By Adam C. Warner

October 16, 2007:

Suni and I had a full day ahead with two scheduled visits so we got up early to prepare. After leaving our campground (Wal-Mart parking lot), we headed to suburban Atlanta to visit with Atlanta Journal Constitution sports reporter Jeff Haws. We met Jeff at his home and recorded a great interview in the RV. He was passionate about Georgia football and I think that came out in the interview.

Afterwords, we took to a local mall and ate at Joe Catfish, a local fish establishment, and enjoyed some local cuisine.

Soon enough, we were on our way to Roswell, Georgia for our afternoon school visit with Roswell High School. The football team is coming off a 2006 state championship in 5A after sharing the title with Peachtree Ridge after ending in a tie in the title game. A terrible way for a championship to end, but I'm sure both schools are pleased with the result anyway.

Roswell is a large, suburban school with great facilities and great people. Upon arriving, we met with head coach Tim McFarlin and athletic director Mike Power and chatted a bit before conducting interviews down in their stadium grounds. Suni and I toured the school and discovered its gym, which is more like a mini version of the Georgia Dome. Ray Manus stadium was also quite impressive. I can't wait to see what the new grounds will look like (the school is breaking ground on new athletic facilities soon, actually).

After watching practice for a while, we took to the road again and did some editing work before shipping out some items back to headquarters. As soon as that was over, we made our way to Marietta and parked the bus and discovered a local pizza joint downtown for dinner. We split a veggie pizza and some salad. Good stuff, indeed.

By 10, we were back on the road NorthWest towards Cartersville to stay the night and prepare for our morning interview with GeorgiaPreps.net director Darby Chaney. But before that, we had to fuel up and get some fresh water. 

By Adam C. Warner

Sunday, October 14:

Well, Sunday was our travel day. We had one day to make it to Atlanta, Georgia from Indianapolis in order to cover the Monday Night Football game between the Giants and Falcons. Dan Driscoll and I left with the tour bus at the crack of dawn and made our way south on I-65 to Kentucky. We drove through forest and farmland before reaching Louisville, and then horse farms and white picket fences highlighted the route for miles in the Bluegrass state. It was a perfect day for a drive, so we were lucky to have the weather cooperate.

We stopped at a pizza hut in rural Kentucky for some food. The place was packed with people in their sunday church clothes -- I didn't know Pizza Hut was a destination for so many folks after church! After the break, we continued south through Tennessee (Knoxville and Chattanooga) and many mountains roads before we reached Georgia. As soon as we got to Chattanooga, traffic picked up, so Dan and I took a detour on a back mountain road to bypass the sluggish conditions. It turned out to be a good call. Though the reason for the traffic was because a cop had pulled someone over to the side of the road. How crazy is that?

We made it to Atlanta by nightfall and stopped in Duluth to visit one of Dan's former teammates with the Eagles -- Willie Tolbert. Willie was gracious enough to cook a fantastic meal for us and his family. It was a delicious menu that included grilled fish, vegetables and rice. Suculent, mouth-watering and scrumptious would be three words to describe it. We dined over some good conversation and old memories with his family. It was the perfect way to end a productive day on the road. 

Friday October 12

After the FP.tv road crew spent some quality time in the Windy City, the bus picked me up at O'Hare on Friday before taking the bypass SouthEast. Next stop: Indiana. Once over the Illinois/Indiana state line, we took ol' Bessie Sue to an RV's favorite stop. Flying J's of course. After pumping our diesel, we headed over to the Flying J's car wash, which is pretty much inside a giant warehouse. To say our cruiser could have used a car wash would be the understatement of the century. You should have seen the smorgasboard of insects plattered across our front windshield.

Our destination for the night was Merrillville High School, just outside of Gary, Indiana. And while Gary is not one town I would make any extended layovers in (what you learned in U.S History class about Gary was right), Merrillville HS and athletic grounds were quite nice. We arrived at Demaree stadium just before sundown and set up shop out front in preparation for the big game between Merrville and Chesterton -- two Duneland Athletic Conference rivals that were vying for the conference championship.

