Tailgate Dips go Straight to my Hips

1st game Aug. 31, 2013           1st game Aug. 30, 2014

Happy Labor Day!  Fall is on its way and that means football and pumpkin everything are back!  Football is in full swing in Gainesville with our first game, which was cancelled due to weather, on Saturday.  Weekends take on a whole new meaning for me in fall because you basically lose an entire day to college football.  I’m not huge on pro football and I can’t afford to lose my Sundays as well.  Nearly every Saturday from here through Thanksgiving, I’ll be up early putting on my orange and blue and flipping on College Game Day.  Luckily, our first three games are in the evenings.  An answered prayer and proof that God is a Gator because this pale girl can’t take noon games in September.  Tailgating this year will be an inevitable challenge and one that I cannot ignore.  I’ve worked too damn hard this year to throw it all away for some 7-layer dip and beer.  That’s right, this Gator girl is trading in her 6 pack of Bud Light for a 6 pack of abs.  To do this will take a small miracle as I’m about 5.5 abs away from a 6 pack.  Mental note to step up ab day.  I just hope my Gators have a better season than last because drowning your sorrows in Crystal Light isn’t the same.  We were able to have 10 seconds of game time on Saturday and it was a good play at that!

August 30, 2013                       August 29, 2014

Just like my beloved Gators and our fearless leader Will, surviving football season will take hard work and dedication, early morning workouts, unstoppable offense, and quick defense.  I’ve already got the hard work, dedication and early morning workouts covered.  I’m determined and well into this with no turning back now.  I rest on weekends so football will not be interfering with any of my workouts or 4:30 a.m. alarm rings. 

For my offensive plays, I’ve developed an arsenal of recipes and positive mantras to get me in the end zone.  “Football season will not define me.”  “Tailgating is not a foreign word meaning eat whatever you want.”  “Flip cup is just as fun when you play with water.”  Okay, that last one was a lie but it may be time to hang up my flip cup champ crown and idly stand by while my friends play beer pong because I’m HORRENDOUS at it anyway.  As for food, I can still enjoy many of my favorite foods and substitute celery sticks for chips with dips.  Or, I can make cheese crisps (seriously, parchment paper line a baking sheet and make 1 tbsp. piles of shredded cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes) as they taste JUST like Cheez-Its.  I can still have fruit salad, deviled eggs, burger hold the bun and veggie trays for days.  Also, if it’s an early-morning tailgate, sausage balls are surprisingly low carb.  Now for the game winner, defense.  It will be crucial to have a developed plan going into any game day with making sure there’s something available for me to eat and LOTS of water in the cooler.  I will practice saying, “No thank you,” when passed cookies or potato salad and will not feel guilty turning down a celebratory shot of Fireball.  On Saturday, I made sure to eat a lunch with plenty of protein to keep me full.  I did have one Captain and diet but balanced it with 4 bottles of water.  I was able to get a pulled pork sammie in the stadium and immediately threw out the bun.  I was also able to get in a good sweat while tailgating in the million degree weather!  All in all, I stayed on track!

Last year, I found myself constantly muttering, “There’s always next year.”  This season, I will say the same.  There’s always next year to moderately indulge in my favorite football fare but this year I have to keep straight.  Armed with this playbook, I am confident that football season will not derail me from reaching my goals.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even snag a quarterback!  Hike!