Chapter 76

Charlie Taylor and I got back to campus around 4:30 that afternoon. Brian Henson was moved into my old room already, so I left my bags in the living room. I'd spend the night on the couch. I completed checking out of the apartment that afternoon before dinner.

Trevor, Damian, Chip, Brian and I joined the crowd of football players heading for the Training Table at a quarter to six. The guys teased me about the football I carried over to dinner, at least until I showed them what it was for. Coach Caffrey had earned the guys' respect over the last eleven months.

I let Coach Burton know that I wanted time after dinner and before the team was dismissed for the evening activities. After dinner Coach gave me a signal that it was my time. I called for quiet as I stepped to the front of the dining room.

"I'm sure most of you know I was a member of the Wolverines football team at my high school," I announced.

"Yeah, you never shut up about it," some joker in the back called out.

"Coach Caffrey was head coach of the team for thirteen years," I continued, ignoring the heckler. "Last Friday night the Wolverines won the AAA state championship by beating the Strath Haven Panthers ... heh ... heh ... heh ... Sorry about what we did to your old team, Joe."

"Your guys earned it," Joe answered magnanimously.

"The Wolverines voted to honor their long time coach after the game," I explained as I carried the game ball over to Coach Caffrey's spot at the head table. "On behalf of the Wolverines team, I want to present a game ball to Coach for all the time and effort he gave to mold and form the team into the formidable force it has become in AAA football in Pennsylvania." I handed the ball over to Coach. "The team feels you are just as responsible as anyone for their championship this season. Thank you for everything."

"Thank you, Kyle," Coach Caffrey replied. "I will be sure to thank all the guys when I see them."

Coach Burton announced that we had position meetings after dinner. They ran until 8:30 pm. Coach Caffrey reminded us that we needed to be at the training table at 7:00 am tomorrow and have our bags on the buses before breakfast.

Friday, December 28th

My roommates and I were up around six am. We showered, dressed in our best blazers and slacks and then took our bags over to the Lasch Building. The whole team grabbed breakfast before heading to the buses.

About a dozen Pennsylvania TV stations and a small coterie of fans saw us off. Coach Burton did a brief Q&A session with the TV reporters before all of us boarded our buses and headed for the airport. The flight out was a little under five hours. We had box lunches on the plane, supplied by the Training Table. The plane dropped us into the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport a little after noon, Phoenix time.

We needed an hour to get our luggage and get loaded on the buses to our hotel. The weather was about what we expected. It was sixty-five degrees and sunny. There were a few clouds off to the west of the airport.

The trip to the hotel took about fifteen minutes. Our bus driver pointed out one of Tempe's landmarks, the Tempe Town Lake, as we drove by. The athletic department booked us at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel. Our hotel was a modern Spanish style building near the west side of Arizona State University's Tempe campus. Phoenix's light rail metro system ran right behind our hotel. A station was across the street from us. We would have the chance to travel around the city cheaply if and when we had free time.

The hotel staff needed a half hour to process everyone and get us to our assigned rooms. Trevor and I ended up on the third floor beside Damian and Chip. The window in our room overlooked the Tempe Police Station. Beyond it we could see Sun Devil Stadium on ASU's campus.

The rooms were large and well appointed. We had a mini-fridge, coffee maker, a 37 inch plasma TV and an in-room safe so we could protect our laptops when we were out. I had to give Penn State credit. They took excellent care of their athletes.

The team reassembled at three o'clock on the first floor in the Palm Room. Two sections of the massive ballroom were set up for team meetings and dining. The other four sections were separated for the coaching staff, the players, and smaller meeting rooms for the offense and defense.

Coach Burton reviewed our schedule for the trip, went over the team rules, reviewed our meal arrangements and reminded us that we were on a business trip. Our business was to beat Texas in ten days.

Coach drew groans when he announced we would have two-a-day practices tomorrow, Monday and next Saturday. We would have Sunday morning free as well as all of New Years Day. The rest of the days we would go sight-seeing in the afternoons. The team would have meetings in the evenings to prepare us mentally for our game.

Coach gave us the rest of the afternoon off before dismissing us. We had to be back to the Palm Room by six for dinner. The team headed out to our rooms or to explore. Damian, Trevor, Chip and I decided to check out the surroundings around our hotel.

