Southern Fried Football: Dandy Vandy!

Happy Tailgate Thursday, SEC fans! As y'all are reading this I'm on my way back from San Francisco to get ready for another weekend on the road, this time to see my Dawgs take a bite out of Auburn. I can't wait to get back to Athens, Georgia and especially for this game, known as The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Thanks to a little help from Arkansas, my Dawgs are now leading the SEC East and hoping for another trip to Atlanta for the SEC championship game in a few weeks! Honestly though, I'm not so sure that's something to get excited about seeing as how LSU is likely to rip into us like a monkey on a cupcake. We were at the Bama-LSU game last week and the hits. were. freakin. brutal. Start rubbing your rosary beads & rabbit's feet now y'all, we'll dang sure need all the luck & good vibes we can get!

In the meantime, we've still got 3 more big games to play, starting with a heated & hated rival: Auburn. If there's one SEC team my Bama Hubby & I mutually loathe it's the wareagleplainstigers of Auburn, Alabama. I never have to twist his arm to cheer loud & proud for Georgia at this game, haha! And to start the day off right, we're hosting a big tailgate with family & friends with what I hope will be a fabulous Gameday menu:

Pimento Cheese Bacon Burgers

Lemon Drop Chicken Wings

Chipotle Cole Slaw

Tomato, Mozzarella Pesto Salad

Ultimate Seven Layer Dip

Pecan, Brown Sugar & Kahlua Baked Brie

Spicy Honey-Mustard Glazed Pancetta

Buttermilk Bacon Pralines

Rolo Brownie Bites with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Treats

The Red Zone Cocktail and Rock Candy Jello Shooters

Seriously, how good do those burgers look? Garden & Gun Magazine has declared November Pimento Cheese Awareness Month, so I'm just doing my part to get the word out about this most delicious Southern fare ;) A few other favorites from this menu: the seven layer dip, the Kahlua baked brie, and those rolo brownie bites. Warning: the frosting alone is addictive. Do your best to resist the temptation to pipe it directly into your mouth. Good luck to you. 

Moving on to this week's SEC Gameday Guide, we're heading a tad north to one of my favorite cities on the planet: Nashville, home of the Vanderbilt University Commodores! Without a doubt, these Commodores are collectively some of the smartest of all SEC athletes. In previous years, Vandy has been an SEC cellar dweller, but the newly hired Coach James Franklin has these fighting Commodores believing they're contenders. If you've followed their season even in the slightest, you know they're no longer taking annual beatings. There's a new attitude in Nashville these days, and despite the losses, they're getting closer and closer to winning big games. They nearly beat my Dawgs, a top 10 Arkansas, and the Florida Gators just last week! I kid you not. This new Vandy team & their fanbase are becoming the total package: smarts, sinews, & style! Their colors are black & gold and Commodore fans wear it well. Here's just a hint of what you'll see around Vanderbilt's campus on Gamedays:

Nashville is most definitely a chic city and Vandy girls notoriously live up to that reputation on Gamedays. Every time I've been around Vandy fans, I've always been impressed with their preppy style, usually donning a string of pearls, fabulous heels and pops of gold. For this Gameday look I tried to shake it up a bit with a mix of traditional & slightly edgier accessories. I love that clutch, the Elva Fields choker and those grey suede booties!  Friends of the blog Amy of Fearless Homemaker is a Vandy Grad and Amy of Your Southern Peach is married to a Vandy Grad. Both of these fabulous Ladies are notorious for their style. So what say you, Vandy girls?

Speaking of the Fearless Homemaker, Amy was sweet enough to assist me for this Gameday Guide calling on her years as a Nashville resident & Vanderbilt student. If you have plans to head to the Music City any time soon, bookmark this post if only for Amy's excellent restaurant picks! And if you're heading to Vanderbilt for a game, be sure to enjoy a few of the Gameday events Vanderbilt & Nashville have to offer:

1. Must See & Do - Nashville is a tourist's dream and there’s not enough space here for a full city guide, but one area any visitor must see is Nashville’s downtown on Broadway. Walk down Printer’s Alley, stop by The Grand Ole Opry (aka The Ryman), and check out a honky tonk like the famous Tootsies.
2. Best Eats - Fearless Amy's best recommendations for great restaurants around Vandy’s stadium: Cabana, Jackson’s, Sunset Grill, J Alexanders, Rumba, and Bosco’s Brewing Co.
3. Places to tailgate - Good luck to you on this one. You’ll likely be stuck in a parking garage unless you’re in the RV lot. There are some paid lots available around the stadium, but they’re first come first serve & around $40 this season. Vandyville is the hot spot to be in, but as the name suggests, it’s for Vandy fans, mostly Boosters & season ticket holders. However there’s always live music, a kid’s zone, and tons of pregame activities.
4. Star Walk - Vandy’s version of a team player walk. It always starts at the McGugin Center at the South End Zone entrance and winds it's way into the stadium with throngs of fans cheering & the Commodore Marching Band playing a mini pep rally. A relatively new tradition is the golden anchor. Each game's Captains carry the gold anchor in the Star Walk as a symbol of strength.

Those Commodores of Vandy may have had a rough year in the win-loss column, but their game this Saturday against the Kentucky Wildcats should be a good one. No question though, I'm picking Vandy for the win! Other big SEC match-ups include the Vols at Arkansas, Auburn at UGA, Bama at Mississippi State, and Florida at South Carolina. I'm taking the Hogs, the Dawgs, the Tide, & the Gators as the winners.Who are y'all cheering for & what are your picks for Saturdays' games? As always, I hope your team wins, just not against mine. Have a great SEC Gameday y'all!

Roll Tide & GO DAWGS!!