2015 Tailgate Menu

You might be wondering why you have not seen the menu until August this year. There is no rhyme or reason as to when the menu comes out. We have had years where it came out in late June and even later than today’s date.  Part of the reason for delay is the uncertainty at which kickoff times are released now that Appalachian State is now playing in the FBS, where the money rules, and fan engagement is less of a concern.

 Last year, Applachian was lucky enough to have a very easy schedule to navigate as far as home kickoff times are concerned. The Mountaineers were not as lucky this season, with two games on the schedule on Thursday nights, with kickoffs scheduled for 7:30pm EST. Knowing the kickoff times is a huge plus for the tailgater. The other end of that equation is how long will tailgaters have in the parking lot to cook their meats. The Watauga Democrat wrote an article back in April about how the University was meeting with town officials to draw up a plan to accomodate tailgating, classes and the sort. The plan was supposed to be released “very soon”. That was April, and now its August and fall camp started yesterday and we are still waiting on the plan. We decided we could not wait any longer to release the menu. 
For those who are familiar with our process, you can probably skip this paragraph. For those that are new to the tailgate, and there will be several new faces, here is the deal. For six home games, a $50 donation, per person, $100 per couple, covers everything. A full donation or as we prefer to call it “tailgate dues” are always appreciated at the beginning of the season. For those who prefer to spread it out throughout the season, no worries, we are flexible. For those are coming to one or two games, just ask on gameday, and we’ll give you a fair price. Bartering is encouraged and expected. 

For the the first time in several years, Appalachian will open its season at home on Labor Day weekend, hosting the Howard Bison. For the main dish, we will go with our pulled pork. Buffalo wings or Buffalo burgers were close runners up, but some do not prefer that lean of meat and we will save our chicken game for later in the season. 

Homecoming is the second game of the season against the Wyoming Cowboys. This would be a perfect time for a brisket or something else that screams cowboy, but tradition rules at Big C’s Tailgate. As has been custom, fried and smoked turkeys will be served. Last year we had no issues carcassing three turkeys. Sticking to food that people always eat is a general tailgating rule of thumb.

The third game of the season will see Appalachian’s most hated rival travel from the plains of Eastern Georgia. This is a Thursday night kickoff and the game will be a premier battle on the gridiron. More than likely, a Sun Belt chmapionship could hinge on the outcome of this game. Fried Chicken will be our fowl of fare. Those Eagles from Statesboro are the ugly kind, time to clip some wings!

On Halloween, the Trojans of Troy will visit Kidd Brewer Stadium for the first time since the 2000 season. South Central Alabama does not offer much of a distinctive choice of a menu option. Troy is kinda far from the Gulf of Mexico, which rules out seafood. Alabama is known for barbecue, but I would dare not venture into their white barbecue sauce. It’s vinegar and nothing else in North Carolina. When in doubt, go with the fan favorite of baby back ribs. The thought of white barbecue sauce reminds us of this Youtube classic.

The Arkansas State game will be a wild card. As we keep our ear to the ground on what time we can enter a parking lot for the second Thursday game and we’ll also keep in mind the weather. Early November can be cold in Boone during the day, and even more so in the evening. We will keep everyone in the know on facebook and twitter. In a perfect world we are thinking brisket, but that might not be a possibility with cold temperatures and a short tailgate. 

Black Saturday is the last home game of the season, always reserved for our toughest opponent. One could argue that Georgia Southern is that game this year, but the Eagles sell themselves. Louisiana will bring their Ragin Cajuns to Boone and per usual, we reserve the Championship Chili for the Black Saturday game. Look for some venison and our gator sausage in the chili this year. 

Appalachian Soccer 1, East Tennessee State 0

Appalachian got on the board early in the match at the 13th minute mark. A quick offensive push led to a throw in for the Mountaineers to the left of the Buccaneer defense. The ball was played into the box and swiftly played to Matthew Melton on the touch. Melton found a cutting David Dodge who buried the ball into the back of the net. The play was drawn up and executed perfectly. For the remainder of the first half, Appalachian maintained possession and kept the ball in the middle third of the field.

The second half was all about the Mountaineer defense. Appalachian (1-0) had a couple of runs early in the second, but mainly packed the defense in for the final thirty minutes. East Tennessee State (0-1) could only get off eight shots for the game, with none of the shots getting on frame. The win was the first for the Mountaineers in their home opener and gives them their first of what will most likely be many clean sheets on the season. The next home match for the Mountaineers is Sunday, September 2nd at 3pm against UNC-Wilmington.