As we were walking through the lobby, two very familiar men walked into the hotel. Matt Millen, the broadcaster, former Detroit Lions team president, NFL linebacker, and late 70's era Penn State defensive lineman, was entering with another man that looked familiar but I couldn't place. I knew I should know him.

Matt spotted us and gave us a wave and a big grin. "Here comes the Penn State brain trust. How's it going?"

"Hey Matt," "Good to see you again," and "Hi Matt," echoed from the four of us. All of us knew Matt. He had broadcast a few of our games over the years.

"Do you guys know Sean?" Matt asked, nodding towards the familiar looking gentleman beside him.

"Um ... I'm not sure," Chip said before the rest of us could admit the same.

"Guys, this is my broadcast partner, Sean McDonough," Matt said. "Sean, I would like to introduce you to Penn State's team captains, Kyle Martin, Trevor Conwell and Damian Thompson, along with quarterback Chip Brinton."

We exchanged greetings and handshakes. When we finished I asked, "What brings you two to our hotel?"

"We have a little time before we have to be at the stadium," Matt answered. "I knew the team came in this afternoon. I figured I could stop by and say hi to Joe. Do you guys know where he's at?"

"Coach Paterno?" I asked. Matt nodded yes. "He didn't fly out with us today. I think he and Sue are coming out in a few days."

"Oh ... OK," Matt answered. "I'll catch up to him sometime next week. Is Bob around?"

"Coach Burton?" Trevor asked. "Coach is probably still in the Palm Room back there. We just finished a team meeting."

"Thanks, guys," Matt said. "Good luck against the Longhorns."

Matt Millen and Sean McDonough headed into the hotel while my friends and I went outside to the street. I couldn't remember what bowl Matt and Sean were broadcasting. The dress of the people on the street let us know immediately. Nearly everyone was dressed in Michigan State's green and white or in black and gold. Some of the pedestrians had "Missouri Tigers" on their sweatshirts. That was enough to remind us that the Insight Bowl was tonight, apparently in Sun Devil Stadium. That was the direction the people were heading. We headed the opposite way, against the flow of people.

Tempe City Hall was across the street from us. We headed up to Mill Avenue, the street the buses brought us in on. We found two pubs, five restaurants, a Starbucks, a Dunkin Donuts, a frozen yogurt shop and an adult store in the first block. Further north we found tall buildings and little to interest pedestrians. We back tracked across Fifth Street and headed south. We found more restaurants, another bar and a number of retail stores.

Mill Avenue reminded me of College Avenue back in State College. The next block down we turned west on University Drive and found out why it looked so familiar. Half a block up, Sixth Street abruptly ended in a turn-around. The pedestrian walkway led you past City Hall and onto ASU's campus. We backtracked again and continued exploring to the south.

We headed back towards the hotel around 5:30, passing a small store I missed on the way south. It was a shop that sold homemade cookies and homemade ice cream. They also made sandwiches out of the ice cream and cookies. Boy, did that sound tasty. It was too close to dinner to stop then, but the four of us made a mental note to come back after we finished our meetings that evening.

The team assembled in our dining room in the Palm Room at six o'clock. The room smelled wonderful. A sign announced tonight's buffet was Caribbean themed. I grabbed the cucumbers in lime vinaigrette, peppered pineapple and couscous with curried coconut dressing, sugar cane smeared pork loin with sweet rolls and French Creole mustard and black beans and rice. It was spicy and delicious. Everyone had toasted coconut cream cake for dessert. The Tempe Mission Palms impressed us with our first meal.

We had an hour and a half meeting after dinner. The offense met in one of the big rooms and reviewed game tape of the Longhorn's defense. Mike Johanson must be considered to be the best defensive back by his coaches. He almost invariably was assigned their opponent's best receiver. I knew I would be seeing a lot of my old friend during the game.

My roommates and I headed down the street to the little ice cream shop we found earlier after the meeting was over. We could hear the roar of the crowd over in Sun Devil Stadium. I wondered how Michigan State was faring against Missouri. At 6-6, the Spartans barely qualified for a bowl game. Missouri was 8-4 and second place in the North Division of the Big 12.

