We Say Goodbye to a Friend

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​It is with a heavy heart that I make this regrettable announcement, but we had one of our own, a dear friend and avid tailgater, leave us this weekend.  Chris Kurtz, known to his friends and around the tailgate as Kurtzy, passed away.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.  Information on services can be found on the funeral home website, and I encourage you to sign the guestbook there with stories and memories you have of Kurtzy.  You can also leave a message in the comments here if you wish.

Rest in peace Kurtzy.  You will be missed.

The Unreality Continues

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Hey!  We're famous again!

Ahhh yes, UMTailgate.com...featured previously in the Orlando Sentinel and the Ann Arbor News, has found itself with some fresh new publicity.

The Free Press's food maven Susan Salasky has interviewed me a few times over the past month for an article on tailgating for the paper.  What started small has ended big, and in today's life section of the Free Press, there are a couple pieces that feature UMTailgate.com. Nice stuff.

Thanks to Tailgater Patty for helping to make all of this happen.

Articles are here, here, and even though it says that the recipe is from Kevin Miller here...it was actually from me.  That's grandma's baked beans!!!

Hey...Thanks

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​First, I want to thank all the readers, friends, family, and the Michigan Blogosphere as a whole for getting the word out about bringing Guy Fieri to UMTailgate.com.  Special thanks to FryDaddy Frank who planted the seed.  The bevy of support has been outstanding, and it is a testament to the character of the Michigan fan contingency and our strong tailgating family.  Word has trickled in that some emailers have been contacted by producers of the show, which is great news.  Whatever happens, I am left with a warm heart by all of your kind words.  It makes me so much more excited for the coming season, and it drives us to create a better tailgate full of new and improved ideas, both activity and culinary based.  Just...wow.

Next, I am taking the blog in a new (read additional) direction, focusing on tailgate and food related items to create a balance with our Michigan opinions and coverage.  I'm going on vacation for the weekend, so I hope to start it when I return on Wednesday, with a chance of some scattered postings from now until then.

We are less than a month and a half from life starting again.  The stadium will be different, the uniforms will be different, and the gameplan will be different...but the tailgate family will be just as you left it in November.  Here's to things changing AND remaining the same.

Godfather Just Wants to Have Fun

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​About once a week, the planning committee has a conference call with the menu organization team.  Translation:  I talk to the Godfather.  This week, The Godfather expressed displeasure with the verbose tone of the recent posts on UMTailgate.com.  "Not enough fun," he said.

Despite retiring at a very young age and leeching a living off of Red Grandma, The Godfather is a very busy person.  He takes out the garbage, he does the grocery shopping in nearby South Bend, he buys Michigan stuff on ebay, he puts gas in the lawnmower so Red Grandma can cut the grass, and most importantly, he schedules "events."  Not being allowed by Red Grandma to mix a Captain and Coke when alone, these "events" give the Godfather the freedom to imbibe.

He hasn't had an open weekend since 1973.

Recently, one of the Godfather's "events" took him to the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo.  In between appointments with the one armed bandits, he bumped into Hall of Fame Coach Mike Ditka.  They talked for a while (I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that exchange) with Godfather most likely divulging his entire life story, and Ditka revealing that his morning winnings totalled in the six-figure range...which I am sure was just a bit over what The Godfather had won.

Fun.

This weekend, he will make the trek accross the state to Comerica Park for the Saturday night Tiger game.  I will join him there at some point and there will likely be some more fun...and casinos...and maybe even some fresh pics for the site.  Stay tuned.