Hello Red Raiders! My Northwestern Wildcats are playing the Texas A&M Aggies in the Meineke Car Car Bowl later this month.

There's nothing like good old fashioned smack talk between football games.

It's already started. TTUTyler came over to our SBN Site, SippinOnPurple and enlightened us with some "high quality hate"

Will be rooting for y'all

After playing you guys last year, there’s no doubt in my mind you should beat A&M…especially since they dont understadn the game of football is played 4 quarters long.

Anyway, Please, beat the hell out of those redneck, women-hating, fake army bastards.

That’s all.

(On a serious note, I think the "redneck, women-hating fake army bastards" comment is out of line. Especially the "fake army" part. Many, but not all, members of the Corps of Cadets actually go on to serve our country. This should be commended. IIRC aTm students are not required to be in the corps of cadets)

And also

Also, when going out to experience the Houston Night life

Make sure these women-beating yell leaders arent at the same bar you are. They have no respect for anyone who doesnt cheer for A&M. Hide yo’ wife, Hide yo’ Kids.

Also, they have a tendency to mistake shoe polish for human dung. Potty time must be awfully confusing at A&M.

For sheer entertainment value alone, can we have some more from the enemy of bowl game opponent?

Texas A&M Fans: UMAD? Talk to Iowa: Black Heart Gold Pants

We've been patiently waiting for about a year for something to come out of the AD's office regarding facilities. Now we at least have a glimmer of light, according to an article on the Trib. I'll summarize the good, the bad, and the ugly with my thoughts italicized

The Good

the trustees have a "huge appetite," according to a source, to build a top-notch football facility that will rival the league's best.

Sweet! Lets spend big to get it right. If we have to get a big donation from our past donors (calling Pat Ryan...), or take out $100,000,000+ from the endowment, lets hit a big home run! 

The trustees ... said Northwestern has title to 58 acres in the lake and wants to examine the possibility of gaining new land via lake fill

Embiggening the lakefront campus is always good.... but at what price? And how long to get approval to build?

The Bad

The area where Phillips and NU football coach Pat Fitzgerald want to build is just northeast of NU's Allen Center. There are various proposals that could affect land currently in use as a parking lot, an open field, part of a lagoon and NU's varsity soccer field.

I'd rather not have the lagoon messed with. Removing parking spaces will cause some pain. 

The Ugly

NU's last football facilities upgrade came in 1996 following back-to-back Big Ten championships. Since then, every Big Ten school has enhanced its stadium, practice facility or both, except Northwestern.

... one Big Ten source said: "Schools use facilities against them - and that will continue until they put a shovel in the ground."

Ok, so other schools use our facilities against us... Figures. Time to fix it!

If we build a new on campus practice facility, why not move everything over to the lake? 

This little teaser of a newspaper story is not enough for my appetite. Dr. Phillips, please give us more info than this! 

Over on OTE news broke that our humble conference is going to start competing in Men's Hockey. Do you think it's viable or possible for our club team to play in the Big Ten? For those of us who are on campus, what's the interest if any?

There's a lot of upheaval in college hockey. The Golden Gophers currently plays what seems like every single school in the state of Minnesota. They also play North Dakota. And even Alaska! There's another conference that the Michigan schools play in as well. The big ten is blowing up 2 hockey conferences, and it's a big deal

Ok, after defeating Iowa, it's time to look ahead to the our archrivals.

I've been putting up retro game posters for most of our big ten rivals except Penn State

I have 3 illinois posters to choose from. I think the readership here should determine what should go up. 

Fair Warning: These posters are politically incorrect in the present day. 

DEAL WITH IT. It's the the battle for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk   Abe Lincoln's Hat!

Update:

The people have spoken. It's Willie (almost) biting Chief Illiniwek. The poll is closed and the image is coming up soon. 

Once again, it's time to bring out programs from yesteryear.

This week's cat food is the Purdue University Boilermakers, the Big10's engineering school from West Lafayette, Indiana. (If you haven't read the blogwar between H&R and BHGP, you should start now.)

Danny Hope's squad is riddled with injuries and going a little off the rails, so what better than a picture of Willie ripping out train tracks? I also think Purdue is a little short on the mustache department these days, unlike the fabled Tiller coaching staffs in the past.

*Unfortunately, I couldnt find a real NU Purdue program, so I had to use a little photoshop magic and make a composite retro program.  I'll have to fake one for Penn State too. Or just use a picture of Fitz yelling and JoePa yelling

It's time for the first of the Big Ten Game Program thursdays.

The Northwestern game programs back in the 40s-60s were hand drawn cartoons that were amusing and politically incorrect (wait until Illinois).

Back in the day, just like today, the Gophers are thoroughly confused. They're dumbfounded, lost, bewildered, and just plan awful at football this year. Thank god Decker is gone. 

I also have more of these retro programs for the rest of the conference. Enjoy!

[ bumped because that program is pretty awesome, i'm looking forward to next week already - L8]

ReplayPhotos has a website where you can order customized photos of football stadiums for several schools. Including Iowa. They've been having a lot of fun with it over at BHGP. They had a little bit too much fun with their in-state rivals Iowa State. So much so that ReplayPhotos took it down! Lame! Penn State has a really easy to read photo of beaver stadium.

Unfortunately, all we have for our school is a basketball jersey.

Lets have some fun here.

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