Puke And Rally Five

My fifth attendance of East Lansing's semi-annual UM/MSU Football Pukefest Classic left me cheering a UM victory (expected), nursing one of the worst hangovers of my life (expected), and leaving the land of Green and White a little nogastalic (not expected). I never went to school there, but it's def. home. Beautiful girls chugging $1.50 beers and bragging about their 4th "Puke and Rally" of the night, old men dancing on tables (LouHas) to Journey's "Don't stop believing", free food, free alcohol, meeting up with friends you haven't seen in years..having them only greet you with a shot and the words, "Gun it..no shut up and and gun it" [sic].

We brought someone out from Cali who had never been to the Midwest before and was quite surprised to see the absolute chaos that reigned all weekend in East Lansing. The difference being when police try to control a crowd versus when they simply try to contain a crowd. "Is this how the rest of the country drinks?" I don't know, but it's certainly how Michigan gets down. I was out of shape. It's safe to say that Michigan State is one of the "wettest" places on earth on football Saturday.

Townieness ensued from fights to stolen cars, to public nudity, to being thrown out of bars, it was a typical weekend at MSU. I guess that was almost the strange part of it. It's all too normal, and it's no wonder we all turned out the way we did. I sat there Saturday night..leaving the bar just before 2am...and watched the city erupt with sirens at 2am. The old cat and mouse game was on. The only thing happening at that hour in the whole state of Michigan. Flashing lights, loud music, and hooking up in the middle of nowhere. You make your own fun here. Drunks, starting the new school year, were busy wrestling or fighting in the streets, much like the great whitetail deer in the spring in upper Michigan...their arms locked like antlers.

My phone charger broke (no phone), My digiCam was lost (I got it back miraculously from the Landshark a day later), it wasn't until Sunday I changed out of my clothes that I was wearing in Thursday in LA, and the only shower I received was when everyone decided to pour their drinks on me after Michigan won in overtime..to which I kindly returned the favor and because of which we were unkindly escorted from Harper's Downtown...tossed out at 3:00EST (12PST). Getting thrown out at a bar before 4pm, now that's townie;)

Ah, the Midwest. Ah, Michigan. It's a special place and although I couldn't live there now, I'm glad my roots are there and that I spent those "forming years" growing up in the land corn, potatos, and busch lite beer. Strange how sometimes you have to leave a place to really understand it.

I guess it's true, freedom does cost a buck-oh-five.