The phone was ringing off of the hook (or vibrating in my backpack) as I was walking out of the gym. Saturday was the big day and all of my purple friends (including Krizzou believe it or not) were trying to get a hold of me for the big K-State versus Texas game. The plan was set and I was running a little behind. I popped home, scribbled some phone numbers down, did a couple of Yeti-administration tasks, and hit the road. I was expecting a good time, but what I got was a blow out of awesomeness.

The bar was Rusty’s Last Chance Watering Hole & Eatery. For those of you in the know, Rusty’s is a name that is synonymous with Manhattan, Kansas and more specifically, Aggieville. The story I heard was the bar in Manhattan was called Last Chance because Rusty had failed so many times at bars that it was literally his last chance. Well in Manhattan, Rusty blew up. Not only with the Last Chance, but now with Rusty’s Outback, Rusty’s Next Door, and Rusty’s Gift Shop. That’s a right. A gift shop with a bar. Rusty’s also opened up a Last Chance version a couple of years ago in Shawnee, Kansas. They just remodeled and I was meeting everyone out there.

There is no word to describe just the amount of televisions hung on the walls. All flat screens, I think all HD, and most of them had the channel set to ABC. Asking the bar tender, we found out that they didn’t have ESPN Gameplan or the Big Ten Network (later we found out that the bartender was confused as there were Gameplan specific games propped up on one of the TVs). I can kinda overlook this as there were stacked TVs and even TVs hanging on the outside and inside of the bar area of the place. The scheduling and lack of variety for games do bug me though. The waitress called herself a ‘normal girl’ because she didn’t know what channels played what for the day.

The waitress herself, however, did not look normal at all. She was pretty dang cute. The waitresses at Rusty’s all in part were very cute and also very attentitive in service. I also dug how they all wore K-State garb. Hey if it’s a K-State bar, they need to dress up. I ended up eating some southwest egg rolls and they were damn delicious. One cool thing they also had was free popcorn. Some bars sport the free popcorn but Rusty’s had both Cheddar and Kettle seasoning to add. Very nice! Oh, and they also had beer tubes!

Kettle shakin’ wasn’t the only unique thing about Rusty’s. As part of the remodeling, they installed garage doors to the outside. Many bars around the area are doing this. What set Rusty’s apart was how opening the garage doors allowed people outside on the patio to watch games clearly and still enjoy enjoy the fresh air. It’s small things like garage door aesthetics that really add to the atmosphere.

The whole day brought back a feeling from college that I really missed. Rusty’s was packed with purple. The fight song was blaring on the overhead. Some peeps were tossing quarters and making people drink. Claydawg and I dipped into the magic that is the “HOOOOO” chant. I even jumped up on the garage door are and did the traditional K-S-U chant after a couple of scores. It was like it was 1999 again. Except the Prince that was wearing purple wasn’t the midget musician, but it was the koopa trooper looking Ron Prince.

The game of the day, no the game of the year was K-State versus Texas. There really was no other game on and it didn’t really matter. The highlights speak for themselves. From the beginning it looked like it was going to be another shootout, but the 2nd half proved that K-State had Texas number in Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. I overheard on the radio Ron Prince saying that the Auburn road trip to start out the year was designed to show his players that they can beat someone on the road. Saturday’s game proved it.

The wrap up tells the story of Jordy Nelson and how much he means to K-State. The Freeman-Nelson hook up should come through all year. Ian Campbell’s interception was a thing of beauty. Colt McCoy vomiting on the sidelines later on in the game was even more beautiful. Next week is going to be tough with K-State hosting Kansas, but I’m glad that the Wildcats are coming home. Ron should have his soldiers ready for battle.

I had to bust out after the game for a wedding shower, where I wore my purple with pride and rubbed it into the Kansas fans at the party. There was even a neighbor across from the event’s location’s backyard that had a big ole Texas Longhorn mascot balloon that I yelled “GO WILDCATS” to later on that night. The day was perfect. It reminded me of all of the special times I had back in college. Right down to going back to my friends house after the shower and watching more football while betting money on the new Playstation 2 EA Sports NCAA College Football 2008.

-Purple Yeti

P.S. Here’s the Ron Prince Stomp for my homies: