McRib is back, but where did it go?

As I wake up very disoriented from a White Trash Party last night, I find myself mulling over the mystery that is the McDonald’s McRib. Every year, around the same time that Brett Favre begins to contemplate retiring, triumphantly returning to training camp, and then retiring again, McDonald’s announces seemingly the most significant press release in fast food history – McRib is back! However, every year this raises two questions in my mind. “Where the hell did it go?” and secondly, “Who gives a shit?” There may be people out there that get excited about a fake meet sandwich once again being available for a limited time, but I don’t know any of them. McDonald’s ad campaign for next football season should be something along the lines of “McRib is back for the 20th football season in a row and it will be available until the public once again realizes in a few weeks that this isn’t even a big deal. At which time the McRib will quietly disappear until next football season.” I bet the original ad campaign for McRib included “McRib is back” before it was even discontinued.

Re-learning gameday

People who are accustomed to seeing me on football gamedays over the past three years (probably more like 6 years) know that I’ve been very dedicated to Badger Pregame Parties.  From my e-mails, all the way down to the caliber of my 7:00 AM breakfast/bloody mary hour, a lot has been expected of me.  However, when Dave and I were enjoying a 5th Quarter in fabulous Las Vegas after the Badgers/UNLV game last Fall and I made a comment how awesome it would have been to be in the UW Drumline, he responded, “why don’t you give it a shot?”  So I did.  I tried out with all the other freshman and after undoubtedly the hardest week of my life (aka “Reg Week”) I am now the oldest freshman in the UW Marching Band – quite a unique way to spend my fifth year of college.  Although a lot of people (including Tequila Dan) miss the pregame parties I used to throw, aside from being a lot more work than drinking and eating brats before the games, my gamedays as a Cymbal player have a relatively similar schedule to my gamedays as your average pregame partier.  Here are the differences…

	Partying Gameday	UW Marching Band Gameday
5:30 AM	Still passed out	Wake up
5:45 AM	Still passed out	Arrive at Camp Randall with Bagels that I brought for the upperclassmen because I’m a “freshman”
6:00 AM	Still passed out	Begin Drumline music rehearsal
6:30 AM	Wake up, put on Euro Trunks, blast Jump around, and wake up roommates.	Drumline plays football on Camp Randall field
7:00 AM	Warren, Matt, and Lee have typically already arrived before I’m even out of the shower. Bloody Mary Hour begins.	Entire Band rehearsal begins
8:00 AM	Bloody Mary Hour ends	Band rehearsal ends
8:30 AM	Flip cup commences and/or Peter takes four-beer beer bong	Drumline begins playing “rounds” (playing cadences at bars in exchange for cases of beer)
9:30 AM	Mom and Dad arrive at Party bearing cheesy potatoes and brats. I try to hide inebriation.	End rounds, head to Union South.
10:00 AM	Tequila Dan serves hundreds of brats to the masses, while my mom serves pounds of cheesy potatoes.	Begin concert at Union South.
10:30 AM	Lose Yourself is played and David dances on back porch.	Play cadences into Camp Randall
10:45 AM	Party approaching drunken peak.	Begin Pregame and Run on Show
11:00 AM	Leave for game	Game begins
11:05 AM	Light cannons outside of Camp Randall
11:15 AM	Enter Camp Randall

So maybe they’re not that similar… at all. However, I’m having just as much fun, albeit a very different kind of fun.  I’ve already been quoted in the Wausau Daily Herald too.