9 Days 'Til Reporting Date!

Well, we had a little setback when Big Sweaty decided to pull out at the last second. We have been trying to figure out who to plug in as the replacement and I think we have our man...Josh Shola. He is a 240 lb GCC alum who is as strong as they come. He also has a striking

resemblance to Bull Hurley from Over the Top (see photo).

He will be giving me the final decision on Thursday, so he is not 100% in. But I feel fairly confident that he will be our 12th Competitor.

I am heading to Myrtle Beach this weekend for a bachelor party. Should be a whale of a time. It will be the official celebration of Meat Day 2008. So, fire up the grill!!! Meat Day provided me an excellent opportunity to chug a few beers and get wasted and into drinking shape the week before The Memorial. It's a great springboard. Feel free to celebrate.

One last note before I wrap this post up....

Scene: The Red Oak Chalet

Time: 10:00 pm

Date: Friday, May 23, 2008

Enter: Al Pacino, a grizzled old veteran of many an Outdoorsmen challenges...

I don’t know what to say, really. 12 hours to the biggest battle of our professional lives... all comes down to today. And, either, we form as a team, or we're gonna crumble. Beer by beer, team by team. Until we're finished. We're in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And, we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell...one beer at a time. Now I can't do it for you - I'm too old. I look around, I see these young faces and I think...I mean, I've made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I, uh, I've pissed away all my money - believe it or not. I chased off anyone who's ever loved me. And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know, when you get old, in life, things get taken from you. I mean, that's... that's... that's a part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losin' stuff. You find out, life's this game of beers. So is The Memorial. Because in either game - life or The Memorial - the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a beer too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don't quite drink it. The beers that we need are everywhere around us. They're in every event of the game, every minute, every second. On these teams, we fight for that beer! On these teams, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that beer! We claw with our fingernails for that beer! Because we know- when add up all those beers, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying! I'll tell you this, in any fight it's the guy who's willing to die whose gonna win that beer. And I know, if I'm gonna have any life anymore it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that beer. Because, that's what winning is - the six seconds in front of your face. Now I can't make you do it. You've got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think you're gonna see a guy who will go that beer with you. You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for his team, because, he knows when it comes down to it, you're gonna do the same for him. That's The Memorial, gentlemen. And either, we form, now, as a team, or we will die as individuals. That's The Memorial guys. That's all it is. Now, what are you gonna do?!

Also, Please continue to post your arrival times on either the comments section of this post or on Rattsfield's previous post. Though I think we have everyone's arrival times....