You are looking—LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—at the La Quinta Inn here in Lincoln, Neb. It’s actually a lot nicer than I expected—the La Quinta, not Lincoln. Because all things considered, it’s so far so good out here in The Great Wide Open Spaces.

Walked into my room 40 minutes after my flight touched down, buzzing over a patchwork quilt of farm fields. I had cruised down Interstate 80 in the rental car with George Strait blaring, on such a beautiful, blue-sky day that if I looked hard enough to the left, I swear I could have seen North Dakota. I was last out this way in May for the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. There’s just something calming about driving across endless flat land, knowing Mother Nature can’t throw you any curveballs, except, of course, for the occasional tornado.

As I steered the chariot toward the La Quinta, I passed a place selling gas for the low, low price of $3.35. I flipped around on the radio and caught part of the Nebraska women’s soccer game against Kansas. When I turned on the television in the hotel room, CMT was already on. This, my friends, is America the way Jefferson intended it.

Now don’t get the impression that Lincoln is podunk. Far from it. Nebraska’s state capital has 225,500 people, compared to 197,700 in Richmond (both figures may not be exact, seeing as how they came from Wikipedia). From what I hear, the college kids like to ply their trade (excessive consumption of Busch Light) on O Street. And the steakhouse to visit is Misty’s (good luck getting a table).

That’s all for now, gang. About to meet up with the other Virginia media misfits for some dinner. Will be curious to hear Noted ACC Bard David Teel’s impressions of Lincoln, a place that, to the best of my knowledge, he’s never been during his storied career of writing stories.

Posted by Darryl Slater in • College Sports • Virginia Tech
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