College GameDay, Football and Bourbon
By Doc Lawrence
LOUISVILLE, KY-Few events
equal this river city’s Kentucky Derby, but perhaps this week’s college
football game between 10th ranked Louisville and 2nd
ranked FSU is as close as reasonably possible. Louisville is a tourist’s best
dream come true: world-class restaurants, pedestrian friendly sidewalks,
riverboat cruises on the Ohio River, the Muhammad Ali Museum, a heralded center
for new American plays and a classic American beverage.
This is planet earth’s Bourbon headquarters, the home of the
classic cocktail, the Old Fashioned. Bourbon is to Louisville as Coca-Cola is
to Atlanta.
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| Louisville beside the Ohio River |
Saturday, before the kickoff, one of the nation's most
recognizable sports shows, "College GameDay," ESPN's long-running,
Saturday morning college football pregame show entertains for two hours.
In its 30th season, GameDay’s hosts include former FSU player and Louisville
football coach Lee Corso, ESPN veteran Rece Davis, former Ohio State
quarterback Kirk Herbstreit joined by Michigan legend and Heisman Trophy
winner Desmond Howard and former Georgia defensive lineman David Pollack.
Samantha Ponder, a Florida State grad also appears each week.
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| Samantha Ponder |
The show, a derivative of the tailgating culture, is almost
totally festive and is wildly popular with local fans and a huge national TV
audience.
College GameDay will have a celebrity guest with ties to
Louisville to help pick the winners of the Saturday main events on the college
football menu. The list of possibilities is endless. ABC’s Diane Sawyer,
Hollywood’s George Clooney and Jennifer Lawrence and NFL Hall of Fame great
Paul Hornung are just a few with stellar Louisville credentials.
LOUISVILLE BEYOND FOOTBALL
Breakfast: Noosh Nosh www.nooshnosh.com
Lunch: Wagner’s Pharmacy www.wagnerspharmacy.com
Dinner: Brendon’s Catch 23 www.batch23.com;
Volare Ristorante www.volare-restaurant.com;
Butchertown Grocery www.butchertowngrocery.com
Bourbon Bar: The Haymarket Whiskey Bar has hundreds
of choices. Owner Matthew Landen is a nationally recognized Bourbon wizard.
Best bar atmosphere this side of the French Quarter.
Distillery Tour: Peerless Distillery is located in
downtown Louisville. Their history parallels the evolution of Kentucky Bourbon.
It’s family owned. Chairman Corky Taylor brilliantly represents their fourth
Generation. www.kentuckypeerless.com
No tour of Louisville is complete without a copy of The
Bourbon Tasting Notebook by Susan Reigler and Michael Veach..
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