Gopher The Roses

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Bowling Green State Falcons On TV And Internet

This evenings football game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Bowling Green can be seen on ESPNU. For those who do not have access you may be in luck with an Internet site.

Check out ChannelSurfing.Net, they carry some premium channel events online and they show that they will be carrying the feed for the game.

I hear the site and feed can bog down with many users but worth giving it a shot.

The official Minnesota viewing party including the Goal Line Club starts at 5:30 PM (CDT) at Major's Sports Café:

14889 Florence Trail

Apple Valley, MN  55124

Phone: 952.432.4787

I also hear that all Major’s and Joe Senser’s will be showing the game. Click the previous links for locations and telephone numbers to confirm this is accurate.

Gopher Nation Fan Fest

Gopher Nation Fan Fest

Fan Fest, held August 26^th, has been held for many years but from what I have been told this was a much bigger deal than years past.

There was something for everyone including games for the kids, punt/pass/kick with the players, food and drinks, conversations and Q&A with the coaches, and lots of people. My favorite part was the tour of the football complex including the locker room, coach’s offices, weight room, and other behind the scene areas.

I have no idea how many people went through the Gibson–Nagurski Football Complex but when I was there that had to have been 200+ and that was near the end of the day.

I took a few pictures during the day:

 

Many thanks to my new friend #51 Eric Small, Sophomore DT. He and Jack Simmons were our tour guides. Eric and I hung out behind the group and had a great chat. A very cool guy.

The players and coaches did a great job interacting with the fans. At times Coach Brewster looked more like a politician shaking hands, taking pictures, and yes he kissed a baby.

Near the end he was talking with a group of people and someone asked him for an autograph and smiled and said “absolutely”. Then others asked too. After what had been a long day he steered everyone over to a table and said lets do this over here. The line was 15 people deep for more than 30 minutes with a mix of the smallest of kids and the greyist of hairs.

I was able to grab this quick picture with him:

Click Minnesota Golden Gopher Football for more pictures of the event.

Click Gopher Nation Fan Fest A Big Hit for a link to a short GopherSports.com article and photo album.

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Gopher Nation, Coach Tim Brewster

Gopher Women’s Coaching Clinic

There have been a lot of old traditions brought back to Gopher football and a few new ones started like the Gopher Women’s Coaching Clinic held August 25^th. Not new for places like Texas and North Carolina where Coach Brewster was part of current Texas coach Mack Brown staff, but certainly new for us.

What a cool idea. Get 500+ women together and show them what the college game is all about.

Articles, video, and pictures can be found by clicking New Gophers coach brings football to women, The Women Behind the Gophers and Women Football Fans Enjoy a Great Evening at the First Gopher Nation Women's Football Clinic.

 

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football

Gopher Nation Football Fanfest, Six Days To Kickoff

Six days, 2 hours, 20+ minutes but who is counting?

Was on campus for the Gopher Nation Football Fanfest this afternoon and had a great time. I will be posting pictures of the event in the next couple of days.

That long awaited update to this blog is coming courtesy of a sleepless night or two.

Will be attending the Gopher Football Kick-0ff Luncheon on Wednesday and Brewster’s BBQ on Thursday.

Then need to get rested for Saturday.

Cannot wait to get the season started.

Go Gophers

 

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football

National Signing Day and ‘Sota Social

This is a big day for college football programs across the land and here at Minnesota it is no different. There have been a lot of rumors flying around about who is signing, who may not, who we wish would, and who decommits for and against us.

   

So much that I am not going to speculate at all here. Instead I give you this link to GopherIllustrated.com, a Rivals.com web site. It is well worth the paid subscription. Zach and Matt have done a great job keeping die-hard fans in the loop on the recruiting efforts of Coach Brewster and the staff.

   

I have sent Zach an invitation to do a regular post here on Gopher The Roses.

   

Yes I will be attending the ‘Sota Social sponsored by the Goal Line Club at the McNamara Alumni Center this evening. Click Goal Line Club Event Page for more information. The event is open to the public.

   

This is a big day for the Gopher football program and it looks the like work of Coach Brewster, his staff, and the players who were hosts is paying off.

   

Go Gophers

Tony Dungy To Speak At Annual Alumni Association Event

Indianapolis Colts Head Coach and University of Minnesota alum Tony Dungy is the keynote speaker at the University of Minnesota Alumni Association annual event on May 8.

   

Here is the link to the event, Super Bowl Winner Tony Dungy Headlines 2007 Annual Celebration. Tickets go on sale February 22.

   

This is open to the public. Scroll down their page to see ticket prices.

TCF Bank Gopher Football Stadium Update

There have been a few news items in the past month on the progress of the stadium. For starters the university web page has a new look. Or at least it has since the last time I was there, TCF Bank Stadium. They have added a construction page to keep everyone up to date on their progress, which includes notes on road and parking changes, TCF Bank Stadium Construction.

   

There is a blog, Stadium Blog, but it has not been updated in a while.

   

On December 6^th there was good news regarding the bond sale by the state. With a better interest rate taxpayers will $28.4 million less than we had planned, TCF Bank Stadium bond sale saves state $28.4 million.

   

Then a couple of days later we hear that the stadium could cost 6% - 8% more for a reinforced foundation, Gophers' stadium costs expected to rise. We all knew the water table is shallow in the area but I guess it closer to ground level in that area.

   

In case you are wondering there is an underground creek(s) in the area and rather than the stadium being dug into the ground it is being built up.

   

There have been quite a few buildings demolished near the stadium site and adjacent to the Station 19 building.

   

Finally there is this announcement for an open house next week which I will be attending, Get a Look at the Future Home of Gopher Football at an Open House on January 3. On that page you will see the top link is to a construction web cam. I had not mentioned it yet because the view is only of the stadium site itself, which is still being used as a parking lot. Other than cars coming and going or the occasional squirrel running around there is not much to look at.

University of Minnesota Goal Line Club Luncheon, Posted September 29 2006

Jason and I attended the event this afternoon and had a good time as usual. We heard from Offensive Coordinator Mitch Browning, and players Matt Spaeth and Joe Ainslie.

   

Coach Browning gave some historical statistics around 1,000 yard rushers, multiple 1,000 yard rushers, and how no one in the country has done what the Minnesota Golden Gophers have done in the past three consecutive years with two 1,000 yard rushers.

   

Hopefully our success on the ground continues this week with the #6 ranked Michigan Wolverines. In their first four games they have yielded 70 some yards in total by the run. That averages to something like .8 yards per carry.

   

I am optimistic every year that the Gophers are going to the Rose Bowl and that each week we will win that game.

   

But I am not delusional. The other goal of the day besides attending the event was getting pictures with the Little Brown Jug. You know, just in case it is another 10+ years until we see it in person again.

   

Yes, we only show the maroon side of the jug. The other side is painted blue with their M in maize (is that really a color?) but who wearing the maroon wants to see the blue?

   

Many thanks to Doug and Teresa of the Goal Line Club for dealing with my email(s) this week inquiring about the appearance of the Little Brown Jug today. The next lunch event is Friday, November 3^rd, the day before the homecoming game against Indiana.

San Francisco Trip Day 3, More Sight Seeing, Posted September 24 2006

We woke up and the sun was out:

   

   

   

   

   

I know that sounds a bit odd but we had not seen it since we landed there so this was a big deal.

   

Jason and I needed to be at the airport by 9:30 pm so we had a full day to do as we wished. We went to a local place for breakfast and then caught parts of a few NFL games. The time change (2 hours behind Minneapolis) had me a little off. When I went to turn on ESPN at 9 am to check out the pre-game news, games had just started and I had not thought about it.

   

We left Dan’s in the afternoon and took the Bay Bridge back in to San Francisco. Off in the distance we could see the fog line and it was right over the Golden Gate Bridge. The bad news was it was coming back in. In these pictures the white clouds are the fog and you can see that above the layer is a blue sky:

   

   

And this my first clear picture of San Francisco:

   

   

   

   

   

We took an exit and thought about getting tickets to the baseball game. The San Francisco Giants were playing the San Diego Padres but we decided against it. We did drive by AT&T Park and saw the statue of Willie Mays:

   

   

   

   

   

We than stayed in the area and I took a few photos of the Bay Bridge:

   

   

   

When we saw the sea lions on Friday Jason had called and left a message at home for the kids to hear the sounds. Unfortunately it got erased so we decided to head back over and take some more pictures. Maybe because it was later in the day or not after they had been feeding but they were much more active. So I have this one picture and also have two QuickTime movies that I have posted on You Tube. It was fun to watch them defend their space:

San Francisco Pier 39 Sea Lions, Part 1

San Francisco Pier 39 Sea Lions, Part 2

   

   

   

   

   

One last picture of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. What’s that you say? Can’t see the bridge? Yeah, I know. Can you tell I was annoyed?

   

   

   

   

   

With the fog coming in fast we decided to head over to Coit Tower while we could still see some of the area. The drive there was spectacular:

   

   

   

   

   

And we had a good chuckle with seeing these signs:

   

   

   

   

   

The view from the tower was awesome:

   

   

   

   

   

We stayed up there for about 30 some minutes and literally watched the fog roll in. Here are a few pictures and you can see how fast this happened:

   

   

   

   

   

Same with these “movies” I put on You Tube:

   

   

   

   

   

After the tower we went to McCormick and Kuleto’s for dinner. The food and service was great, just as I have experienced here in Minneapolis at McCormick and Schmick’s on the Nicollet Mall.

