what the heck are mimosas??
HUNTINGTON -- If you happen to notice a wrinkle in Scott Morehouse's shirt Saturday morning, let it go.
Marshall University's associate athletic director for game day operations and facilities is pulling an all-nighter -- literally -- in preparation for the Thundering Herd's football clash with Kansas State. Kickoff at Joan C. Edwards Stadium is Saturday at 10:30 a.m., meaning Morehouse, coaches, players and most fans will be hitting their alarm clocks before dawn.
"I was talking about it today," Morehouse said, shaking his head at the reality of this weekend's schedule. "I don't know when I'm going to be able to sleep. Typically on the night before games, sitting around and just trying to think of the little things you have to finish up, that usually wraps up around 1:30 or 2 (a.m.).
"And we have to open the gates for the vendors and concessions people at
3 o'clock in the morning."
Marshall's 10:30 a.m. kickoff is the earliest known in Thundering Herd football history. An expected record crowd will begin filling the West Lot at 6:30 a.m., with omelets and casseroles replacing typical tailgating items.
It's Morehouse's charge to make certain fans and both teams enjoy a seamless game-day atmosphere. Those duties keep him troubleshooting at the stadium late on the eve of games and have him back at 20th Street and Third Avenue early on game day. Still, Morehouse concedes Saturday morning is different.
"I'm not going home that night," Morehouse said. "I'll stay here. I might go up in the athletic director's sky box, lay down on the couch and bring an alarm clock with me or sleep in my office.
"But I've already said I'm not going home. By the time you drive home 15 minutes, lay down for 45 minutes and drive back 15 minutes, it's not worth it, so I'm not going home that night."
Good morning, Huntington
Marshall's tailgate setting for its most high-profile regular season home game in history will certainly take on a different feel. Kansas State, a member of the Big 12 Conference, is the best-known program to visit Huntington and the unusual start time will make for a different aroma surrounding the stadium
"We'll get to the tailgate by 7 or before and instead of the normal hot dogs, metts and hamburgers it's going to be sausage and gravy, somebody's bringing a cinnamon-type bread and we'll have a sausage casserole," long-time Marshall fan Wayne Windle said.
In lieu of brew, Windle said mimosas will be the beverage of choice, although, "I don't think we'll have a lot of them."
Windle is among Marshall's most ardent sports fans. He's a Quarterback Club and Big Green Scholarship Foundation member and sits on the Marshall Alumni Association Board of Directors. He and his tailgating crew of 15 look forward to Saturday's showdown, but Windle would prefer a later start.
"I don't think it's a very fan-friendly time," Windle said. "We're talking about wanting to have a record attendance, yet at this time in the morning it's very difficult. It's not helping anybody that's got to work on Saturday.
"But I guess TV revenue is important along with the national exposure. I don't think it's good for the fans."
About 8,000 tickets remain, but Marshall ticket director Matt Monroe anticipates Saturday's crowd to eclipse the record of 33,537 set in 2003.
"We're expecting a huge walkup crowd Saturday," Monroe said. "I'm not sure of a number but I think it will be a record."
Jacob Fredeking, a Marshall senior majoring in cytotechnology, hopes thousands of fellow students join him for kickoff. He was disappointed by last week's student turnout for William & Mary, which totaled 25,102 in overall attendance.
Marshall football coach Mark Snyder said he was surprised by the exodus of fans following halftime last week, a sentiment echoed by Fredeking.
"Students need to learn to stick around after halftime and not go out to party," Fredeking said. "The point is to go watch football, not to get hammered drunk. The students need to support this team."
As for the early start, Fredeking said students he's spoken with aren't concerned. His tailgate, which begins at about 8 a.m., will feature "eggs and beer."
Punching the clock early
Morehouse isn't alone in reporting for work in the pre-dawn hours Saturday.
John Mandt Jr., president and owner of Stewart's Hot Dogs, will prepare non-perishable items Friday night, but he can't avoid an early start.
"I've never cooked chili sauce at 3 a.m. before, but there's a first time for everything," Mandt said. "We'll be ready. ... We adjust and we'll do darn well at it, too. We're looking forward to it."
Concessions crews will begin preparing en masse at 7 a.m. and stands will be operating when stadium gates open to fans at 9 a.m.
