A Trip to Cincinnati

Well, left for Cincinnati around 10:30 on Saturday...a little behind schedule. We ended up even more behind schedule after a stop at Dick's and Krogers. But, for the most part we were in good shape on the trip out. Unfortunately, one of the ramps we needed to take was closed so we decided it was a good time to stop and get gas. We may have ended up in a little bit of a bad neighborhood then. Even though I need a haircut, we decided not to stop...

After arriving in Cincinnati and checking into the hotel (which was under a little renovation), we headed off to Nippert Stadium. Parking was already pretty hectic by 5:30 p.m. We ate some Country Club pepperoni rolls and headed onto the campus of the University of Cincinnati. One of the stops was at Fifth Third Arena, which was open to the public.

The crowd was pretty thick heading into Nippert despite the fact it only holds 35,000. Saw as many fans wearing blue and gold as red and black. I would say that Mountaineer fans made up at least 35% of the attendance. After a pretty boring pregame, Cincinnati and West Virginia took the field.

We were in Row 10 in the Mountaineer crowd. The Mountaineer fans were spread out throughout the stadium. The cheerleaders attempted to get the "Lets Go Mountaineers" chant going several times but it was impossible. So everyone gave up and just cheered.

For the most part, the Mountaineer fans were pretty calm. Except for one dude named Joe Bob who sat behind us. He started cussing before the teams even took the field. An older gentleman asked him to stop because of some of the younger kids around and he stopped for a little while. But he lit back up later. He was either drunk, stupid, lost or a combination of all of the above. Some of his comment highlights include: "Go back to Cincinnati," "Go back to Lexington," and "Rich Rodriguez (put your own expletives here...)"

Thank goodness for this Steve Slaton run for a touchdown, otherwise we would have lost. Another bad second half...

The Mountaineers came over to celebrate with their vocal fans following the game. Had they blown the lead and lost, I have a feeling they would have been running from this vocal crowd...

After a few minutes, Cincinnati security disappeared and Mountaineer fans took over Nippert Stadium and did their best to disgrace the losing Cincinnati Bearcats...

One of the cooler things about going down on the field after the game is getting to see the ESPN over-field camera taken down. That thing is a beast.

This girl stole a sword from whatever that this is on the right. Maybe he was lost too...I don't see where that costume works with "Bearcats," but whatever. After about 10 minutes of chasing her around, some event security finally stopped her and returned his sword to him. How disgraceful...

And, just for fun, instead of leaving the stadium like the common folk, we decided a tunnel exit would be more apt for the victorious Mountaineer fans...

You would think that there would be somewhere to eat in Cincinnati after midnight. Well, you would think wrong. After stopping at several exits for food, we ended up at a White Castle. Not good food at all. Of course, someone has to order the 10-burger special...

And, despite objections, eat it.

Believe me, that was not a fun trip back to the hotel after someone ate that many White Castle sliders. There is no way that if beef on thos buns. I ordered the chicken nuggets and I truly do not believe that was really chicken either. The fries were barely edible.

That was really about it for the Cincinnati trip. Lots of fun and excitement. WVU won which makes the trip far better. Just two things to keep in mind: 1) Don't eat at White Castle and 2)

The sign says it all...