The small Cookiez on Mill store was beside a much larger ice cream store, Sparky's Creamery. The four of us agreed the small store must be something special to survive beside the larger store. We found the store was tiny when we stepped inside. We couldn't have gotten more than a dozen people inside if we squeezed.

We had a choice of a dozen types of cookies and nearly two dozen flavors of homemade ice cream to choose from. I ended up having the chocolate chip cookies filled with mint chocolate chip. My friends made their selections too.

We were shocked at the size of the cookies. They had to be at least six inches in diameter. The man behind the counter put a least an inch of ice cream between the two soft cookies. He sliced them in half and gave them to us in paper bowls. The man charged us $2.75 each for our snack, since we were college students.

The sandwiches were delicious. I knew we would be back a few more times while we were in town the next ten days. Matt Frye, Jon Stafford and Charlie Taylor walked in as we finished our sandwiches. We promised them they would enjoy their treat.

Trevor and I headed up to our room when we got back. I turned on the Insight Bowl. Mizzou was leading Michigan State 27-17. About ten minutes remained in the game. The Spartans managed a field goal before turning the ball back to Mizzou. The Tigers held on to win 27-20.

The team breakfast was 7:30 am most days. The hotel put on a nice buffet spread with eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, potato pancakes, French toast and blintzes along with an assortment of cereal, oatmeal, bagels, Danish and muffins. The coaches gave us directions to the visitors' locker room at Sun Devil Stadium. We would change there and then practice at Arizona State University's practice fields.

It was a seven minute walk down the street, past the police station and across the light rail tracks to the stadium. The sky was cloudy as we left our hotel. The temperature was just short of fifty, much colder than I had expected.

The equipment staff had delivered our personal things and workout clothes to our lockers already. Everyone hurried to change and take the field. Most of us were surprised when we headed for the practice fields that they were further from the locker room than our hotel was from the stadium.

We spent ninety minutes working on football fundamentals – blocking, tackling, ball handling and fumble recovery. Coach Burton promised the next few days were going to be just like training camp. The guys worked hard, albeit with a little grumbling. The coaches and team leaders reminded everyone we're playing one of the best teams in the country in ten days. We needed to play textbook football if we wanted to be the national champions. Every one of us wanted that.

We cleaned up and headed back to the hotel for an early lunch. We spent an hour and a half meeting in our position groups and reviewed video of Texas. The thick clouds were drizzling on the dry desert landscape when we headed back for our second practice. The desert may have needed the rain, but we didn't. The cool temperature hadn't risen since the morning.

We practiced for ninety minutes in the cold rain, getting thoroughly chilled in the process. The hot showers in the locker room at Sun Devil Stadium felt great. The coaches gave us about ninety minutes of free time between practice and dinner.

I headed up to my room when we got back so I could catch as much of the Pinstripe Bowl as was possible. Jake Kring's Syracuse Orangemen were taking on the Baylor Bears in Yankee Stadium. Baylor had the ball with about ten minutes to go when I clicked the TV on. Syracuse led 28-27.

I was impressed with the Baylor QB and offense. They moved the ball down the field crisply. They scored on a pretty lob into the corner of the end zone, using up six and a half minutes of time. Now it was time for Jake to earn his scholarship.

I hadn't seen my friend play since he won the Pennsylvania AAA Championship four seasons ago. Jake had improved dramatically. I watched as he barked out commands to his guys and drove his team down the field with pass after pass. Baylor's defense had the run bottled up. Brian Griese, the color commentator, raved about how well Jake ran the hurry-up offense.

Baylor slowed the Orangemen when they hit the red zone. The clock continued ticking down toward zero. Baylor blitzed their free safety on the next play, taking Jake down from his blind side. Jake made up for it with a twelve yard sideline strike on the next play. 0:51 remained on the clock, it was third down and five yards to go at Baylor's 12 yard line.

Baylor blitzed again, flushing Jake from the pocket. My friend rolled away, frantically searching for an open receiver. Jake spotted his tight end running along the goal line. Jake drilled the ball between two linebackers. The tight end smoothly snatched the ball out of the air, dipped a shoulder and slid into the end zone.