Appalachian Soccer 4, VMI 0, (Preseason)

Appalachian concluded their preseason slate with a home win over VMI on Monday afternoon. The weather was great for the 1pm kickoff and so was the Mountaineer defense. Although VMI was able to get nine shots off, only one attempt was on frame. Appalachian was also solid in the midfield with decent possession and the passing was crisp. Appalachian totaled fifteen shots with nine on goal, resulting in four finding the back of the net. David Dodge was the man of the match, scoring goals on his only two shots and adding an assist. Appalachian put three goals in the net in a fifteen minute stretch in the second half and cruised with solid defense in the final twenty minutes. Appalachian hosts East Tennessee State Friday, August 24th with kickoff slated for 7pm.

ASU Alumni: Maegan Eichinger makes final cut with Top Cats

Roughly a week ago, AppStateNation found a great link to a former ASU Elite Dance Team member making the cut as a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys. While attending the Carolina Panthers preseason game against the Dolphins last Friday, we noticed another familiar face on the sidelines as a member of the Top Cats. Listed as a student on the Top Cats roster, Maegan Eichinger is also listed as an alumni on the ASU Elite Dance Team roster. It was easy to spot Maegan thanks to her curly blond hair and memorable smile. Is it possible that the best talent on the floor during men’s basketball games last winter was actually performing during timeouts?

Maegan

@GoASU Memorable Games 9-5

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th

Games 9: Women’s Indoor Track wins SoCon Title

We had this moment ranked 8th on our countdown. Our track and field program has been so dominant, it should be news when we they don’t take home the title. The women ran away with the title by over 40 points. Our record moves to 12/22 for the challenge

Game 8: Women’s Basketball Claims share of SoCon Regular Season Title

We totally disagree with this selection, mainly because of what it might take away from this team as the countdown progresses. It was nice to win the conference title, but we get a feeling this team is already tired of that being their accomplishment in conference play. This team wants to go earn the berth the NCAA tournament, not clinch a top seed at the conference tournament. This game was nowhere near our countdown and its a huge miss. We fall to 12/23.

Game 7: Men’s Track and Field wins SoCon Title

We had this meet ranked 14th overall. As we mentioned above, the track and field teams are so good at Appalachian, and our only real threat on the men’s side has been Western Carolina. This was the third win in a row and 18th overall for the men. We get our game back and move to 13/24.

Game 6: Women’s Outdoor Track wins Conference Championship

Seems like the countdown is stuck on repeat, but that’s not a bad thing in this case. This gives us our 14th correct guess on the countdown out of 25 games picked.

Game 5: Baseball 5, Western Carolina 4

This was a game that could have taken home top honors as well. The Mountaineers scored five runs in the top of the ninth to clinch their first SoCon title in 25 years. This game was extra special as a rain delay gave the Mountaineers the information they needed. Charleston had lost to UNCG and all the Mountaineers needed to do was win and they did it in the most dramatic fashion. That moves us to 15/26 on the countdown.

With four games remaining, it will be interesting to see what games were selected to top the previous moments. Football will certainly make another appearance, and it is likely Baseball could make two more appearances. Does Women’s Basketball sneak in and grab another game?

@GoASU Memorable Games 15-10

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th.

Game 15: Women’s Golf Repeats at Low Country

This was a pretty simple pick. Like the Men’s golf team, this was their only tournament victory of the season so we felt confident about this pick. Most likely the only appearance by the Women’s golf team on the countdown. Yue Xu added on to her stellar career with a third place overall finish. This victory gets us back to. 500 on the countdown at 8/16.

Game 14: Baseball 5, Oklahoma 4, NCAA Regional opener

We obviously had this game ranked on our countdown, but we were way off in ranking it. We had this ranked at #7, considering how long it had been since the baseball team even appeared in the NCAA tournament, much less get a win in the opening game. Ryan Arrowood took a no-hitter deep into the game and the Mountaineers held off the Sooners in the final innings. We will take the win in the countdown to move us to 9/17, but this was still somewhat of a miss. We just thought this game meant so much more.

Game 13: Wrestling 21, Chattanooga 17

With consecutive games, or moments we have misjudged the importance of a game to a particular team. We had this game ranked at #5 in our countdown. This was the match that wrestling had to win to have a chance at winning the title and they took to the road and made it happen. We will still take it and that moves our record to 10/18, with our third straight victory.

Game 12: Relay Squad breaks school record, finished 14th at Nationals

Let’s call this miss a baseball hangover. This was a memorable moment but it occurred in the shadows of the baseball season. It’s a miss for us and we totally whiffed on putting this in our countdown. Our winning streak comes to a halt at three and dropped us to 10/19 for the challenge.

Game 11: Baseball wins series with 11-1 beating of LSU

This one does not make sense to us. This game we felt had potential to be considered at the top spot for the most memorable games. This game or moment coming in at 11th is confusing. We had this game ranked at the #2 spot overall. Either the 1-0 win over LSU in baseball is more memorable than the series clinching win or it does not make the countdown. We are not buying it, but will gladly take the win to move us to 11/20 in the countdown.

