WARNING: This column contains little or no useful sports content.\nFor many, a 2-10 football season would be considered unmemorable. Not for me. Granted, most of the memories I have from this season occurred off the field. But memories are easy to come by when you spend some 100 hours in a car driving 5,436 miles round trip with my football co-writers, John Rodgers and Gavin Lesnick (Going one way, that's enough mileage to make it to Honolulu. If you got rid of the ocean). Of course, driving this long lends to conversations like "Didn't we already have this conversation?"\nSo even though the Hoosiers were outscored a somewhat disheartening average of 40-9 on the road this year, I have compiled a season worth of my favorite highlights.
Best Quote\nUpon arrival at Rentschler Field in Connecticut, a middle-aged man (think Frank the Tank) told us, "Hey! You guys are late! The party started two hours ago." \nOK, I guess you had to be there.\nShortly thereafter, we got to park our car at the end of an abandoned airstrip that was now being utilized as a parking lot, and was a good mile and a half away from the stadium. The irony of parking on a runway after driving 15 hours was not lost upon me.
Best Advice\nThe night before, we arrived at our hotel late and were looking for a place to eat. We asked the hotel bartender, who told us there was a Denny's around the corner. "If you go there, you should try the Grand Slam. It's real good."\nWe're from Indiana, not Mars. We know the Denny's menu. But thanks for the help.
Best Hotel\nThe Days Inn in Danville, Pa. We stopped here on the way back from UConn, as it was seemingly the only hotel with a vacancy in the entire state. Apparently, it was the "kids only" room, since it came equipped with a crib and every channel but Disney was blacked out. At least "Keenan and Kel" was on.
Finest Truck Stop in America\nThis would be the Citgo station in Snow Shoe, Pa. We liked the place so much that we stopped there on both the UConn and Penn State trips. The shop was a strange mixture of Native American, 9/11 and novelty items. The facility also had a shower, but I was convinced that you would actually get dirtier by using it. And if you should ever use this rest stop, remember to hold your breath in the bathroom.
Best College Town\nState College, Pa. They call the place Happy Valley for a reason. It's impeccably clean, and there's a lot to do. Despite the fact that it was no more than 40 degrees out, I still got myself a scoop of Peachy Paterno at the University Creamery.
Most Repeated Play\nI finally decided that there should be some football-related content in this column. On seemingly every possession, Minnesota would run a play where they would fake the end around and run a draw with the running back. Occasionally, they would run the end around and fake the draw.\nIU liked the play so much that they ended up running it in the remainder of their games, as did their opponents. I don't know if this will become the hottest new fad in football, but I wouldn't be surprised if I saw it in some bowl games this year.
IU MVPs\nEvery week, I have made a point of highlighting the player who had the best performance for the Hoosiers. But it's the people behind the scenes that make even a losing season a success.\nI'm talking about the team managers. Under cloak of anonymity, these guys have to clean up the locker room after games (i.e. old athletic tape and sweaty jock straps) and get everything packed for the trip back home. And they're always the first guys at the stadium.\nThen there are the cheerleaders, poms and Redsteppers. You might think what they do is easy, but I'm willing to bet the cheerleader that gets thrown into the air doesn't get caught every time in practice. It takes a lot of time to put those things together.\nAnd then of course there is the Marching Hundred. If you think that's a cushy job, just look at the tuba players. I still maintain that the fanfare of having a band is one of the biggest reasons that college is better than the pros.\nSo if you see one of these people, shake their hand or give them a pat on the back. If you have some dough to spare, you might even buy them a drink.\nThey deserve it.
