University of Nevada

Oh Kaep. It's our first game without you and we miss you. Why do they put us up against Oregon for our first contest of the 2011 season??? It's so hard to watch.

At first, we were holding the Ducks and everything seemed great. But damn. A couple of big plays gets the Pack frustrated and flustered and all of the sudden, it's 0-37.

Oh and the fact that the announcers don't know how to pronounce our state's name. Its Ne-va-da, not Ne-vah-da. Get it right, guys.

I'm gonna go take a nap. This is too much to handle.

xoxo,
Blanche Sanche

Every girl needs a couple Kaepernick jerseys

As briefly mentioned in an earlier post, I received 3 Kaepernick jerseys for my birthday, 2 red ones and a white one.  Apparently my friends and family really love me because those things aren't cheap.

After I had opened all of them, one of my friends noticed that the white one was actually a NY Giants jersey with Kap's name and number on it.  Funny thing, that's the one that came from the 49ers own website.

My dad (who got me the jersey) called to ask them to send a replacement and they said they would, on the condition that we send the Giants jersey back.  Hell no!  I'm keeping it forever because it's hilarious!

Deciding that 3 was just too many, I returned one of the red jerseys to Scheels and got some sweet Under Armour.  But I'm totally psyched to wear my new jerseys, even though supporting the 49ers is going to be the death of me!

And here is the infamous picture of me, Kap, and Morgan the night we stalked him at a nightclub to take a picture with him.  Creepy, yes.  Worth it, yes.  I just wish I didn't look so terrible in the photo.  Even though I was intoxicated, I was still embarrassed that we were such weirdos!

See you in San Francisco!
xoxo,
Blanche Sanche

Colin Kaepernick

 My dearest Nevada Wolf Pack has finally produced a star in the way of our graduating quarterback, Colin Kaepernick and I am so proud!

C. Kaep (as I like to call him because nicknames are always more fun than given names) is a jack-of-all-trades.  He played football and baseball during his tenure at Nevada.  Actually, he was drafted to the MLB, but chose to stick with football for the 2010 season.  And we have been grateful ever since.

Not only has he been a figurehead for an ailing Nevada football team; he's done some remarkable work on the football field that ANY school would be lucky to get out of their QB.  He's had a career 59 rushing touchdowns, 20 of them occurring in the last season.  59!  He tied with Tim Tebow for being the second person to rush 20 and throw 20 TDs in the same season.

And, yet, he was virtually unrecognized for his record-breaking career.  No Heisman, no Unitas award, nothing.  It's a shame that he gets absolutely no credit for what a remarkable player he is.

Now, I have been strongly campaigning* for the Titans to take a chance on the young QB, as we are in dire need of a team leader that doesn't, well, suck.  I know it's a long shot, but it would serve 2 purposes: 1. The Titans would get a non-sucky quarterback and 2. People wouldn't look at me like I'm an alien when I say the Titans are my favorite team because EVERYONE would be a bandwagon Titans fan!  Plus, I'd finally be able to go into a store and buy Titans swag, instead of having to find it online.

Anyhow, during one of my 13 trips to NFL.com today, I found this little gem, proclaiming C. Kaep to be one of the top 5 quarterbacks to draft this year and I just had to share. 

Top 5 Underclassmen Per Position

xoxo,
Blanche Sanche

*By "strongly campaigning", I obviously mean that I've tweeted the Titans about it and mentioned it on Facebook a couple of times.  That's a kind of dedication not often seen by me....

Epic weekend!

I apologize in advance, as this blog might be incoherent because I'm having a hard time finding the words to summarize it properly.

Let's begin with San Francisco: it.was.EPIC.  From the minute we stepped into the city in our Nevada attire (as we made a rule that only blue and silver clothing would be tolerated for the weekend, with the exception of my Jets jersey during the play off game), we were greeted with cheers and car horns honking in solidarity.  Everyone one the streets yelled "Go Pack!" to one another all weekend.  It was awesome.  Granted, there were about 25,000 Pack fans that converged on the city, but it still felt amazing to be a part of it.

For the Jets/Colts game on Saturday, we made our way to Lefty O'Doule's in Union Square.  The place was overrun by Nevada fans.  You can't tell from the picture, but aside from me and a dude in a Colts jersey, everyone was wearing Nevada clothes.  Also, aside from me and that dude, no one gave a shit about the play off game.

Perhaps I got a little too excited about my weekend of football, but I plunged head first into a couple of beers and was feeling great.  Then I had a couple more.  And a few shots.  By the end of the game, I was screaming and jumping up and down like the Jets had won the Super Bowl!  Don't forget, no one else cared about the game, so my behavior would have been inappropriate anywhere else, but surrounded by Nevadans, they were too busy screaming "When I say Wolf, you say Pack" to notice me.  Let's also make a note that I was wearing my Mangold jersey and they won.  I might be on to something with this jersey situation.

I know this will shock you, but Sunday was a little rough for me.  I had to start drinking Bloody Marys at 11am to stave off the full force hangover I could feel creeping up inside of me.  By game time, we were all a few Bloodys/beers/Four Lokos deep and ready to party.

The crowd was drunk and awesome.  If you ever get a chance to immerse yourself in a Nevada crowd, do it.  We are the most fun people you'll ever meet!  There was a streaker; there was a guy wearing an actual wolf that he'd skinned; and the field rush was intense.  I, personally, jumped off a 10 foot wall to assure that I was on the field after we won!

That's as close as I could get to the trophy ceremony.  I was too busy taking photos of me and my friends laying on the grass and trying to touch football players, which was a lot less weird than it sounds!

I don't know that anything can top that weekend of awesomeness, but I'm sure going to try.  A Jets win over the Patriots would be a happy follow-up!

