IBG: Tailgate Edition

Welcome to another edition of the Irish Blogger Gathering. Bad Trade came up with this week's questions, so take some time to read their responses as well as the responses from other members of IBG (links in the comments section). Also, make sure to check out Charlie's Nasties next week as we get our chance to host the Gathering. Enjoy, and as always, Go Irish!

1. You're having some beers and brats outside Notre Dame Stadium, just chilling with friends. If you could have one Notre Dame player or coach drop by to share a drink, a brat and some stories with you, who would it be?

If I was choosing from the current team, the coach would probably be Tenuta. He’s got this crazy look in his eyes that, if nothing else, would be good for keeping the excise police away. The no-brainer for best player from this year is definitely Pat Kuntz. Tell me this guy doesn’t look like a good time:
2. What was your best experience ever with a tailgate party?

I had some good experiences last year traveling to Purdue, and Michigan, but it seems strange to trump a day of ND tailgating in favor of a day with one of our rivals. So instead I’ll go with the Boston College game from last year. The weather was nice, and the mingling with friends was fun as usual, but a bus full of amicable BC alums that puts this day at the top. Anyone can sit around a tailgate with friends and have fun talking football, but how often do you get to sip Hot Damn 100 out of a soup ladle with people you’ve never met before and happen to be exuberant fans of a rival school?

3. There are lots of great tailgate experiences around the country - what school's tailgate tradition do you most want to experience?

I actually haven’t heard of too many specific tailgate experiences (besides schools where the ‘experience’ is just drinking a lot), so from the very limited library of tailgating knowledge that I have, I’ll choose Purdue. Apparently, the rowdiest of the Boilermaker faithful gather at a local bar in the pre-sunrise hours of gamedays, clad in ridiculous costumes to pregame the tailgates in an even known as The Breakfast Club. Good ole’ fashion Kegs and Eggs is alright, but isn’t everything better when you get to dress up?
While I may not have too much tailgate experience under my young belt, I will get to take in what should be a very interesting experience in the couch-burning city of Columbus this weekend for the OSU / Penn State game, and if I uncover any unique tailgating experiences, I’ll be sure to share them.

4. Indiana decides that their drinking laws are far too un-draconian (I'm from Wisconsin. I don't understand these things like "kids aren't allowed in bars," "your parents can't give you liquor if they are supervising" and "no alcohol purchases on Sunday"), and drinking is now forbidden on Saturdays. The Excise Police stop by your tailgate, and proceed to dump out the liquor you were attempting to hide from them. What do they pour out?

Being a poor college student, this one’s easy. Maybe if we were feeling particularly classy, a handle of McCormick’s vodka would be confiscated, but the drink most likely to be found at our tailgate would be Ten High, the best price/value combination of whiskey that Meijer has to offer.
You know it's good when the bottle cap is a plastic twist off
5. OK, I couldn't leave it alone completely. How do you feel about the impending end of the Coach Willingham era at Washington?

Over the past 3 seasons at Washington, Willingham’s average signing classes have consisted each of 4 Four Star players, and 7.6 Two Star players. Weis’ classes during the same time period (keep in mind that one of these classes came during a historically bad 3-9 season) averaged 14.6 Four Star players and only .6 Two Star. Ty’s first two season’s at ND consisted of fairly decent recruiting numbers, but after the success of Stanford and the 2002 season faded, Willingham pulled in a miserable 2 Four Stars to 6 Two Stars in 2004. As for this season, Charlie is working on another Top 10 recruiting class while Ty currently only has 4 ranked commits for the 2009 class.
The moral of the story? You can’t win without talent, and keeping someone around for four years that recruits poor talent will often result in a few 0-6 starts. I have full confidence that the Irish will make it 0-7.