The second version of Farmageedon this year found itself happening last weekend and we were there to witness of the bloody glory. This year we decided to head back to one of the few Iowa based bars in the Kansas City, The Other Place. The first time we were there, we witnessed the rivalry between Iowa and Iowa State. This time, we watched Kansas State take on Iowa State at Arrowhead in Kansas City. Yes, Farmageddon. Not only was a great game, but The Other Place withstood the blast, leaving it a shaky place to patron.
It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been and we noticed a few changes when we walked in. The familiar ring of televisions looped establishment but now we saw a couple of more projection screens hanging up. The familiar DJ booth/mega production area was fired up and humming. The Iowa memorabilia hanging on the walls reminded us whose territory we were in. The large wooden tables and stools is always a good setup for spectators that get tired of either sitting or standing, and it helped us while we surfed the web on the wireless connection.. We’d also be remiss to mention that the Overland Park location is the official alumni hangout for the Kansas City branch of the University of Northern Iowa.
We noticed upon taking our seats that the NTN Trivia modules were gone. That was going to be a knock against the The Other Place, but much like last week at Larry Bud’s we stumbled on to another hidden back room. In the back, they have Power Putt, Golden Tee, darts, a pool table, actual bag toss planks, extra restrooms, and a patio. Of all the years we’ve been in the Kansas City area, we never knew this. So, yes, it is completely awesome that is back there but they need to let us know about the side room instead of just leaving an open door next to the restroom.
The service was kind of spotty at the The Other Place. Usually when the barspots hit at 11 AM, the bar is not crowded and much of the wait staff is sitting around. We noticed a bigger number of wait staff than we expected. That’s nice, because we got great service up front. Now as the bar filled up, it started to break up a bit. One of things a great server needs to know is what beer that have and whether it was on tap or in a bottle. Ours didn’t know that. The average type of service matched the average look of the staff. One lady had a pretty kick ass tattoo on her arm, though.
We skipped appetizers today and went straight to the paring. After jockeying with the waitress about beer, we had to land on Budweiser as our choice this week. We wanted something else, but the didn’t know if they had what we were asking for. To match the traditional beer, we went with the traditional pairing of pizza. The Other Place’s house speciality pizza is amazing. The toppings are fresh, the bread is cooked just right, and you have pull the piece real long to break up the cheese. It seriously is the best bar pizza we’ve ever had. The Budweiser is a nice pilsner to compare and familiar heavy taste that went with it helped clear the palette for the fresh bites. Get the pizza at The Other Place but don’t expect a great beer selection.
Okay, let’s get to the games. Non Big 12 wise, the two games we got excited over there was Michigan hosting Massachusetts and Arkansas taking on Georgia. What looked to be a lopsided match up for the Wolverines proved to be a pesky task. Umass went up on top quick but Michigan came from behind and went up by 18. The game was in the bag until a turnover and running drive put Umass within 5. Good thing the Wolverines had Denard Robinson, becuase he did all he could to help run out the clock and keep Umass from notching the upset.
We didn’t watch much of the Georgia and Arkansas game. It looked as though Arkansas was gonna walk away with a win over the Bulldogs, but Georgia came back late. As a matter of fact, they tied it up. But leave it to Ryan Mallet and a last second touchdown pass to make up for blowing the lead. Arkansas hosts Alabama next week in Fayetteville and it’s looking to be the game of the week.
We really only came for one game: Farmageddon. Last year a blocked extra point kick at the end of the game saved the Kansas State Wildcats and gave them the victory. This year, would we see that same kind of drama? Welp, we certainly didn’t see it from Kansas State’s Carson Coffman. He pushed some passes in the first half and ended up giving a pick six to the Cyclones. Austen Arnaud ended up playing a better game quarterback wise even though he was knocked of the game for a bit. What Farmageddon came down too this year was Daniel Thomas.
Daniel Thomas led the charge and it looked like Iowa State couldn’t stop him at all. After about 187 yards and 2 touchdowns, we can say that Iowa State was outmatched. The only thing that kept the Cyclones in the game was the decent play by Arnaud and Kansas State itself. We talked about the poor first half performance by Coffman, but we also saw some bad calls by the coaching staff. Last week on the radio, we heard a fake field goal that went for a touchdown for the Wildcats. So what did they do? They went for a fake again and Iowa State saw it all the way. We don’t if Bill Sndyer 2.0 was responsible for the call but we have to wonder. No matter because somehow Kansas State is 3-0 and 1st in the Big 12 North.
We’re still licking our wounds from Farmageddon. The pizza helped out alot and the shock of a whole new room proved to us that The Other Place has a ton to offer in terms all around sports watching and playing. Farmageddon itself proved to be both frustrating and exciting. We may not see it again at Arrowhead for awhile, but we know it’s been a classic series with just two games in. But not as classic as the giant zucchini we got from the Farmer’s Market after the game.