Mizzou Road Trip
I’m sitting in the Denver Airport waiting for my connecting flight to San Diego. After this weekend, I’m ready to be home!
On Friday morning, I awoke early, and flew to Kansas City on Frontier Airlines. I arrived at 1PM, and was quickly joined by Steve, Alberto, Jared & Andrew. We were on our way to Columbia to watch the Aztecs play Mizzou!
…but before we headed to Columbia, our first stop was Arthur Bryant’s BBQ in Kansas City. This is world famous BBQ at its finest. I ordered a “Combo Meat” plate consisting of a beef sandwich and a pulled pork sandwich. The meat from both was amazingly delicious. I’m a big BBQ fan, and I don’t think it can get much better than this! Also, while we were there, we met up with Steve’s wife, his mother-in-law and his 12 week old son Sean!
Once we finished eating, we drove the 2 hours to Columbia. Missouri must be famous for their firecracker shops and porn stores, because there were large billboards advertising those establishments every few miles.
Once we got there, we headed downtown to meet up with other Aztec fans a the Shiloh in Columbia. We arrived after most of them had already left, but we stuck around and had a few beverages there. We then headed over to Bengal’s with a few other Aztec fans, and finished the evening there.
The next day was Game Day! The game wasn’t until 6PM, so we were able to do a bit of site-seeing. We visited the Columbia Columns. Basically, the columns are the remnants of some old school buildings. We also saw a stage being built for a Flaming Lips concert that night.
At 3PM, we met up with Steve & Family and had a mini-tailgate by the stadium. We purchased some pizza from Shakespeare’s and enjoyed a few tasty beverages on the campus lawn. After the tailgate, we headed into the stadium and joined about 1,000 other Aztec fans at the game.
As the game progressed, it was becoming more and more promising for our Aztecs. We had made several big plays in our favor, and our defense was holding Missouri to minimal gains. When Ronnie Hillman broke off his 93 yard touchdown run, the Aztecs took a 21 to 20 lead…and there was only about 7 minutes to play! The team was playing well, and even extended the lead to 24 to 20 with just over 2 minutes to go. Two plays later, the SDSU defense came up with a huge interception! However, the Aztecs weren’t able to get a first down, and Missouri answered with a 68 yard touchdown pass to win the game.
To make things worse, the game was played around the constant threat of a lightening storm. Several big lightening bolts flashed across the sky. The rain was falling on-and-off throughout the game, and us Aztecs fans left defeated and wet! However, most of the Mizzou fans were very impressed with our team’s performance and congratulated us on a game well played.
Anyway, after the game, Steve & I had dinner at the Flat Branch Brewery. I had a pizza, and Steve enjoyed some Nachos. (Well, his plate appeared to be chips covered with chives…) We had a few pints, then headed back to our hotels.
This morning I awoke to a major thunderstorm. It was pouring, and we were stuck driving the first 40 miles back to Kansas City in a major downpour with lightening bolts lighting up the sky. I could hardly see out of my window, but crazy Missourian’s kept passing me at high speeds. Anyway, the rain finally let up, and we were able to get back to the KC Airport without any issues.
It was a fun trip. Hopefully this close loss springs us towards a bowl game this year! Go Aztecs!