Football and food

If you have ever met me, talked to me or followed my tweets on a Saturday any day of the week, it’s clear I am a Dye-hard* Auburn fan. I have spent many a Saturday on the Plains behind right field of Plainsman Park enjoying fantastic friend time with people I call family. This past Saturday was no different. Well, actually it was. This time, I had a CGM and a pump in tow (Ben & Jerry).

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of tailgating at an Auburn game (or any other SEC game), allow me to explain the joys. We start early, as in, on Friday. We gather around the tailgate, piled into chairs laughing and talking about anything you can think of. Sometimes, we talk about football, but mostly we talk about life — how fast kids grow up, new jobs, upcoming marriages and even, in some cases, #Simonpalooza. The whole time we are gathered together, we’re eating, because that’s how we roll. Last Friday consisted of a delicious shrimp boil complete with sausage, corn and absolutely heavenly, perfectly-seasoned red potatoes. We had chips, dips, cakes, boiled peanuts, hot dogs, bratwursts, potato salad, baked beans and well, anything else you can think of really.

Saturday, it was more of the same but with bacon. Our tailgate mom slow-roasted a delicious pig for everyone to enjoy on Saturday. And boy, was it absolutely delicious — the best barbecue I have ever eaten.

With the barbecue came even more food — homemade dips, a breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls, chips, rolls, bread, hot wings, chicken fingers, birthday cake, pound cake, cheese, sausage — I could go on and on and on.

Part of the fun of tailgate is the food. People bring side dishes and share recipes, and we eat while celebrating and throwing in a random “Bodda Getta”** for good measure. It’s a wonderful time for fellowship, football, friends and family. In the past, I’ve SWAGged the tailgate boluses with a syringe and occasionally pricked my finger to see how bad I missed the mark. But this game was different because I had Ben & Jerry. I was determined not to crest 200 and enjoy all the food I wanted in the company of my friends. So I made a few minor adjustments to make that happen.

First, I didn’t drink any beer. While I love a good brew from time-to-time, (especially at a football game), I have found that beer is next to impossible to calculate. While I can definitely drink beer, I have to be prepared for the slow spike, followed by the drop four hours later. I always miss the mark, so I figure it’s easier if I just don’t mess with it. When given a choice, I’ll go with something I can properly dose for. So that’s what I did. I packed my own drinks before leaving for Auburn so I knew I’d be covered. I kept Ben very close and checked his graph fairly frequently.

During the course of the day, I enjoyed barbecue, chips and dip, boiled peanuts, a piece of birthday cake (Happy Birthday Bob), baked beans, potato salad, corn and even some broccoli (for good measure). I never hit 200. At the end of the day, I couldn’t believe I had done it. I survived an Auburn tailgate without any highs and any lows. Seriously, this was my nirvana. Yes, I kept a close eye on Ben so I could be proactive instead of reactive. But even Jerry’s total daily dose wasn’t outrageously higher than what it usually is, but thanks to temporary basal rates and combo basal rates, it worked.

While everyone’s diabetes may vary, and while SWAGging got me through the day Saturday, I did it. It’s a little difficult to truly explain this triumph unless you’ve been to an all-day tailgate with Mama Leigh’s cooking, but it was a personal triumph nonetheless. So I guess diabetes really doesn’t have to stop me from doing what I want, eating what I want and living a normal life alongside my friends and family. War Eagle to that!

Oh, and we beat Florida, so War Eagle to that, too!

*Dye-hard is an Auburn reference to my favorite Auburn coach, Pat Dye.

**Bodda-Getta is a cheer we do in Auburn before, during and after football games. One of many cheers. 🙂