North Dakota invades Texas....w/ UPDATE

Actually I should say "North Dakota State University invades the Shops at Legacy".  (That's where I live.) Last night K and I went out for our usual Friday date night, then returned to our neighborhood to find the mother of all traffic jams.  What the....?  We managed to finally get to our controlled access parking garage, then walked down to Fun Street to see what all the commotion was about.


Background:  We live in a mixed use neighborhood....townhomes, apartments, and a large Marriott hotel all surrounding a small man-made lake, many upscale (read: overpriced) boutiques, an indie theater, a very popular jazz bar, and dozens of eateries of every description.  The main drag is Bishop Street, but I call it Fun Street because it is.


Things are usually jumpin' on most Friday nights with a thousand or so people milling about.  Last night there were 5-10 THOUSAND people on the street.  Most were wearing attire proclaiming their allegiance to North Dakota State University.  I asked a couple of guys what was going on and they told me NDSU was playing Sam Houston State University for the NCAA Division I Football National Championship in Frisco (a few miles north) on Saturday.  This was their Super Bowl, and our Marriott was their alumni association headquarters, reception hall, and party central.  Woo Hoo!


They were a happy, fun bunch.  (Wouldn't you be if you got to leave North Dakota for a few days in January?)  We referred a few who asked to the best area restaurants depending on their tastes and pocketbooks, and enjoyed seeing them having such a good time.


I suppose I should root for Sam Houston State U since they're a Texas team, but I'm not.  I want my new friends from ND to go home with great memories of their road trip, and making that looooong drive back north while nursing a crushing defeat (and maybe a hangover, too) would be a definite bummer.


GO NDSU!   ;)


S


UPDATE:  North Dakota State won, 17-6.  :)