Baylor went all out to try and block the extra point but couldn't get it. The kicker drilled the ball through the uprights. Syracuse led 35-34. Baylor tried to hurry down the field but forty-two seconds wasn't enough time to answer the Orangemen's final score.

The Mission Palms did a barbecue theme that evening. They had a variety of salads, prime rib, racks of baby back ribs, or salmon with baked potatoes and corn on the cob for everyone. We had a choice of a brownie, ice cream, an apple tart or warm berry cobbler with ice cream. I chose the cobbler. Nothing hits the spot like that on a cold winter night.

We had ninety minute offensive and defensive meetings after dinner. The athletic department set up one of our conference rooms so people could watch the Alamo Bowl. A few people did. More people played cards or board games to kill time.

Sunday, December 30th

Trevor and I had the best intentions on Sunday to go to church. We set the alarm to get us up at eight o'clock that morning. It didn't work out. Neither of us were sure who woke up when the alarm went off and shut the damn thing off. It was ten thirty when I woke up and Trevor was just getting out of bed.

We had missed breakfast and the bus to church, so neither of us was in a hurry to get downstairs. I read the Philly paper on-line while we waited for brunch to start at 11:30 am.

The hotel did a big Sunday morning breakfast buffet every Sunday. We ate with the other guests in the hotel in the Cloister Room instead of in our own dining room. Man, did they put out a spread. Eggs, pancakes, hash browns, sage sausage, bacon, waffles and fruit crepes. They had spectacular Belgian waffles with white chocolate and toasted walnuts covered with mint infused maple syrup. They also were running an omelet station. I had a western omelet and those delicious waffles.

Sunday was a less hectic day than the day before. We slept in. We didn't have to hurry over for practice until two o'clock that afternoon. We did our ninety minutes of drills and then headed back to the hotel. I had time for a long talk with Penny before we left for dinner.

The athletic department scheduled us at a banquet facility in the southeast end of Tempe, the Secret Garden. The banquet facility was near the foot of South Mountain. The trip took us about twenty minutes. The team was seated outside on a large patio overlooking the perimeter garden of the facility. It was quite nice except for the weather.

The rain had stopped in the morning but the temperature stubbornly stayed in the low fifties. All the locals commented how unusual it was for it to be this cold. We wore our sweatshirts. It was fine. State College was probably having a snow storm as we enjoyed our dinner.

Our caterer gave us a choice of lasagna, chicken marsala, stuffed shells, or chicken parmigiana. I had the lasagna. Every meal came with a salad, garlic bread, iced tea and a dessert. I had the carrot cake.

The coaches gave us a break from studying that evening. Our video people hooked up a feed to our equipment so we could watch the final couple games of the NFL season that evening. We caught the end of Cardinals/49ers game at University of Phoenix Stadium when we got back to the hotel. We were in time to see Aaron Morano pick off a pass to seal the 49ers victory. Aaron's team was going to the playoffs. The Cardinals were done for the year.

Aaron probably would miss our game next Monday, assuming his team won. The last game tonight would determine the 49er's destination next weekend. If the Vikings beat New Orleans in the Sunday Night Game, they would host the 49ers next weekend and Chicago would go play Philadelphia. If the Saints won, the 49ers would go to Chicago and the Vikings would go to Philly.

Zack Hayes' Packers lost to Miami today. Zack was flying from there to join our team late tonight. He worked out a deal with Coach Burton to work as a volunteer grad assistant for the rest of the week. Leigh Ann and Laurie would join us in Phoenix in a few days.

Coach Burton and a couple other coaches were hanging out in the back, talking and occasionally checking out the game. I decided it was a good time for a talk about the dinner I wanted to throw for our leadership group. I started to the back but was accosted by Brian Henson and Tanner Riggs before I got there.

"Are we going to do a special teams dinner like we normally do?" Tanner asked. Brian nodded as Tanner asked.

"That's up to you guys," I answered. "I really haven't played on special teams this year. I was going talk with Coach right now about doing a dinner for the team leaders. You can come along and talk to him about your dinner too, if you guys are willing to host it."

"We planned to pay the bill, Coach," Brian said. "Just like you, Christian and Tanner did last year."

"Do you mind helping us set it up, Coach?" Tanner asked. "You've been doing this a lot longer than I have."