GO PACK!
Blanche Sanche

Football and friends in San Francisco

This will be a weekend of football and fun for me as I follow the Nevada Wolf Pack to San Francisco's AT&T Park for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl!  The Pack is taking on Boston College and I have no doubt in my mind that Boston isn't prepared for what we are going to bring them.

Football wise, Colin Kaepernick is amazing.  He's a running quarterback who scored 20 rushing touchdowns in the 2010 season, in addition to the 20 passing TDs he also scored.  The only other QBs with records like that have Heisman's.  Boston's defense is no match for Kaep, especially when he has Via Tuau at his side.

Fan wise, Nevada fans are bananas.  We get inappropriately drunk and boastful.  We are fiercely excited about our boys making such a splash on the scene this year, so we get a little... oh... out of control.  We have no problem with mocking the opposing fans or the opposing team (just ask Boise State, who never wants to come back to Reno because of the treatment they received after the overtime win in November.  I took it upon myself to stroke the hair of the 20 year-old in front of me while simultaneously called him a baby in a creepy weirdo voice.  Then I offered him beer, which I still contend was a fair trade, but ultimately still very creepy on my part).  We have no problem with fighting.  We are Reno; the drinking capital of the United States.  Beware, Boston College.  You haven't met anyone like us before.

While I'm enjoying my blue and silver weekend of shenanigans, I will take a break to don my Nick Mangold jersey while the Jets are taking on the Colts for the Wild Card playoff game.*  Sure, everyone knows how lethal Peyton Manning can be in a game, but I really think the Jets are underrated in this situation.  Though Mark Sanchez was "injured" a few weeks ago, I think the Jets have been hyping up his injury so no one will expect how well he is going to play on Saturday.  When he's on his game, Sanche is fire.  And I believe he will be fire against the Colts.

You also have a Jets defense that can hold it's own against the Colts.  Revis on Reggie Wayne?  Revis will dominate that match up.  Cromartie against Garcon?  It's gonna get real ugly real quick.  It'll be the kind of football that's fun and exciting to watch, no matter which side of the ball you're on.

I feel good about this weekend.  I will be consuming copious amounts of my contraband Four Loko we amassed before it was taken off shelves, which means I'm going to get Quatro Crazy on some Boston College fans and, probably, the city of San Francisco at large.  Should I never return from this debaucherous weekend, I preemptively assure you that I went out with a bang.  25,000 Nevada fans converging on San Francisco, there are bound to be causalities and my liver is going to be one of them.

And I'm out,
Blanche Sanche

*Let it be known that every game I've worn my Mangold jersey during, the Jets have won.  I expect my baseless superstition to hold true during this game, as well.

My favorite teams and how they came to be such

Being a girl from Reno, Nevada, my options are very limited when it comes to choosing a team to which I can pledge allegiance. Most people in Northern Nevada pick the teams in closest proximity, the San Francisco 49ers or the Oakland Raiders. I would rather put a bullet in the brain of my beloved Betta fish, Marco, than support either of those teams because I am not like the rest of the Northern Nevada sheep. I am an individual. Plus, I could never justify wearing red and gold together, as that's the most hideous color combination I can think of, nor can I support a team whose fans are as terrifying as Raiders fans. Therefore, I had to branch out and find a team to call my own. I will now provide you with a list of my favorite teams (both NFL and college) and the reasoning behind my choices:

Tennessee Titans- The first Superbowl I watched willingly was between the Titans and the Rams in 2000. I was 17 and knew NOTHING about football. Truthfully, I only watched the game for one reason: Justin Timberlake. MTV had a pregame show featuring NSYNC and my dearest JT, being born in Tennessee, was wearing a Titans jersey, which meant that ipso facto, I was a Titans fan. That day I fell in love with three other men: Steve McNair, Eddie George and Jeff Fisher. My life has never been the same. JT led me to the Titans, but those guys made me a real Titans fan.

New York Jets- I could lie and make up some excuse as to why I'm a Jets fan, but lets be real. The only reason the Jets hit my radar is the beautiful face of Mark Sanchez. As a matter of fact, I hated the Jets when they picked up Brett "Dick Pics" Favre because of my deep, personal loathing for the overrated quarterback, but I had a change of heart when I first laid my eyes on Sanchez. I've learned to love all things Jets. Most notably, I've started a Twitter love affair with Nick Mangold, the best center in the National Football League. After months of tweeting him, he finally gave in and started following me. Next stop, BBM contacts.

Aside from those two teams, I will occasionally root for the Colts (because Peyton Manning gets me every time with his hilarious commercials), the Steelers (because I am powerless to resist Mike Tomlin), or the Lions (because I really want to see them win).

As for college teams, my picks are just as random and baseless, as I just started watching college football this year.

Nevada- As an alum, I have to root for them. This year, they made an impressive leap to #13 of the Top 25. And I've already purchased my tickets to see them in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on January 9th. GO PACK!

USC- I'm pretty sure you can guess why. Not only does Mark Sanchez hail from the University of Spoiled Children, but so do Jeff Fisher and LenDale White. I will cheer for anything that is related to Jeff Fisher in any way, so I have to root for the Trojans.

Auburn- I only like Auburn because it seems like every time I turn my television on, Auburn is playing a game. I swear, one Saturday, I left the house while an Auburn game was on and came home more than 6 hours later and Auburn was STILL on my TV. I gotta root for a team with that kind of stamina, even if it was just a repeat of the earlier game.

I will also root for THE Ohio State (thanks Nick Mangold) and the Oregon Ducks. Oh, and I also like Ball State because saying "Ball State" makes me giggle.

And that, my friends, is how I've picked my teams.
Blanche Sanche