It was a cold night for October in Indiana, with temperatures dropping into the mid to low 40s, but it was a perfect night for football. Favored Merrillville took it to Chesterton early and often on this night, running and passing all around its rival, while providing punishing blows on the defensive side of the ball. Behind 6-6 QB Dolapo Mcarthy and speedy running back Roosevelt Williams, the Pirates pulled away with a 38-10 victory.

Once we captured our footage and grabbed some interviews at game's end, we immediately departed for South Bend, Indiana -- about an hour to the east. Our objective: make it to Notre Dame by midnight to secure a spot before the mammoth BC-Notre Dame game on Saturday.

We arrived in South Bend around 11:30 and pulled up to a spot just beyond the soccer and lacrosse fields. After settling down and grabbing some food and drink at nearby SB establishments, we made friends with our RV neighbors, which turned out to be an old friend of Dan's. We sat around a fire ring and warmed up on a chilly night before heading back to our quarters for a good night's rest.

-Adam C. Warner

By Jimmy Oliver

Wednesday, September 29: St. Pius X

As we continued our tour through the Houston area, we stopped at St. Pius X High School. This is a school steeped in tradition and pride. It is home to about 700 students and we were welcomed with open arms. We spent almost an hour in the office of offensive coordinator Darren Trevino just talking about high school athletics and how much he loves St. Pius.

We then had the opportunity to meet head coach Robin Kirk. Robin is a St. Pius lifer (class of '72) and his appreciation for the school shows in every word he speaks. He is a man who truly loves what he does.

The facilities are that of any small private school in America.  Everything has a polished look and the students are busy doing everything from getting ready for practice to putting on the last finishing touches for the play being produced for Homecoming.

In front of the school, we were able to spend time with the Head of School, Sister Donna Pollard. She is a native New Yorker (and fellow Yankee fan with an autographed Roger Clemens jersey in her office). She has been at St. Pius for about 20 years.  She, too, is someone who clearly takes pride in the place she works -- a wonderful woman who get's it.  (see my ealier blog about getting it)

Thursday, September 30

Our first stop was the sprawling campus of Cedar Hill High School.  We found the office of head coach Joey McGuire, one of the younger coaches along our stop.  He has been the head coach there for five years and you can see his stamp all over the place.  He often spoke about family and the commitment to your fellow man, virtues that are not only important in sports, but in life.

Throughout the visit, Joey ha a big smile as if to say "I love what I do.” He gave us a great tour of the facilities inside the school.  But the part I loved the most was the tour of the press box. Now, I keep saying to Suni that things can't get bigger as we go from school to school. However, Cedar Hill's press box is enormous.  We took the elevator up to the second floor of the box and had a beautiful vantage point of the entire stadium. But even more impressive was the view from the third floor. You could see El Paso! It's a testament to the school district that they were able to get this built.

On Thursday night, we watched North Garland take on Lakeview Centennial at Williams Stadium. Both teams played well, with Lakeview taking the win. But perhaps the most fun was seeing the four flea flicker plays between the two teams.

North Garland has three sophomores who are going to be flat out studs next year: #10 QB Patrick Timberlake, #12 WR Anthony McGhee and #13 WR Brandon Jones.  All three are exciting to watch.  For Lakeview Centennial, I was very impressed with #1 WR Cameron Brewer.  Cameron must be 6'6" with a huge wing span -- perhaps something he got from his father, a former NBA player.

Friday, September 30

This morning we got a great treat. We were able to watch the pep rally at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. What impressed me the most about Trinity was the school spirit carried by the students. Friday happend to be "wear your pajamas" day. I would say 90% of the kids dressed for the special day. 

We met with head coach Steve Lineweaver later in the day. His office is large and cluttered with pictures of plays and equipment everywhere.He is another coach who loves what he does.