"I'd be happy to help you set things up," I agreed. "I'm sure we could get Damian to help too."

"Cool, thanks, Coach," both guys replied.

The three of us headed back to the coaches' table. "Coach Burton, do you have a minute?" I asked politely.

"Sure, what's up, Coach?" Coach Burton replied.

"I was wondering if there was time in the dinner schedule this year for thank you dinners?" I answered.

"Ahh ... the infamous special teams dinner," Coach said. "I wondered when you were going to ask about that one. I'm sure we can squeeze in that dinner."

"Actually Tanner and Brian are going to organize that dinner this year," I explained. "I really haven't done much with special teams this year. I wanted to do a second dinner for the team leadership group that has helped Trevor, Damian and me this season. You, Coach C and Coach Adams are invited, of course."

"Damian and Chip already asked me to do a thank you dinner for their blockers," Coach Burton said. "They are skipping our Mexican theme on Wednesday night and doing their own thing. Perhaps you guys could use the same evening?"

"Not for the leadership dinner," I answered. "Tanner, Damian and Chip all should be part of the leadership thank you dinner. Could we do it another night?"

"Brian, Tanner, what do you guys think?" Coach Burton asked. "Would Wednesday night work for special teams? I doubt there will be much conflict between the starting blocking corps and the special teams players."

"Sounds good, Coach," and "Good for me," came back from my two teammates.

"I assume tomorrow and Tuesday nights are out," Coach said. "I doubt you want to miss the country club dinner Thursday. We doing team building exercises and a dinner at F1 Racing Friday night. You will NOT miss that dinner. Saturday we're going to a fancy steak house. I doubt that works."

"No, I don't think anyone wants to miss a steak house," I agreed.

"You could do it Sunday evening," Coach offered. "We don't have anything special. Dinner is here at the hotel."

"Sunday night it is," I agreed. "I'll let you, Coach C and Coach Adams know more about the details once I find us a nice restaurant."

"I'm looking forward to enjoying one of your famous dinners, Coach," Coach Burton replied.

I grabbed Trevor and our resident gourmet, Damian. The five of us headed up to my room where we could do some searching on-line while we watched the New Orleans/Minnesota game. We found quite a few highly rated restaurants on-line, most associated with one of the many hotels in the Phoenix area.

Brian and Tanner ended up choosing the J & G Steakhouse out in Scottsdale. Damian, Trevor and I chose the Ristorante Tuscany on the north of Scottsdale on the northern edge of the metro area.

We turned our attention back to the TV when we finished arranging our dinner. Jamison Peters, the quarterback who led Notre Dame to its last national championship, was doing well in Minnesota after they traded the Detriot Lions for him last spring ... but not as well as Drew Brees. Peters made a fight of it but Brees and the Saints prevailed that evening. Aaron Morano and his 49ers were bound to Chicago. The Vikings would head to Philly and face the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs.

Monday, December 31st

The day was more of the same – breakfast, morning drills, lunch, meetings, afternoon practice and then back to the hotel. We found the first change in routine as we walked back to our hotel. Municipal workers had fenced off Fifth Street in front of our hotel while we were at our afternoon practice. A ticket booth was set up in the middle of the street in front of the driveway into our hotel.

Our guys were excited. The Fiesta Bowl Block Party was tonight and we were smack in the middle of the New Year's Eve celebration. We headed upstairs and changed into Penn State polos and khaki pants, the "uniform" our coaches specified for the evening. The team met in the Palm Room before we left for the party.

"Gentlemen, enjoy the block party tonight," Coach Burton announced when he had everyone's attention. "See your position coach before you head outside to the block party. Everyone gets $15 in meal money for the evening. We do not have dinner here at the hotel tonight." The guys gave a cheer. The hotel's food was good, but variety is good too – especially with the chance for some good street food.

"Please be aware that you represent the Pennsylvania State University tonight," Coach continued. "Conduct yourselves accordingly. Players from Texas, Notre Dame and Nebraska will be attending the block party tonight too. Keep the interaction between teams friendly, especially with the Longhorns. We do NOT need to fire them up with knuckle headed boasting.

