Redskins vs Cowboys

3dogcache were left home yesterday so I could experience the ritual of die hard skin fans during a home game. And it wasn't just any home game, but a game against our biggest rivals --- THE DALLAS COWBOYS. Now I live on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. and FedEx Field is a mere five miles away. I was thinking we'd head out around noon for the 1:00pm kickoff and I'd be home walking dogcache by 5:00pm. I was wrong on all accounts. ETA was marked at 9:30am. 9:30AM! That's three and a half hours to do what? Tailgate! The barbecue grills went up, the smell of cooking meats waffing through the crowd, alcohol flowed, salads and a variety of chips galore, and of course, the porty potties in place. People had tables adorned with tableclothes and lit candles. It was like a makeshift commune, a big family getting ready to watch their kid play a game.

Now the crew for these Sunday "spa" retreats includes my sister and two of her former colleagues. Sis is an avid sports follower and can spat out stats and names before I can remember the other team we're playing. She also enjoys cooking and trying new recipes. She had planned a menu of garlic lime shrimp/scallop kabobs and jerk chicken kabobs to be cooked on the grill. Unfortunately, she forgot that "thingy" that screws the gas onto the grill. Hmmm, I said she was good with stats and names. Luckily, she also had yummy potato salad and my favorite, Jamaican beef patties. We all started sipping on mimosas and eating patties. But the mood had been soured, all that tasty prepared food going to waste.

It was my time to intervene. I might not know anything about football stats and names, but I could certainly buddy up with my new found family and either borrow the "thingy" or a grill. The guys next to us had taken up about three parking spaces and had set up their grill next to us. It was a similar Thermos "grill 2 Go" as ours, but their grill was push and go. So fricken cool. Step of a foot on a pedal and poof, up came the grill. So the dudes on the left of us agreed to let us use their grill after they finished. But they had ribs, steaks, chicken and a host of other things to grill. It was only 10:15am so we figured we were good, but as time continued I realized I better make another move. As I searched around, I spotted another griller with the same grill.

So off I took and to my delight, not only did they warmly and enthusiastically permit us to use their grill, but the dude wearing the apron and holding the grill tools actually grilled our food. I should have realized immediately they were fellow Capitol Hillers from right down the street.

Ahh, but there is a dark side to this tale. Sis was humiliated by Mr. Griller's bullhorn. "Hey ####, did we forget an important part of the grill?" boomed across the section of the parking lot we now called home. "Love that sushi" and a host of jestful remarks continued. But it was all in fun, for as soon as we and they tasted the jerk chicken and shrimp/scallop kabobs, well all was good.