Minnesota Football: How the TDG staff ensures key Gopher victories

Sometimes fans do silly things to “help” their teams win games, especially big games. Sometimes these superstitious activities are forced, and sometimes they are born. But I’m here to tell you that not all superstitions are superstitious because it is not a superstition if it works!

There have been many games where three of us from the blog will gather briefly before a Gopher game to share a cold beverage and make our greetings to one another. When the stars align you will be able to see me, Gopherguy05 and GoAUpher in a tailgate lot prior to Gopher games.

I am local, living in the Twin Cities and I attend just about every home game, sitting in the press box. Gopherguy05 is also local and also attends most home games, but he sits in the SW corner of Huntington Bank Stadium where his season tickets are located. The wildcard for these gatherings is GoAUpher, who lives in the Buckeye state. So his presence is less frequent, usually showing up in Madison every other year and 1 or 2 home games every season.

When all three of us will be in attendance, we gather. I am often arriving late, not staying very long and consuming just one beverage since I still need to behave and be responsible in the press box. We gather, share a beverage, discuss the game, take a group picture and then I will head inside while they head to their seats.

That information is important background information for the story that will soon be shared. But so it this...

Many of you may be aware that Goose Island Brewery, out of Chicago, annually releases their highly acclaimed Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS). And that release is on Black Friday, every year. The regular BCBS, along with annual variants, are sought after and chased by beer nerds around the country. If you see men with beards standing in line outside of liquor stores on the morning of Black Friday, now you know why.

In 2018 I was already in Wisconsin for the Thanksgiving holiday. GoAUpher and Gopherguy05 were both coming into Madison for the Gopher/Badger game. So of course, we met in a tailgate lot prior to that particular game.

I had spent part of my Black Friday chasing down some BCBS and planned to bring one with me to share.

Of course, as of that date, the Gophers had not defeated the Badgers since 2003 and they had not won in Madison since 1994. That Badger team was preseason ranked #4 in the country but faltered throughout the Big Ten season, coming into this regular season rivalry finale with a 7-4 record. The Gophers were in year 2 of PJ Fleck’s tenure and came to this game with a 5-6 record, needing a win to get to bowl eligibility. A win did not seem likely.

Of course, the three of us blog-mates shared that 2018 Bourbon County stout. And as you all know, the Gophers went on to win that game in Madison. Some may think that this was just a coincidence. And that is a reasonable assumption, but the theory needed to be tested.

The 2019 season was a memorable one for Gopher fans and the program. A BCS ranking of 7th at one point in the season, 11 total wins, a visit from College Gameday and a very memorable win over Penn State at home that validated the strength of this Gopher squad.

You may be able to guess this by now, but GoAUpher was in town for this game and the three of us met before kickoff. And yes, we did share a 2018 Bourbon County stout in the tailgate lot and yes, the end result was a Gopher win in that memorable game.

See? It is not a superstition if it works!

And I am happy to report that all three of us will be attending the Iowa game this afternoon. Perhaps even as you are reading this, we will be sharing 1 bottle of 2018 Bourbon County Brand Stout (it is actually my last remaining 2018 bottle).

A Gopher win is virtually guaranteed.