Saturday was the 2008 Iowa Spring Game in Iowa City. A time for friends to gather, practice their tailgating skills, and cheer for football. It was a semi-warm and damp day. I joined the gathering in one of the lots behind the rec building around 10am. How lovely to be able to find a free parking spot in the nice lots and see how the big donors live for one day of the year. There were lots of friends with a lot of kids running/being carted about. Much cuteness ensued. The Iowa Hawk Shop also has a big clearance sale at Kinnick on this day, so I went with the Kollasch’s to see if one could have too much Iowa apparel. I am happy to report that the answer to that question remains a resounding NO.

There was grilling, there were beverages, and there was a cooler to be ridden. You’d be amazed at how fun it is to roll through the parking lots on a motorized cooler.

As for the practice/scrimmage/game itself, it was misty out. There is something cool (or possibly crazy) about sitting out with several thousand other fans in slightly unsavory weather just to watch your team practice. Jerry and I were cheering for football. It didn’t matter what was happening (do you cheer if the quarterback throws an interception because the defense did its job well?), it was just great to get back to the mindset of football season. The rain did pick up and become unpleasant just as most of us were heading for the car.

I posted many photos on Flickr that I’m sure the parents of the children in attendance will want to check out. Here are a few highlights:

Josh, Colleen, Doogie & Ben

Jenniffer & Muiread

Jerry & Taly ready for a ride

Colleen & Ben, Doogie, Josh, Jill, Sara, and Margaret

Diane & Lindsey at Kinnick

Its raining quite heavily here today (my umbrella suffered an unfortunate injury on the way in from the parking lot). But I wasn’t prepared for how hard it was raining until I went to walk out the door of my apartment building. There was a duck huddled next to the door looking in through the window like it was trying to escape the weather.

When the ducks are looking at you with a “please make it stop” look, it doesn’t bode well.

Random things that made me happy so far today:

• More live Bonerama recordings. Bonus happy points for ‘Lost My House’, ‘Hard Times’, and ‘Folsom Prison Blues’
• Best Game Ever: Fun and heart-warming.
• Iowa is thisclose to having a smoking ban! Woo! [Though I honestly wonder what will become of The Deadwood.]
• Spending time online with Lisa looking at hotel rooms for Mardi Gras 2009…
• Finally, this clip from SNL last week continues to crack me up: