everybody had their own highlights, my personal favorite was the collection of Beatles nostalgia, including John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper suit and hand written lyrics, Ringo's drum kit from the historic 1965 Shea Stadium Show, and the mellotron played by Paul on "Strawberry Fields Forever".

Check out below for just a fraction of the things we saw and learned:

Our fearless leader with a collection of Jimi Hendrix guitars 

BREP in awe of Ringo's 1960s Beatles drum kit 

The RU crew with Michael Jackson's glove and suit behind them

How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!!!!

ZZ Top's instruments with a sharp dress man 

Bruce's hand written lyrics for "Born in the USA"  

BRES channels the King of Rock & Roll 

BREP Nation group shot at R&R HoF Historical Marker sign 

Quick Notes on Nebraska Tailgate

Those of us that made the Michigan trip had an awesome time notwithstanding our team's 4th-straight beating, and I'm sure you'll see some posts here in the near future recounting the expedition.

'15 Huskers certainly not
Tom Osborne vintage

In the meantime, please note that Chris and I will NOT take part in the pregame tailgate as we normally would, since we're coaching our boys' first CYO basketball game, which starts at 1:30 p.m. in Marlboro.  We'll meet y'all inside the stadium, hopefully by kickoff.

Some of you know my friend and Rutgers alum Andrew Kagan (Tom certainly will from the WRSU days), who would like to join the group for the pregame tailgate along with a few friends, including a Nebraska gal
who evidently plans on bringing wings, a tray of food and cupcakes, so whomever is organizing this week's shindig please update the group here.

I've directed Andrew to stay tuned here for details.