Prior to the pep rally, we spent a few moments with the athletic director Sue Cannon. Sue is also the head coach of the girls basketball team. Now, I know we are talking football here, but here is the thing: Sue has 845 career wins!!  She is humble about the number and directs the credit to all of her players. But let's be real. Anyone who can amass that many victories must be doing something right.

On Friday night, we covered the Southlake Carroll game. Again, I can't believe that every time I see a stadium, it is bigger than the last. Dragon Stadium rivals most Div. 1-AA schools and can hold roughly 10,000 spectators. There are tailgaters everywhere prior to the game and people walking around in Southlake Carroll jerseys as if they were heading to a Cowboys game.

School pride is rampant in Texas.  Southlake Carroll put up 63 points against Keller Central on this night. They are one dangerous team -- one that used the no-huddle shotgun to perfection. QB Riley Dodge and RB Tre Newton are studs. Newton looked like he could start for Texas this year as he ran through the Keller defense all night.

I would be not doing my job properly if I didn't mention a few things about the people we have met along the way.

All the coaches have been great, especially J.T. Curtis at Curtis, Joey McGuire at Cedar Hill and Robin Kirk at St. Pius. These are three guys who just love what they do and are there for the kids.

As for Trinity athletic director Sue Cannon, I hope she sticks around for 1000 wins.

And special thanks to Thom and Ricardo at Sam's Club who totally hooked us up with water for the bus.

So far, I love Texas and its people.

We are off to SMU to see them play UTEP. Until next time.....

By Jimmy Oliver

FP.tv correspondent

Monday, September 27:  New Orleans, La.

I finally arrived in New Orleans after a short flight from Atlanta. This will be my first experience living on a bus and I will be doing so for almost nine days.

Within an hour of disembarking the plane, I was in downtown New Orleans along with Suni.  It had been raining most of the day and was muggy and wet, but this didn't seem to affect the hard-nosed Saints fans whatsoever. The party went on. 

Now, the Superdome is not like any other venue I have been to.  For instance, both the Meadowlands and the Linc have ample parking and tailgating space.  Not so in New Orleans.  If you can cram your car or RV into an area, congratulations! It's a spot.  We actually parked the tour bus on a median about one mile from the Dome.  We stepped out into the rain and ran into some great Saints fans that would not let the weather ruin the tailgating for them.  The "504 Tailgaters" were great and gave us a sample of their specialty, deer sausage gumbo.  I'm not sure I want to know how it's made. Eventually, we made our way to other tailgates and then down to Bourbon Street, where we had some dinner and met some interesting people. 

Tuesday, September 28: John Curtis Christian School

To say this was an impressive visit would be an understatement. And when I say impressive, it was not because of the buildings -- most of which have been around since before I was. But head coach J.T. Curtis was just great (his Patriots own 21, yes 21, state championships). He welcomed us with open arms and gave us a great tour of the school. He was an engaging man -- someone I could have listened to all day. You may already be familiar with his program after reading "Hurricane Season", which was written about his school and team after Hurricane Katrina. I'm reading it right now, actually, and it's a great book so far as I have a hard time putting it down.

Coach Curtis seems to get it.  And when I say that, I mean that he truly understands why people get involved in high school athletics.  He seems more concerned with the kids as people than players.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to run the wrong way on a play with him as coach, but at the end of the day, you know he's got your back.

Wednesday, September 29: Katy High School

After witnessing the enormous school that is Katy High School, in Katy, Texas, I don't think I will see a school physically larger than that. There is a field house that holds the countless football trophies, weight-room, locker rooms and offices. But, there is also a performing arts center on top of the ton of classrooms they have. It is a school that seems to hold the statement "Everything in Texas is bigger" very true. Coach Gary Joseph -- holder of three state championships -- is a smart man and one who seems to be able to get the most out of players with a simple glare. He was a great host. But the host with the most was principal Joe Kelley -- or "Mr. K" as he is known. We may see him with his own late night show at some point. The entire Katy school community was fun to be around

We just made the lunch call of the year....Miller's Cafe in Houston. This is a hamburger joint. Not a restaurant but a joint. It has been around for almost 20 years, but you get a feeling that it could have been there for 75. I had the bacon cheeseburger with fried onions, fries and sweet tea (this is the south and sweet tea is my new favorite thing). I'm guessing here but the burger was probably 3/4 of a pound, if not more. I am so full as I right this that I am having trouble keeping my eyes open.

