Worst pre-game meal ever?

Funniest pre-game meal experience was at a prominent Pac-10 school that shall go unnamed for a men's hoops game. This is a perennial top-20 program too, mind you.

I walk in as the visiting beat guy about 1 1/2 hours early for a 3 p.m. start, SID introduces himself. Nice enough guy. After getting through the pleasantries he looks at me and says, 'You're probably hungry.'

I'd made the mistake of assuming I'd get something good to eat here, so I skipped out on eating at the hotel or nearby beforehand. He responds with, 'Well, the concession stands will be open in another 15 minutes or so.' And then he walks away.

Seriously. So I schlepped upstairs, ordered me some nachos, a pretzel and a soda, and sat on press row chowing down on a most memorable of meals.

It kind of reminded me of the scene in 'Vacation' where Eddie is drinking a beer and says to Clark, 'You look like you could use a cold one.' And then he hands Clark the beer he was drinking and pops open another cold one for himself.

 

Notre Dame tried but they came under too much fire.

 

Irish food sucks, anyway ...

 

I don't know why they call this stuff Hamburger Helper. It tastes just great by itself.

 

Real tomato ketchup?

 

Only the best ...

 

I'm no food snob. I love Latin food, and Puerto Rico is one of my favorite places to visit (and dine).

That said, while covering a Giants-Expos game in San Juan in 2004, we were offered a pregame press meal that, if put side-by-side with the carreon depicted in the original post above, would have posed a difficult choice.

 

Don't know if this counts, but I had a couple of chili-cheese dogs one late afternoon when I got a call that we had a makeup softball game that night.

I still managed three hits while holding it all in. 8)

 

"You got Asteroids?"

"No, but my old man gets them sometimes."

 

I'm a firm believer that free food is a tough sell as the worst meal ever. Even that bird.

 

Couple years ago when I was on the tv side, the Sox were getting blown out (by Baltimore I think) and late in the game this small bird steals the show slowly making his way from first to second and heading toward third. Got to the point in between each pitch was zoom in on the bird, get the SS reaction of the bird, broadcasters are laughing their ass off over it. ...
Pregame next day, video of a hawk like the one above and sure enough the prey looks vaguely familiar like the star from the night before.

 

It was goat stew when we were at Estadio Hiram Bithorn.