"If you are under twenty-one, don't even think of having a drink tonight. If you are of age, I don't mind if you have a beer or two. I am placing great faith in each of you this evening. Please do not let me down. Under no circumstances do I want a call this evening from the police telling me one or more of you have been arrested. You will be put on the first plane home tonight, even if it is midnight.

"Enjoy the party, behave, and remember tonight's curfew is 12:45 am. Be on time!" Coach demanded. "Captains, see me before you leave."

Trevor, Damian and I bucked the crowd of players heading for the exits and the party. "What's up, Coach?" the three of us asked when we reached him.

"The block party organizers want the team captains from the four bowl teams to appear on stage tonight," Coach Burton explained.

"Do we have to do anything?" Trevor asked.

"Smile, wave and answer a few questions," Coach replied. "Keep your answers innocuous – tough opponent, we'll need to play a good game to win, etc."

"That won't be hard," I commented. "They are a very good team."

"Exactly," Coach agreed. "This is going to be much tougher than four years ago when we won our last championship. Kentucky was playing over their heads all that season. We had a dominant team. Next week's game will be a lot tougher than that one."

"OK, we got it, Coach," Damian agreed. Coach gave us directions on when and where to meet so we would be ready at the intermission in the main show. The three of us headed to the back and picked up our passes to get into the block party, our meal money and a map and schedule of the night's events. Christian Hunsecker and Shawn Byrd waited for us to finish with Coach Burton. The five of us headed for the streets.

Fifth Street was full of people heading down from Sun Devil Stadium for the gate in front of our hotel. We joined the line to get inside the party. The party began at five pm. We got inside about fifteen minutes later. Hundreds of people were wandering the streets already.

"Do you guys want to grab a beer?" Damian asked.

"I'd rather wait until after dinner," I suggested. "If all I get tonight is two, I want to make them last."

"That sounds like a plan," Christian agreed.

"Are we going to hook up with Jeremy tonight?" Trevor asked.

"I'll give him a call," I said. I pulled out my cell phone and gave him a buzz.

"Hey, what's up, Kyle?" Jeremy asked when he answered my call.

"Where the hell are you?" I asked. "Trevor, Damian, Christian and I are here at the party. We're waiting."

"Umm ... we're on a bus on an interstate," Jeremy answered. "We left Glendale twenty-five minutes ago. I'll check with the driver and see ... wait, we're passing a dam on a river and there's a big lake behind it ... and there's a mountain with an 'A' on it."

"You're almost here," I said.

"I see Sun Devil Stadium," Jeremy said. "Oh, now we're getting off the interstate."

"You'll see ASU's practice fields on your left," I said. "You're probably coming to the block party on Fifth Street. Why don't we meet you inside the gate in front of City Hall?"

"That's cool, Kyle," Jeremy agreed. "Dylan, Jeff, Joe and I will meet you there."

I knew Dylan was Dylan Harris, the starting quarterback and Jeremy's close friend. I wasn't sure who Jeff or Joe was, but we'd find out soon enough. We met the four at the appointed place about ten minutes later. Jeff proved to be Jeff Duncan, the starting right cornerback for the Irish. Joe was Joe Munoz, left offensive tackle. I introduced Jeremy's friends to my friends.

We headed down the street to the food court, which was located on Fifth Street to the west of Mill Avenue. There were plenty of vendors to choose from. I found a stand selling fish tacos. They were tasty. All of us grabbed some fries before wandering down Mill Avenue.

Trevor and I took our group down the street through the artists' exhibits to Cookiez on Mill. Everyone enjoyed the excellent ice cream sandwiches. We wandered down Mill Avenue past the carnival rides. No one was interested in them. They were more for the younger crowd. The singer at the Brickyard Street Stage was OK. We continued down the street after listening for a couple minutes.

We headed over to the Centerpoint Stage on Seventh Street. A Tom Petty tribute band was playing. Everyone, except Christian, grabbed a beer at the beer garden and sat back to enjoy the show. The band was very good.

We headed up the street to the Scandelesque Stage. They were doing hourly burlesque shows. The show was a little risqué, which made it fun for awhile. Jeremy, Dylan and company insisted we head up to the Insight Main Stage for the Notre Dame Marching Band's performance. Our band would not be performing that night. They didn't arrive until the day after tomorrow.