Jason's Untimely Thoughts

Football season starts for real on Saturday, as the Tigers host the Georgia Bulldogs at 6:45 p.m. After attending the 10U Girls soccer game in the morning (go Qatar!) we’ll be at the tailgate around noon or so. Kyle George (Kim’s brother) is frying fish and ShutUpBulldogs (hush puppies). Others are bringing cole slaw, candied pecans, peach cobbler, little smokies, peanuts, pork, and grits. And other stuff, I’m sure. Bring what you will, as you like.

It’s extremely weird not to hate all the teams we’re playing this year. Except Southeast Louisiana of course, who has a Lion for a mascot? Seriously, stupid Lions. I’m sure the hatred will come for the SEC in time. For now, though, finally, revenge! for Georgia’s 14-0 victory over the Tigers in the 1960 Orange Bowl. REVENGE!

The only reasonably current things I really know about Georgia are two kids from Columbia played football there recently, Mizzou interviewed their head coach (Richt) but hired Coach Pinkel instead, I like their uniforms, and they’re in the SEC so there’s no way Mizzou’s tricky spread offense and tiny players on defense can possibly compete. And that their mascot bulldogs are all raised by a weird attorney family in Georgia. I assume some of their fans also walk fake dogs around the park and keep flies attached to strings (read this book if you haven’t).

Go Tigers, beat the Bulldogs, and screw ku.

Happy football season Tiger fans,

Despite my belief that Mizzou’s first game is next Saturday against Georgia, it does appear the boys will be playing a football game this weekend as well.  Kickoff against the Southeast Louisiana Lions is scheduled for 6:07 p.m.  Since you can no longer leave at halftime for a bathroom break or a beer, that :07 might be a critical period for some.

We’ll be tailgating early, can almost guarantee I’ll be there before you’d likely want to show up, so come on out whenever you like.  It might rain, it might not, but we’ll again be in glorious Lot D.  We should be in the same spot although the first game or two there’s always a bit of a feeling out process (meaning I have to feel out what time I have to arrive to beat the rest of the crowd so I can get the spot I like), so look around a bit if needed.  I’ve added another flag pole to the mix and will be flying a USA flag this year as well, because the SEC loves America.

Mike Messer’s meat will be on display during the latter parts of the tailgate…. what i mean to say is Mike is planning on smoking a bunch of pork, with a cajun dry rub recipe.  We are bringing red beans & rice and jambalaya, so feel free to bring a side dish or dessert of your choosing, if you like.  As always, if you’d like me to take anything to the tailgate for you, just have it at the house Friday night sometime.  And call Mike Messer for all your insurance needs.

In case you’re curious, here’s our path to #1 by the SEC Championship game, as predicted by me in an e-mail to a fellow prognosticator last week:

It’s been a long, long, time since I’ve written anything here.

An update, the former Kim George & I were married on May 5, 2012.  She and Brandon moved in the week prior to that, we spent the months prior (and after) getting the house ready.  All of that is going well.  Brandon spends the majority of the summer in Kansas City with his dad and his family, but is able to be with us quite a bit as well.  We’ve spent a lot of time at the Lake of the Ozarks as well as taken trips to Denver & Estes Park in June and Indiana in July.  Brandon, Adelaide, and Jack are all adjusting as well or better than could possibly be expected, as are Kim & I for that matter.  If you’re friends with either Kim or me on facebook, you’ve at least had the chance to see a bunch of pictures of it all.

I’ve taken to redesigning the becking.com site.  It’s at least partially done now, how much more happens depends largely on my abilities and what I decide I do or don’t like about how it is now.  One priority will be to figure out how to get pictures here too, easily, so facebook doesn’t own all my memories.

On the design, and the delay in writing, and pretty much everything surrounding me, part of the delay has been me trying to figure out if there’s a better way to proceed, especially with regard to everyone’s feelings.  Since I started doing becking.com in roughly 1998, I’ve simply added whatever I’ve wanted to put up here, and that’s it.  I edited, added, and captioned all of Sarah’s photos, and then wrote or joked or added pages about whatever I wanted to beyond that.  While I’ll still largely do that, I also am trying to be sensitive to how any of this might be read/understood by Kim and her family (whereas I assumed Sarah and her family knew me well enough by 1998 to just ignore me) while also figuring out how to best remember and honor Sarah.

For the moment anyway, I’ve added some “about” pages for myself, Kim, and Sarah, to try to make it clear who we each are and to continue to provide an outlet for Sarah’s photography as well as point toward Kim’s businesses and personality.  Hopefully that’s acceptable to all.  If not, hopefully all will figure out they can simply ignore me.