   

I know I had a lot to say about the fog in these three posts. The first day it was kind of “cool” to see and experience but after three days of fog, damp and cool temperatures I was getting a little (a lot) irritable. I found myself looking forward to getting back to a cooler but much sunnier Minneapolis

   

Would I make the same trip again knowing what I know now? Absolutely.

   

I look forward to getting out there again soon.

Coit Tower Fog Part 1

Coit Tower Fog Part 2

Coit Tower Fog Part 3

Coit Tower Fog Part 4

   

Then there is this set of three pictures of an eagle that was at first sailing and soaring with the wind, never flapping its winds. It did get to the point where it was having a hard time staying in the air and it flew off. In the next couple of days I will post a link “here” to a story that will explain why I found this to be prophetic:

San Francisco Trip Day 2, Minnesota vs Cal, Posted September 24 2006

After sleeping in a little bit Jason, Dan and I headed out for brunch. I took this picture from Peidmont, as we were hopeful the fog was going to break and it did look a little brighter:

   

   

   

   

   

   

Besides, Dan told me not to worry. The weather is always better in Berkeley.

   

We then headed over to the Cal campus. Jason, Dan and I were pledge brothers of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Minnesota. When Jason and I make these trips we try to pick a game where the school has a Deke chapter.

   

We found the Cal Deke’s. They have a great location on the opposite corner to the stadium so we pulled in and asked if we could park there. After explaining who we were their response was, “Absolutely, and the beer is inside.” Ahh, just like home.

   

There were not many guys around as it was still early so we took a quick tour of the chapter house:

   

   

   

   

   

   

Outside they had their drinking table ready for the pre-game festivities:

   

   

   

   

   

   

We then headed to a reception held by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association and Goal Line Club. I was not yet ready for the game but seeing the maroon and gold fans got me going:

   

   

   

   

   

   

Goldy helped:

   

   

   

   

   

   

The best motivator was this one. It is a picture of student’s window across from the reception:

   

   

   

   

   

   

After eating, meeting some friends, having a beer or two (I swear that’s all I had), and hearing from among others President Bruininks:

   

   

   

   

   

   

We headed back to the Deke house to meet the guys. Their “preparations” for the game were in full swing:

   

   

   

   

   

   

There was the friendly shake, offering of the beer (I said no, really I did), Deke talk, and then once the formalities were over with the friendly trash talk between the Golden Bears and Golden Gophers began. Cal was just coming off their loss to Tennessee the week before and the fall from the Top 10.

   

We took amore extensive tour of the chapter house and found that they have an amazing view and a really cool mural:

   

   

   

   

   

   

After meeting some of their alumni we decided to head to the stadium. Not a far walk by any means but, umm, it was steep:

   

   

   

   

   

   

I took some pre-game pictures:

   

   

   

   

   

   

Cal started with the ball and was held to a three and out. Minnesota started on their own 29 yard line and marched down the field, scoring in our end of the field:

   

   

   

   

   

   

But no, wait. They ruled Alex Daniels knee was down at the one-foot mark. I included that picture because on the TBS telecast they had a three second clip of the Minnesota fans cheering. It shows about 10 rows of happy maroon and gold clad people including in the second row of the picture Jason yelling and clapping and me taking that picture.

   

Minnesota does score on the next play so all went well:

   

   

   

   

   

   

Because Minnesota dominated Cal on that drive many of the Gopher fans started chanting, “You can’t stop us. You can’t stop us.” That seemed a little premature although it was nice to hear the optimism. The Cal student sections certainly looked a little concerned:

   

   

   

   

   

   

Cal went on to tie the game and then take a 14-7 lead. On the kickoff following the second Cal touchdown Dominic Jones returned it for a 99-yard touchdown. It happened quickly and with the camera in my pocket I missed it. Here’s a pic from the replay in the stadium:

   

   

   

   

   

   

After a few punts by each team Cal took a 21-14 lead and then a 28-14 lead. A late second quarter drive by the Gophers stalled and Jason Giannini kicks this field goal (off the upright but through) to make it 28-17 at the half:

   

   

   

   

   

   

And that’s as good as it would get. The scoreboard continued to move for Cal:

   

   

   

   

    

   

The fog started coming back fast and thick (compare these two picks with the one before the game started):

   

   

   

   

   

   

Final score Cal 42 and Minnesota 17.

   

We went back to Deke to catch the end of the Ohio State vs. Texas game and other scores from the day.

   

We had a good day except for the game and the weather. Jason had to remind that we were in the Bay Area, at Berkeley watching a game outdoors and that was good enough for him. Apparently his glass was half full and mine was half empty.