Also facing an early morning is Marshall associate athletic director for media relations Randy Burnside. About 150 media-related members will work Saturday's game, including a crew of 50 from ESPN2 and about 15 from Kansas State media outlets.
Burnside's day begins at
5:30 a.m., kicking off a long shift for Marshall's media relations staff. Following the game, two staff members will be dispatched to the Charleston Civic Center for Marshall's day-long volleyball event.
"We're going to have to get up very early but the good thing is we'll be finished while the sun is out," Burnside said. "It should be a fun game. We're hoping for an enormous crowd."
Morehouse echoed Burnside, pointing out that an early start equals an early finish and opportunities to take in Saturday's night-time college football action.
"We're done by 1:30-2 (p.m.) with the game," Morehouse said. "We'll take a quick nap and be able to watch the Ohio State game with Texas that night. It'll work out OK. We'll be fine."
A landmark game
Saturday's featured performers aren't concerned with the timing of their rematch (Marshall won at Kansas State, 27-20, in 2003). Marshall's pre-game meal begins at 6:30 a.m. in their Charleston hotel and the team will arrive at Cam Henderson Center at 8:30 a.m. for its walk to the stadium.
Kickoff will take a 9:30 a.m. feel in the central time-based bodies of K-State players.
"We realize the game is early but that's neither here nor there," Wildcats running back Thomas Clayton said. "If it's 9:30 in the morning or 10:30 at night we're anxious to play the game."
Windle's disappointment at the 10:30 a.m. kickoff is tempered by the significance of hosting Kansas State. Since rejoining NCAA Division I-A football in 1997, Marshall officials have labored toward luring a name BCS program to Huntington.
Twenty years ago, Marshall's home non-conference schedule consisted of West Virginia Tech and Ohio. Windle and many of his tailgating friends remember well Marshall's struggles both in scheduling and on the field.
"I'm absolutely thrilled," Windle said. "We've got the biggest-name team coming to Huntington, and there are those of us that sat at Fairfield Stadium many years ago that never thought this would happen.
"It's a landmark. We hope it's one of many."
HUNTINGTON -- If you happen to notice a wrinkle in Scott Morehouse's shirt Saturday morning, let it go.
Marshall University's associate athletic director for game day operations and facilities is pulling an all-nighter -- literally -- in preparation for the Thundering Herd's football clash with Kansas State. Kickoff at Joan C. Edwards Stadium is Saturday at 10:30 a.m., meaning Morehouse, coaches, players and most fans will be hitting their alarm clocks before dawn.
"I was talking about it today," Morehouse said, shaking his head at the reality of this weekend's schedule. "I don't know when I'm going to be able to sleep. Typically on the night before games, sitting around and just trying to think of the little things you have to finish up, that usually wraps up around 1:30 or 2 (a.m.).
"And we have to open the gates for the vendors and concessions people at
3 o'clock in the morning."
Marshall's 10:30 a.m. kickoff is the earliest known in Thundering Herd football history. An expected record crowd will begin filling the West Lot at 6:30 a.m., with omelets and casseroles replacing typical tailgating items.
It's Morehouse's charge to make certain fans and both teams enjoy a seamless game-day atmosphere. Those duties keep him troubleshooting at the stadium late on the eve of games and have him back at 20th Street and Third Avenue early on game day. Still, Morehouse concedes Saturday morning is different.
"I'm not going home that night," Morehouse said. "I'll stay here. I might go up in the athletic director's sky box, lay down on the couch and bring an alarm clock with me or sleep in my office.
"But I've already said I'm not going home. By the time you drive home 15 minutes, lay down for 45 minutes and drive back 15 minutes, it's not worth it, so I'm not going home that night."
Good morning, Huntington
Marshall's tailgate setting for its most high-profile regular season home game in history will certainly take on a different feel. Kansas State, a member of the Big 12 Conference, is the best-known program to visit Huntington and the unusual start time will make for a different aroma surrounding the stadium
"We'll get to the tailgate by 7 or before and instead of the normal hot dogs, metts and hamburgers it's going to be sausage and gravy, somebody's bringing a cinnamon-type bread and we'll have a sausage casserole," long-time Marshall fan Wayne Windle said.
