Food, football and searching for a parade

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame,
Wake up the echoes cheering her name,
Send a volley cheer on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky.

A tip of Sasquatch's Notre Dame ballcap goes out to the Hillsboro Uptown Business Association for another outstanding Christmas parade Saturday.

The annual event is always great fun for families, especially the youngsters. This year was no exception.

It also was great to see 2012 grand marshals Ernie and Rita Kay Blankenship, two finer people you just won't come across.

Other than the one inconsiderate individual who just had to cross South High Street in the midst of a funeral procession prior to the parade's start, it was an orderly and enthusiastic crowd in uptown Hillsboro.

Alex Butler and Brian Vance, as always, did a fine job announcing the parade. (Notwithstanding, of course, Brian's pre-parade joke: "What does an angry pepper do?" It gets jalapeno face.)

Thanks to HUBA, the HPD and everyone who helped make the 2012 parade a success.

* * *

A great day for great food

Saturday also was a good day to eat. Too much, in fact.

Two days after consuming copious quantities of turkey and dressing – and only one day after vowing not to do it again, there we were on Saturday morning having eggs, sausage and home fries at Wanda's Restaurant.

I've been eating breakfast in that restaurant since the late '60s or early '70s when Al Staten owned it and it was called the Koffee Kup. (Wanda's a better cook!)

After the Hillsboro parade, a group of us headed to Greenfield in search of another Christmas parade. (That's another story.)

Before attending the Greenfield parade (a full week before, as it turned out), five of us sat down for an early dinner at Three Spoons Diner across from the Post Office.

My oldest daughter had been raving about the great food at Three Spoons, so we planned a Saturday evening stop.

There aren't too many local restaurants that feature a shrimp po' boy on the menu, so I was on board with the plan.

In years past, I've had this sandwich with fried shrimp. Three Spoons uses grilled shrimp, which was very good. Add the red onion, lettuce and horseradish sauce and it's good to go. Great fries and onion rings, too. (My son's meal looked like something from "Man vs. Food." He's devoured enough poultry this week to qualify for the Harland Sanders Fan Club.)

Just before 6 p.m. we left the restaurant in search of a parade. All seemed quiet on Jefferson and Washington streets. Too quiet.

"Maybe it's the cold," someone commented. "It's too cold for a parade tonight."

"No," I responded. "The parade is tonight. I'm sure of it. Teresa said so. Let's drive over to the school, maybe they're lining up the floats."

The school was quiet. Too quiet.

"We'll try the Historical Society or Travellers Rest," I suggested.

The Rest was quiet. Too quiet for a parade.

"Why don't you call Pat (Hays)," my wife offered. "Doesn't he have an easy cell number to remember?" she asked the only person in the free world who does not own a cell phone.

"Well, I know the last four digits," I said. "The first three might be '402,' '403,' '725,' or '763,' – one of those popular local prefixes."

My son dialed up Mr. Hays.

"When's the Christmas parade?" I asked.

After he quit laughing, Pat informed me that the parade is Saturday, Dec. 1 – not Saturday, Nov. 24.

Well, of course, I knew that. I was just looking for an excuse to have a shrimp po' boy on a Saturday night. Now, if we only could have found Stewarts for a nightcap…

* * *

Irish dodge SI curse

A week after the dreaded Sports Illustrated cover jinx resulted in previously unbeaten Kansas State falling to Baylor in a 52-24 shellacking, SI just had to put the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the magazine cover.

Thanks a lot, Sports Illustrated.

Brian Kelly's Irish dodged the SI curse, though, with a 22-13 win at the University of Spoiled Children in southern California Saturday night.

If anyone would have suggested that Notre Dame could score just one touchdown on the road at USC and return to South Bend with a victory, he would have been called a Knut. (Sorry, Knute.)

But that's exactly what happened in the Los Angeles Coliseum last night. Aside from Theo Riddick's nine-yard touchdown in the first half, the Irish offense was all Kyle Brindza, the team's placekicker.

Brindza kicked five field goals, including a personal-best 52-yarder, to lift the Irish to their 12th straight win and a trip to the BCS national championship game on Jan. 7 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Notre Dame most likely awaits the winner of the SEC championship game between Alabama and Georgia.

In order for the Irish to win, it can't be a pretty game. No high-scoring shootout. That's not this team's makeup. Notre Dame is about defense. Goal-line stands often outnumber 80-yard scoring drives.

One final note: In one of college football's greatest games, Notre Dame and Alabama met in the 1973 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The Irish won – on a Bob Thomas field goal.

Kyle Brindza has probably read all about it by now. Go Irish!

Rory Ryan is publisher of The Highland County Press.