We are on to see St. Pius X in Houston and then we move on to the Dallas area.

I will have more great food ideas in my next blog.

Until next time.....

By Adam C. Warner

After rolling through Maryland over the weekend, the FootballPower.tv tour bus made its way to the Linc in Philly to wach the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football.

Once we parked our rig in K lot in front of the stadium, the crew immediately set out to document some of the tailgate action going on in the parking lots -- which had been happening since 1 pm that afternoon. And as you probably know, Eagles fans are notorious for their tailgating, traditions and vocal tendencies. 

On a chilly September afternoon, more than 65,000 fans took to the parking lots for a grand pre-game celebration in eager anticipation of what should be a promising season. As expected, fans were draped in full Eagles attire and many brought along their uniquely decorated RV's -- most decked out in midnight green. And there were converted school buses, vans, trailers, cars and more for as far as the eye could see. What an experience!

And the food....simply irresistible. The smell of chicken wings, lasagna, pizza, grilled chicken and cheesesteaks filled the air on this night as many established mini food buffets at their respective tailgating spots. 

Meanwhile, Eagles cheers rang out through the evening -- becoming more and more frequent as gametime approached.

It's safe to say the fans in Philly take their football seriously.

Unfortunately for the Birds, the situation with the team appears even more dire after they succombed to the Redskins and dropped to 0-2 on the year.

Nevertheless, we can't wait for the next time that the FootballPower bus pulls up to the Linc!

Until next time....

P.S. -- Meanwhile, Suni always wondered what it would be like to be a program

seller at a football game. As you can see from the photo above, his

wish was granted.

By Adam C. Warner

What a weekend for FootballPower.tv!

Jimmy “P.” Oliver, “The Chief” Steve Layne and myself departed from FP.tv headquarters on Saturday morning with a direct flight plan for Happy Valley to see Penn State take on Notre Dame.

Our intentions for this trip were to meet up with the FootballPower road crew – they, too, were in town to document the event.

On the 3 1/2 hour journey, we did make one important detour to Red Rabbit Hamburger-stand outside of Harrisburg. It was one of these throwback establishments where you wait in your car while waitresses come out and take your order and then hang trays of food on your window.

While the girls didn’t roll out on roller-skates, it was quite the experience. Do try the signature Bunny Burger and milkshake. It's truly amazing. And as their motto says, “Make the Red Rabbit a Habit!”

By early afternoon, we were in State College – even with some congestion heading into the stadium area. Well, when 200,000 people converge at one stop, that is expected.

After inching through traffic downtown, we met with correspondent Dan Driscoll who ushered us to our grounds – Lot 13 – less than ¼ mile from the stadium.

Driscoll and the road crew found a perfect spot to park the tour bus, in the RV lot with thousands upon thousands of sports fans.

Hands down, this event was one of the most spectacular in some years for me. Several square miles packed with 200,000 crazed PSU and ND fans. One might say it was controlled chaos.

That said, Suni Blackwell and Andre Coles and myself quickly took to the tailgating and captured some amazing footage, both on video and on digital camera. Old and young alike had come together for one reason – to eat, drink and be merry. And perhaps, to watch their favorite team beat one of the nation’s most prestigious.

So for nearly three hours, we captured footage of grillers, beer drinkers, game players, paint-facers, helicopters, police units, school bands, mascots, alumni members and more – all about seven drinks beyond buzzed. 

It was truly an unforgettable experience.

Oh, and while we were not able to make it inside to the big game, we did stay behind in the comfy confines of “Big Beautiful” and watched the game on television.

Till next time…..