KSR Road Trip In Review: Best Food, Moments, and Official Numbers
Kentucky Sports Radio’s winter road trip to Philadelphia is complete. The Chevy Traverse beat the odds and made it to the City of Brotherly Love in time for Kentucky Basketball‘s smackdown of Penn on Saturday. We took an unconventional route to get there, traveling throughout the Midwestern United States rather than the direct path from Kentucky to Pennsylvania. KSR’s nine-day road trip included overnight stays in Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Athens, Ohio. We traversed back into the Bluegrass late Sunday night.
Today, I am washing some of my clothes from the trip and burning the rest, while catching up on the life I left behind for more than a week. But before I close the suitcase on a long and exhausting trip, a rundown of the highs and lows of Kentucky Sports Radio on the road to Philadelphia.
FAVORITE EXPERIENCES
1.) SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IN GREEN BAY
Though the trip was planned around Kentucky versus Penn, the week’s highlight was Packers versus Chiefs at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. A bucket list experience, we attended the Sunday Night Football matchup with lower-level seats behind the Packers’ bench.
Before the game, Matt Jones pulled some strings and got us into a luxury tailgate inside a home that backs up to Lambeau Field, where the free spiked hot chocolates and Maker’s Mark shots helped fight off the cold temperature as snow fell on the Frozen Tundra.
Taylor Swift even made the trip to attend the same game, although her trip involved a plane and a lot less Finebaum.
2.) KENTUCKY vs. PENN
Second place in this exercise but first in our hearts are the Kentucky Wildcats and the beatdown they gave Penn at Philly’s Wells Fargo Center. It wasn’t a well-attended game, but Cats fans from throughout the Northeast took advantage of Kentucky playing nearby, and it made for an enthusiastic atmosphere, mainly from the Big Blue Nation.
After the game, KSR’s postgame show was one we will cherish forever. More on that in a moment.
3.) THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IN PITTSBURGH
KSR was lucky to attend another primetime NFL game on the way to Philadelphia. The schedules aligned, so the Steelers were home on a Thursday, hosting the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football as we passed through town. So, we bundled up again for another NFL game with a historic NFL fan base. I don’t like the Steelers or the Patriots, but seeing another iconic NFL franchise from within was still fun.
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan vs. Indiana at the Crisler Center
BEST RESTAURANTS
1.) BIERCAMP (Ann Arbor, MI)
KSR’s gold-medal meal was Wednesday’s lunch at Biercamp, a small, family-owned meat shop in Ann Arbor. A couple of listeners at Wednesday’s show recommended Biercamp for our last meal in Michigan, and not only did it hit the spot, but I can’t stop thinking about that jalapeno-cheddar bratwurst with the bowl of homemade BBQ chili and a house IPA. Matt Jones tried the venison version of the brat. Ryan Lemond and Shannon The Dude each kept it traditional. Collectively, KSR loved Biercamp.
2.) FRITA BATIDOS (Ann Arbor, MI)
Also within Ann Arbor city limits and in a very close second place, Frita Batidos is our silver medalist for KSR Road Trip cuisine. Frita Batidos came recommended for dinner before the Michigan-Indiana basketball game, and it received a unanimous stamp of approval from the KSR crew for its Cuban burgers (Frita) and Cuban tropical milkshakes (Batido).
I had the chorizo frita with the sunnyside egg and cilantro-lime slaw add-ons and a fresh lime batido.
3.) MILLER’S CHICKEN (Athens, OH)
Thursday’s lunch at Miller’s Chicken in Athens, Ohio, also makes the list of memorable restaurants along the way. Miller’s is a family-owned fried chicken and seafood joint, one of those places frying up the family recipe for more than half a century.
Others Receiving Votes: ANDY’S CAFE (Des Plaines, IL)
HIGHEST-ATTENDED KSR SHOWS
1.) KSR POSTGAME SHOW OUTSIDE THE WELLS FARGO CENTER
The KSR Postgame Show after Kentucky beat Penn is one for the KSR history book. You may have heard that we tried to broadcast the show from a bar complex adjacent to the arena, where several Kentucky fans were gathering for postgame beers and food. But moments before the show was to go on air, we were told we could not broadcast from any of the bars inside the complex.
With little time to spare, we set up the show on a sidewalk outside. By the time we went on air, several Kentucky fans had joined the fun outside, many of whom stayed in the cold with us through the entire one-hour postgame show.
Top 10
- 1New
Traeshon Holden apology
Oregon WR pens apology after spitting ejection
- 2
SEC fines LSU
SEC levies fine for Death Valley field storm
- 3Hot
AP Poll Top 25
Top 10 shakeup in AP Poll
- 4
Baker bites back
Mayfield addresses Texas flag troll
- 5
Coaches Poll shake up
Top 25 sees big movement
We can’t thank that crowd enough for their support and for hanging with us after a fun win on Saturday.
2.) THURSDAY MORNING SHOW IN ATHENS, OHIO
The second-floor kitchen of the Athens Central Hotel was no match for the crowd of KSR listeners who made the trip to hear Thursday morning’s broadcast. With permission from the hospitable hotel staff (they were some of the nicest people in the world), KSR listeners crammed into the tiny space for more than two hours, and they didn’t even touch the continental breakfast that was out for hotel guests.
Some were Ohio U students who were up early before class, or skipping. Others made the drive from other parts of Ohio, including one from Columbus who was celebrating his birthday. Another listener even flew himself to Athens on a small plane to be there.
A fun morning in Athens.
3.) TUESDAY MORNING SHOW IN CHICAGO
The Zachary across from Wrigley Field was the most picturesque show of the trip.
Others Receiving Votes: ANN ARBOR, MI; SHEBOYGAN, WI
I hope we didn’t make our listeners in Ann Arbor and Sheboygan too uncomfortable when we told them to walk into the house we rented.
WORST PLACES ON THE TRIP
1.) REAR-RIGHT PASSENGER SEAT OF THE CHEVY TRAVERSE
If you listened to the shows during KSR’s travels, you know one of the ongoing storylines was my wet seat in the car. For reasons we still do not understand, the rear-right passenger seat, my assigned spot for all nine days, was drenched on Sunday morning and again on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
We never found the source of the water (it took three days and a science experiment to eliminate me as the source) even though listeners offered up several suggestions. Whatever the cause, it left me with wet pants on more days than I care to admit.
2.) SHANNON’S ROOM IN THE AIRBNB IN WISCONSIN
It was a child’s room with a smaller child’s room attached. He insists it was haunted. Having seen the room, I believe him. My room wasn’t much better.
3.) AMONG STEELERS FANS WHEN MITCH TRUBISKY IS QB
Never in my life have I seen a player get booed by his own fans the way Steelers fans booed Mitch Trubisky during Thursday Night Football. Steelers fans called for backup Ma-son Ru-dolph! when Trubisky’s offense couldn’t keep up with the New England Patriots. They were livid and very drunk.
KSR ROAD TRIP BY THE NUMBERS
NIGHTS AWAY FROM HOME: 8
MILES TRAVELED: Approximately 2,600
STATES: 10
NFL GAMES ATTENDED: 2
COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAMES ATTENDED: 3
U-TURNS: 17
VEGETABLES: 0
BUFFALO WILD WINGS: 3
PARKING TICKETS: 0 (surprisingly)
TIMES RYAN LEMOND TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF IN PUBLIC: 1 (surprisingly)
STRANGERS RYAN HIGH-FIVED BY MIDNIGHT IN PHILADELPHIA: 100
Thanks for following along. We’re glad to be back.
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