Football practice is underway, which makes me happy.  I’m hopeful we’ll still be in Lot D for tailgating, which will make me happy.  The Tigers looked pretty good in the one practice I’ve seen thus far, which also makes me happy.  Hopefully I can figure out how to get to more practices and some road games, which will make me happier still.  On a side note, screw ku.  #MIZSEC.

It’s Christmas Card time… here’s ours.  I lost my mailing list, it seems, so you may or may not receive one.  They won’t be mailed until next week regardless, so you’ll be bored with my musings by then anyway.  Happy Christmas to all, and I sincerely hope 2012 for each of you is great.  Great enough that you choose to give me a bunch of money, in fact.

Here’s the text of the card:

Happy Christmas, Merry New Year and Joyful Holiday wishes from Adelaide, Jack, and Jason.  2011 has been good to all of us, with a bit of travel and a bunch of kids’ activities filling the time.  A theme from past Christmas cards too, it seems.

Adelaide is in third grade now and is remarkably close to being a grown up.  Dance remains her main activity, with swim team, golf, and tennis mixed in during the summer.  (Hello Country Club.)

Jack is in first grade and doing wonderfully.  He has lots of friends and is a great reader.  He’ll be starting basketball in January, baseball in the summer, and also took part in swim team and golf with his sister, along with soccer camp this summer.  Both are great, funny, sharp kids.

Jason took the often-advised step of quitting his job without something specific lined up.  And it turns out employment is over-rated by quite a bit.  Very much enjoyed getting the kids to the various events, picking them up from school each day, and generally being a more active parent.

A couple of new faces join us on the Christmas card, as Kim George and her son Brandon have come into our lives.  They’re fitting in well thus far, we’ll likely keep them around.  Bring on 2012, a.k.a. the Year of Paying Bills (and Mizzou victories, of course).

And here are the photos.  Please note, the design would look a lot better if Photoshop hadn’t quit working in the middle of me laying them out.  And if I was a better designer.

Happy weekend before Thanksgiving, Tiger fans.  On Saturday, the good guys will go for the sweep of Texas schools (Baylor doesn’t count), with kickoff against Texas Tech scheduled for 2:30 p.m.  It might rain, they say, which I say means the Tigers will rain points down upon the Red Raiders with great vengeance and furious anger.

Jessie Logan and Jim Yankee, of Flat Branch Home Loans, are providing the tailgate fare this week, via D. Rowe’s.  Pulled pork and smoked wings will be the main feast, food arriving around 11:30.  Also, please bring a healthy thirst for random leftover tailgate beer (and perhaps call a cab).  My fridgeth doth overflow.

It’s senior day, the last time these kids will play at Faurot Field, the last home game in the Big 6/7/8/12/12-2-1+1+1-1.  Go in early and give these guys a cheer.

on a side note, screw ku.

So, everyone content?  Seriously, each cheerful?  Strikingly, everyone’s calmer now. Suddenly, exhilaration commenced.   Saturday, everything continues.

The Tigers face the Longhorns from Texas on Saturday, almost certainly for the last time in Columbia in forever. (Although I do assume we’ll meet them in the National Championship game in two years or so.)  Game time is the wonderful 11:00 a.m.  Players and coaches seemingly love that start time, yet another reason why I’m not a player or coach.   I’ll be tailgating early, yet another another reason I’m not a player or coach, come join me when you will.  We’ll have various breakfast type things there.  Maybe some Sausage-Egg Casserole.  Saccharin Enhanced Cakes.  Seared Easter Candy.  Stop, everyone cries.

Perhaps the best thing about the coming conference change means I finally get some new material for these stupid tailgate emails.  In the meantime, here’s one of my favorites from year’s gone by.  Interestingly, I learned last week in Waco that many Texans, even, felt the same way.  To the point of identifying a particular Texas fan’s type of laugh.  Strange, eye contend.

Go Tigers, beat Bevo.  And on a side note, screw ku.

It’s homecoming week here (again) in Columbia, Mo.  The sudden chill in the air, the falling leaves, the brrrrrr cold rain is proof enough, but the highly ranked team from Oklahoma coming to town unsuspecting of the beatdown that awaits them is a sure sign.  Like Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner last year, Oklahoma State arrives from the land thief state this year.  Game time is 11:00 a.m., televised on FX (good luck finding that on your television dials).  When Gahn McGhaffie returns the opening kick for a TD again, may you all thank me simultaneously for this comparison.

