Bryan Rahn – Life in the Blue

EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE AN RV TRIP FOR A FOOTBALL GAME — You have to read this article first. Put the two articles up side by side on your computer.

Then you may continue to read below. Striking Similarities.

EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE IN A VEGAS TRIP FOR A FOOTBALL GAME

by Bryan Rahn

Everyone should do it. Take in a Vegas trip to an away football game. That’s what I did for the Nevada game this year.

Good friend Brant had the hotel room. Because it was a night game on Friday in Reno, we decided to leave Columbia at noon on Thursday.

It was a great weekend for travel. The Vegas lights were spectacular. The best colors of all though, to be honest, were in the white pants sported for the game.

On the way, we played ‘Finger Noodle’ while flying over the Grand Canyon. When we got around Vegas, John could no longer take the beating he was getting from Brant and had to stop the game.

We got to Vegas around 6:00 p.m. We followed directions to Ra. We pulled up in a cab. Much to our surprise, there was no charge to walk in the door! Usually that can be an expensive item – like cover charge with bottle service.

We did not have tickets when we started the trip, so we went to the beer pong bar. Face value of all Mizzou home Big 12 games are 85-dollars. We talked with numerous Tiger fans around Vegas. I asked them why the ticket prices were so expensive and they said they have to help pay for the new stadium. I said I thought Brock and Brant Bukowsky paid for the improvements. They said they did, but also mentioned the fund had some problems. Anyway, the parking was free.

About that time, a waitress walked up and asked if we were looking for beers. I said yes. She said she had two buckets for 50-dollars a piece. Done!

About that time another group of beer pongers pulled up next to ours. It was a freshman Tri Delt. We had a nice conversation. She told us about all the big names we should recruit. She said she chose Mizzou because she liked her chances to party, and liked the school. She said she went on a trip to Columbia and fell in love with a guy named Kaleb while she was there, and Columbia. She said she like the party atmosphere that surrounds the Mizzou tailgate program.

At 7:00 p.m. we decided to start walking to the bar for the game. We were about six blocks away from Bleachers. The bar us usually a plain-Jane type bar. With this crew, it is gorgeous on the inside and out. We walked all around the bar, inside and out. Private boxes and private suites now ring the bar, although a number of them were not sold out.

There is about 15 feet from the first row of tables and the tv’s. The seats in this bar are close to the action. The site-lines are great.

It was our homecoming. At halftime, they inducted Brant and I into the Studio 54 Hall of Fame. We were there. What took them so long to get us in their Hall of Fame? The club played the smash hit “I’m on a Boat.” The entire club sang along. I was among friends.

Ben Choi and the wives made the trip and they performed at halftime as well. Having them at road games is a real bonus.

You know how the game went. That’s all I have to say about that.

When the game was over, we were all off to the Bank. We wanted to sample the local night life. Judging by the time we got back to the rooms, we may have sampled too much local night life.

We did encounter one equipment problem. We forgot the Too-Bada Nevada buttons. Not to worry though. John had a candle in his drink. We polished off one large bottle of Vodka. Okay, two. Okay, it was a long nite in the club.

Brant and I got up at 7:00 a.m. and got ready for another day on the town. Our other friends spent the first three hours of the day sleeping in the back of the RV. They all commented how great a Vegas trip is because you can sit in the sports book and watch TV.

We got back to Columbia at about 2:45 p.m. Ten guys, minimal personal hygiene. I needed a shower and some rest, but I lost one of Farmer’s shoes.

A great trip. Everyone should do an Vegas trip to an away game at least once.

The trip is better when you win though. See more pictures here.

 

 

 

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As many of you know, I recently hitched my wagon to the steed of Josh Kayser. We wanted to do something fun together, and apparently we settled on throwing a speed dating event.

We had the first of what we hope to be many events last night. It went, as I like to think, about as well as it possibly could have. After expenses, we raised $400 for Big Brothers Big Sisters. We had a turnout of 30 people, twice as many girls as guys. Generally speaking, a good problem to have.

So, what did we learn from this? I think we have some good take aways, and, when combined with everything I learned in Vegas, I think there are some life lessons here:

Aim Big. Our goal should never have been to fill Quinton’s with 200 people. Then, you get 50 people and you are disappointed. Our goal should have been to fill Faurot Field with 2,000 people. Then, if we got 500, that would be big.

Wisely hitch your wagon to good people’s steed. You can’t under estimate the value of knowing people. This event could never have been pulled off with a connection at Big Brothers Big Sisters, knowing Mike McClung from the Big Thinker Meet Up, having a connection with Tak at Columbia’s number 1 hit music station, and the help of Katie Olson, the best wedding planner in the business. Networking is valuable. So get your nose out of the laptop every once in a while and say hello to a new friend.

Understand your talents. I have many talents. Well, ok, maybe two or three. But one of them is definitely not ‘event throwing.’ In fact, I had never even been to a speed dating event before. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to try new things. But if you are going to sink your teeth into a large project, it tends to go better if you are one of the world’s foremost experts in said area. So, for future events I will probably stick to pay per click competitions, college football betting, and being the world’s most eligible statistician.

It’s better to have tried than done nothing at all. We had fun, and learned some lessons on the way. It’s great to stay busy and stay challenged. It’s what keeps your mind sharp and body guessing. Sure, there were people who thought sure we’d fail. To them, I say in the words of my good friend Blue Jay, “Hey, how’s the view from the cheap seats?” Challenge yourself to do something you never thought you could.

I have to admit, there was a time I thought we might have 5 tables. I thought we might have 5 people. I had to tell Mike I thought we’d have 5 tables, which was embarrassing, but not nearly as embarrassing as it would have been to actually have only 5 tables. Even so, I would have still been happy we stepped out on a limb and tried something differet.

So the million dollar question is, should we throw another event? Who knows. Columbia is a relationship town once you reach a certain age. People grab on to the closest thing and stick to it as soon as college is over. Maybe, Columbia just isn’t ready for speed dating. Better yet, maybe Columbia just isn’t ready for me.

I’d rather see someone else take what we started and run with it. It was fun getting it started, now it is time to pass the torch. If you want to take it on, it’s yours. I have to warn you though, it’s risky. You win some and you lose some in the high stakes world of speed dating.

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