Game 10: Wrestling 39, Davidson 10

This one is more confusing than Game 11. This game is the equivalent of beating Western in football to win the conference title. You have to do it, and yes, the result gives you an outright title, but is winning the game memorable? In Wrestling, 39-10 is a beat down. It is very similar to a 60-21 football win. Yeah the match starts without a score, but it was over before it started. Mark us down for a top ten miss and our tenth miss and this likely puts us out of the running (11/21) for winning the challenge.

 

@GoASU Memorable Games 16-17

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th.

Game 17: Women’s Basketball 77, Chattanooga 52

Darcie’s Army finally made their first appearance in the countdown. Overall, we had this game ranked 12th on the countdown with this SoCon Tourney Semifinal win. The Mountaineers were dominant throughout the game. Freshman Maryah Sydnor dropped 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. This truly was a memorable game as good as Chattanooga’s program has been in the past. Bouncing the Mocs from the tourney in this fashion was just about as good as it gets. We have two more Women’s Basketball games ranked in our countdown. This game improves our record to 6/14 in the challenge.

Game 16: Men’s Golf wins Hummingbird Ivitational

In, golf winning a tournament is a big deal and this was the only win on the season for the Mountaineers. However, it came on the heels of the best rounds in program history, shooting an overall team score of 273 in the final round. Casey Komline dropped in ten birdies and an eagle en route to tying a school record low 65 on the second day. Appalachian defeated five SoCon foes in the tournament including Western Carolina, Samford, Elon Wofford and Furman. This was a correct guess on our challenge, and for the third time we were within one spot uf ranking the game correctly. We had this game ranked 17th on our countdown. We are closing in on .500 as we are now batting 7/15 for the challenge.

@GoASU Memorable Games 18-19

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th.

Game 19: Men’s Basketball 93, College of Charleston 81

This game winds up being our second close call in the countdown. We had ranked this game 20th, and hopefully we made up ground on the other competitors. This truly was a great game, as the Men’s Basketball suffered many ups and downs during the season, but defeating a heavily favored Charleston team in the tournament was truly a bright spot. Seniors Ike Butts, Andre Williamson and Omar Carter all had great games in what would become their last win in the black and gold. This game allowed us to move to 5/12 in the challenge.

Game 18: Men’s Soccer 2, Davidson 0

Appalachian got revenge from 3-0 loss eight days later at home in the SoCon Tourney. Two games previous to the Davidson loss in the regular season, Appalachian was sitting atop the SoCon standings with two games to play. A very unfortunate home loss to Wofford and the loss to Davidson knocked Appalachian out of contention and dropped the Mountaineers all the way down to the 5th seed entering the tournament. Knocking Davidson out the tournament in their own backyard was sweet revenge for the loss from only eight days earlier. We did not correctly pick this game in the challenge and we now fall to 5/13.

@GoASU Memorables Games 20-21

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th.

Game 21: Football 28, Elon 24

This game hurts because it was on our list as we were narrowing down our choices. It was a great game as Appalachian extended its win streak over Elon to 16 games.  Elon has not beaten Appalachian in football in nearly 50 years. The Mountaineers overcame a 21-0 deficit. The only unfortunate part, is that Appalachian has been so dominant in the series, that wins are expected. Unfortunately, this miss will hurt as much as any as we have fallen to 4/10 in the challenge.

Game 20: Volleyball 3, Georgia Southern 2

We only put one volleyball game into our countdown and that was the NC State win at home. This game and the last game missed above will sting, because it all but guarantees we have several more misses on the way in our countdown. We don’t mind guessing the wrong game in a sport, but incorrectly predicting the number of games per sport will surely add up. At this point, we thought we would be much better than 4/11.

 

@GoASU Memorable Games 22-24

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th.

Game 24: Men’s Soccer 1, Coastal Carolina 0

Without a doubt, this was our best guess of the countdown. We had this game ranked #23. Coastal was not ranked, but had just beaten a ranked team. Shutouts were the key to Appalachian’s season as they totaled ten shutouts on the season. This gives a much needed victory and moves us to 3/7 on the countdown.

Game 23: Softball 7, Western Carolina 3

This was an absolute whiff on our part. How could we forget a walkoff grand slam against Western Carolina? We chose the 3-2 win over Georgia Southern, who was one of the best teams in the conference, at #30 on our countdown. This drops us to 3/8 for the challenge.

Game 22: Men’s Tennis 5, Charleston 2

This was a rather easy game to pick despite us ranking this game at the #29 spot. Charleston has been a leader in SoCon Tennis for years and this was a big win for the Mountaineers.

Almost one third of the way through the challenge, we sit 4/9, which is respectable, as the countdown should get easier the rest of the way. At this point we have appearances from both Tennis, Cross Country and Soccer teams. Field Hockey,Volleyball and Softball have also been represented.