Ok, it’s not really homecoming again, it just feels like it.  (What’s that, maybe I just can’t remember parts of last week?  Shut your mouth.)  We’ll be tailgating early again, bring a breakfast dish of your liking, should you desire.

Speaking of “it’s not really”, it’s not really the best team from Oklahoma coming to town, this is Oklahoma State.  They’re just coming to teach us how to Gundy.  Not content with being the second best team in Oklahoma (to OU), nor the (traditionally) second best OSU (to Ohio State), nor having the craziest coach (to Les Miles, their former coach), nor having the second craziest rich old alumni (ok, I give, I can’t think of anyone crazier than T. Boone Pickens), they’ve also gone all Oregon with the insane uniform combinations.  A wise man often told me (when Ok State came to town) that you can’t be proud walking around in orange pants.  It seems they 75% agree, as white, black, and grey are equally as likely Saturday.

Go Tigers.  Celebration of the second of the nine-game winning streak to finish the year (and the Big 12-2-1+1?) will be celebrated postgame.

Happy Homecoming Tiger fans,

100 years of Homecoming will be celebrated with pomp and circumstances of interest all over town this weekend.  The kids and I will be taking advantage of the first ever non-rainy homecoming to attend house decs Friday night, then the tailgate is on for Saturday prior to the 1 p.m. game against the Iowa State Cyclones. Join us at as many of those things as you like.

As has become recent tradition, Wingate Pest and Lawn Control is buying the food for the homecoming game.  Buckinghams will be bringing the spread.  If you’d like to contribute, any non-bbq or baked bean item would be acceptable.  I think I’m skipping the parade and will just be at the tailgate all morning, so stop by whenever you like.

No Mizzou football related email would be current without some level of grumbling over something or anonymous sourced SEC speculation.  That said, I recently overheard someone close to the University say that I (me, Jason) would like to punch about half the people grumbling and all of the people reporting anonymous sourced SEC speculation.  ISUck. I suck.

Call Wingate for all your pest and lawn control needs.  (Irony of having many pests and not that much growing grass at our tailgate spot duly noted.)  Go Tigers, Go Cardinals.  But not those Cardinals that had the misfortune of being caught in a tornado, screw those guys.  And the mythical shoe-wearing birds.

I’ve started going through Sarah’s digital photos, a task that’s kept me up late several nights this week.  Ultimately, many (more) of them will be going to our zenfolio site.   I’ve added a bunch of basketball photos there recently, but it’s really not anything much that wasn’t already on the basketball section of becking.com.  I’ll ultimately be putting a lot of Columbia College, other Mizzou sports, and some of the portraits and wedding stuff she took.

Anyway, while going through the basketball photos, I stumbled upon the fact that she’d taken photos of every Mizzou basketball head coach since 1967.  Of course it helps a lot that Norm coached for 32 years.  Here’s some of them:

Norm Stewart, Head Coach from 1967-1999, shown here when his #22 was being moved from Hearnes Center to Mizzou Arena

Quin Snyder and Brian Grawer, presenting game ball to Norm Stewart, after Mizzou beat KU.

Keyon Dooling and Quin Snyder

Coach Mike Anderson at his introductory press conference

Melvin Watkins as Interim Head Coach after Quin Snyder

Coach Melvin Watkins coaches his last game at Texas A&M, in a loss to Mizzou in the Big 12 Tournament

Coach Frank Haith (seated) and Coach Rick Barnes, coaching for Texas against Mizzou in 2004.

Thursday greetings, Tiger fans.  The good guys host the Leathernecks from Western Illinois on Saturday, kickoff is at 6:00 p.m.  The annual B-2 flyover will happen this game, sometime around 5:50, they say, so go in early or otherwise be prepared to shriek like a little girl when the thing flies over and surprises you.

Tailgate fare will include ribs from SE Missouri courtesy of Nancy & Bill and wings from Central Missouri courtesy of whichever restaurant I buy them from.  I’ll be at the spot by early afternoon, come join me when you will.

I’d make a bunch of time out jokes, but, then I’d have to punch myself in the face repeatedly.  And then put ice on my bruises.  And then make a bunch of “icing” jokes, which would make me stab myself in the eardrum.  It’s a vicious cycle.  It’s safe to say I don’t believe any time outs called or not played a factor in the outcome of the game, for any that are wondering.  And I’m sure you were all wondering.

The boys still have a chance to win the Big ?? conference, Go Tigers!  and on a side note, screw ku.