Jackrabbit Illustrated

Hey look, it’s me again. I know you’re missing me as much as I am missing all of you, but I wanted to
take a few moments to write a follow-up to the article posted last week. Let me recap all of the things I
remember (because after enough pudding shots or Ears Up, you might forget a few things).
After a long travel day with a broken A/C on the plane, I made it into Sioux Falls. As we descended into
the gray skies of South Dakota (thanks Canada), I could feel the excitement kicking in, knowing this
would be a fun-filled with weekend with some cheeky shenanigans. When I walked out into the lobby of
the airport, not only was I greeted by Brendan and Ariel, my good buddy Cardboard Rev decided to
make an appearance, and there’s video of us together. I also want to note: Cardboard Rev is friggin’ tall
too.

I got a nice whirlwind trip of the Sioux Falls area, with stops at a few places to pick up tailgating supplies
and then we were off to Brookings. After watching Brendan prep the brisket for tailgating, and maybe
giving him a little bit of Texas judgement, we walked downtown. Brookings is a great college town, with
a beautiful downtown area ripe with bars and restaurants and I was able to check a few of them out. A
couple of notes on that:
1) The downstairs bar at the Ram (I think it’s called O’Hares) has to be the most dangerous place to
walk during an icy day.
2) Chislic is top notch food. The rooftop at Cubby’s was a great spot to try it for the first time.
3) Jim’s Tap is one of the oddest, but coolest, bars I have been to, although two pitches of
Backpackers was way, way, wayyyy too much sugar
4) Gotta love by the slice pizza at 2am for the walk home
5) I’m also glad your tailgating didn’t start at 8am

Saturday morning comes and I get my first taste of Casey’s breakfast pizza (as good as advertised) and
we are off to set up the tailgate. It was a gorgeous day for tailgating and right away I was approached by
a few folks who wanted to see if The Rev actually made it. It was great having conversations with them
about SDSU and my appreciation for them. We got the Jackrabbit Book Club tailgate set up (hey, you
should go review them on Google Maps) and we helped a few folks who needed extra hands for tents,
and got on our way. I know comparing SFA tailgating to SDSU isn’t fair because of how we each rank in
our states, but your tailgating knocked it out of the park. I love the concept of The Backyard and being
able to keep your stuff there for the season.

I was able to walk around and say hi to a few folks (shout out to the Jackulance Crew and Hare Raisers),
was offered some Tiger Meat that was pretty great, and of course was able to devour the food that
Brendan made. Here’s where I need to pause and give a shout out to Brendan: that man can cook a
brisket. We should make him an honorary Texan because that one was up there. I know I messed with
him Friday night while he was prepping, but I tip my hat to you. I hope everyone who came by was able
to enjoy some brisket and shotgun shells, because they were worth it.
There were so many folks I got to see again, and some that I met for the first time, and to have those
few moments with them, to discuss SDSU, SFA, and football as a whole, made the trip entirely worth it.
I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the president’s suite and the media level and everything on the
west side and wow, just wow. The DJD is an amazing facility with great sight lines and great views. After the tour, it was time to go into the game and watch the best match we will see in FCS during the regular
season.

As for the game, not much to discuss that hasn’t been discussed. The crowd got into it in the second
half and made it the house where the number 1 team should live. I will say that my hand is STILL sore
from banging the hard hat against the rail, and at the end of the day, the Jacks won. Shout out to the
student section for filling up again, and shout out to the crowd for being there. You have to keep this up
in the colder months. This team deserves that sort of crowd week in and week out. I know you guys
don’t play in a mall or in a wastewater plant, but you get to watch the best team in FCS and a team that
should be continue to be the upper echelon for years to come. Bundle up, be loud. It’s that simple.

To close, this was an amazing weekend. I cannot wait to come back up to Brookings and do it again. I
hope I can make it an annual thing, as I am a SDSU supporter (after my Jacks, obviously). I want to give a
few shout outs here though. First, shout out to Brendan and Ariel Luedtke for being my South Dakota
sherpas and making sure I had the experience I needed, as well as ways to and from the airport (and a
soft place to sleep Saturday). Also a big shout out to Thomas Dunn for letting me crash with him Friday
and getting me into see all of the awesomeness of the facilities. This weekend would not have been
what it was without you three, and it’s a debt I won’t be able to return (but I’ll try).

Additional shout outs go to Ben, Chad, Dallas, Matt, Jim Poppen, The Amicks, Dustin Puhrmann, Sam
Meirose, Joshua Hofman, Alex Kenkel, Ryan Jensen, The Jungens, The Gronowskis (Deb, can’t wait for
your segment), The Hare Raisers, The guy who lived in Chad’s basement (whose name I forgot and I
apologize), Jay Mitzner, Mr Burzee, Kobie, Jesse Royston, President Barry Dunn, Dave Law, Steve
Anderson, and so many more I am going to leave out due to the fact that I met and hung with so many
folks. Please note if you aren’t listed here, it’s just my inability to remember names and faces, but know
I appreciated every moment and beer with you. You guys know how to make someone who had the
audacity to wear a bunny suit so welcomed. I hope to see all of you in Frisco.

GBGBGJ!

The Rev

P.S. I did not get a butter burger ☹