Friday, January 20, 2012

Bison Road Trip

A few weeks ago, after overpowering the team from Georgia Southern, the NDSU Bison won the chance to play in their first championship football game since moving up to Division 1 FCS a few years ago. The location for the FCS championship game changes every couple years, and this year's game was to be held in Frisco, Texas. Frisco is almost 1100 miles from Fargo and almost 700 miles from Des Moines. My college roommate (Andrew) and I decided we were going to road-trip down for this amazing opportunity despite the incredibly long distance. Andrew left early in the morning from Fargo, drove south through North Dakota, South Dakota, western Iowa, and into Omaha, Nebraska where I met up with him. From Omaha, our route took us through Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Most if the drive (at least the parts we saw in the daylight) looked like this:

 Kansas

We arrived at our hotel just outside of Frisco around 10pm. The long, flat, godforsaken drive was absolutely worth it in the end. The stadium where they held the game is actually a soccer stadium that was built when the US was hosting the World Cup awhile back.

 FC Dallas Stadium

The Bison were facing Sam Houston State Bearkats (Seriously. That's how they spell it. Not my fault. Illiterate Texans.) Their offense was ranked first in the nation in scoring, and their defense was ranked 2nd--behind the Bison defense. After a dismal first half for both teams, the second half of play got things rolling for NDSU and they put a couple touchdowns on the board including this one on a QB sneak by Brock Jensen.

 Touchdown

The Bearkitties' "top-ranked" offense was squashed and pummeled all game by NDSU's defense. Their team only scored twice--two field goals in the first half of the game. As time ran down in the fourth quarter, NDSU's secondary stepped up with two great interceptions to lock up the 17-6 win for the Bison. As soon as the final whistle marked the end of the game many of the 10,000+ Bison fans in attendance rushed down onto the field to celebrate and congratulate the team and watch the trophy presentation ceremony.

 Bison Win!

The Coach

Bison and the Gold Star Band

North Dakota really did invade Texas that weekend. The crowd at the game (just over 20,000 people) was split pretty evenly between NDSU and SHS fans. The biggest difference is that those Bison fans had to travel a lot farther than the Bearkat fans (who only had to go about 200 miles).

 North Dakota Invades Texas

Champions!

NDSU Bison Football

Bison Horns

As the Gold Star Band played NDSU's fight song at the end of the trophy ceremony, Senior Safety John Pike (who had one of those two interceptions to close out the game) took over as acting director of the band. A new career for Pike maybe?

 New Career?

The drive to Texas, early morning tailgating, the actual game, and the long drive back home were all part of an awesome weekend adventure. Here's to hoping the Bison can work their way to the championship again next season!

 Armor of a Champion

Project365: Day 365 - Dead of Winter

Day 365 - Dead of Winter by Tim Bungert
Day 365 - Dead of Winter, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

An unseasonably warm winter with no snow left on the ground has allowed this marsh to stay green, even on the very last day of the year.

This is officially the end of my Project365 for 2011. No, I will not be doing it again in 2012. I think one year of taking photos every day is enough to put my wife through!

Don't worry! I plan to continue posting more photos, stories, and adventures in this blog.

Just not every day.

Happy New Year!

Project365: Day 364 - Warm Winter Skating

We didn't have much (or any) snow to end the year, but that didn't stop people from enjoying the night skyline from the skating rink in Downtown Des Moines.

Project365: Day 363 - Hotel Fort Des Moines

Project365: Day 362 - Christmas Cactus

Project365: Day 361 - Iowa Power

Day 361 - Iowa Power by Tim Bungert
Day 361 - Iowa Power, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 360 - Stacked Oak

Day 360 - Stacked Oak by Tim Bungert
Day 360 - Stacked Oak, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

This stack of wood will soon be turned into a handcrafted bookshelf--a wedding gift to Brittany and I from my parents.

Project365: Day 359 - All Saints Church

Project365: Day 358 - Red Reflections

Day 358 - Red Reflections by Tim Bungert
Day 358 - Red Reflections, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.

Project365: Day 357 - Holiday Bokeh

Day 357 - Holiday Bokeh by Tim Bungert
Day 357 - Holiday Bokeh, a photo by Tim Bungert on Flickr.