In lieu of brew, Windle said mimosas will be the beverage of choice, although, "I don't think we'll have a lot of them."
Windle is among Marshall's most ardent sports fans. He's a Quarterback Club and Big Green Scholarship Foundation member and sits on the Marshall Alumni Association Board of Directors. He and his tailgating crew of 15 look forward to Saturday's showdown, but Windle would prefer a later start.
"I don't think it's a very fan-friendly time," Windle said. "We're talking about wanting to have a record attendance, yet at this time in the morning it's very difficult. It's not helping anybody that's got to work on Saturday.
"But I guess TV revenue is important along with the national exposure. I don't think it's good for the fans."
About 8,000 tickets remain, but Marshall ticket director Matt Monroe anticipates Saturday's crowd to eclipse the record of 33,537 set in 2003.
"We're expecting a huge walkup crowd Saturday," Monroe said. "I'm not sure of a number but I think it will be a record."
Jacob Fredeking, a Marshall senior majoring in cytotechnology, hopes thousands of fellow students join him for kickoff. He was disappointed by last week's student turnout for William & Mary, which totaled 25,102 in overall attendance.
Marshall football coach Mark Snyder said he was surprised by the exodus of fans following halftime last week, a sentiment echoed by Fredeking.
"Students need to learn to stick around after halftime and not go out to party," Fredeking said. "The point is to go watch football, not to get hammered drunk. The students need to support this team."
As for the early start, Fredeking said students he's spoken with aren't concerned. His tailgate, which begins at about 8 a.m., will feature "eggs and beer."
Punching the clock early
Morehouse isn't alone in reporting for work in the pre-dawn hours Saturday.
John Mandt Jr., president and owner of Stewart's Hot Dogs, will prepare non-perishable items Friday night, but he can't avoid an early start.
"I've never cooked chili sauce at 3 a.m. before, but there's a first time for everything," Mandt said. "We'll be ready. ... We adjust and we'll do darn well at it, too. We're looking forward to it."
Concessions crews will begin preparing en masse at 7 a.m. and stands will be operating when stadium gates open to fans at 9 a.m.
Also facing an early morning is Marshall associate athletic director for media relations Randy Burnside. About 150 media-related members will work Saturday's game, including a crew of 50 from ESPN2 and about 15 from Kansas State media outlets.
Burnside's day begins at
5:30 a.m., kicking off a long shift for Marshall's media relations staff. Following the game, two staff members will be dispatched to the Charleston Civic Center for Marshall's day-long volleyball event.
"We're going to have to get up very early but the good thing is we'll be finished while the sun is out," Burnside said. "It should be a fun game. We're hoping for an enormous crowd."
Morehouse echoed Burnside, pointing out that an early start equals an early finish and opportunities to take in Saturday's night-time college football action.
"We're done by 1:30-2 (p.m.) with the game," Morehouse said. "We'll take a quick nap and be able to watch the Ohio State game with Texas that night. It'll work out OK. We'll be fine."
A landmark game
Saturday's featured performers aren't concerned with the timing of their rematch (Marshall won at Kansas State, 27-20, in 2003). Marshall's pre-game meal begins at 6:30 a.m. in their Charleston hotel and the team will arrive at Cam Henderson Center at 8:30 a.m. for its walk to the stadium.
Kickoff will take a 9:30 a.m. feel in the central time-based bodies of K-State players.
"We realize the game is early but that's neither here nor there," Wildcats running back Thomas Clayton said. "If it's 9:30 in the morning or 10:30 at night we're anxious to play the game."
Windle's disappointment at the 10:30 a.m. kickoff is tempered by the significance of hosting Kansas State. Since rejoining NCAA Division I-A football in 1997, Marshall officials have labored toward luring a name BCS program to Huntington.
Twenty years ago, Marshall's home non-conference schedule consisted of West Virginia Tech and Ohio. Windle and many of his tailgating friends remember well Marshall's struggles both in scheduling and on the field.
"I'm absolutely thrilled," Windle said. "We've got the biggest-name team coming to Huntington, and there are those of us that sat at Fairfield Stadium many years ago that never thought this would happen.
"It's a landmark. We hope it's one of many."
