In Murfreesboro, a Calm Before the Storm

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. --- A day that began with Ratt’s “Round and Round” blaring in my rental car ended with a woman in a karaoke bar professing her unconditional and head-over-heels love for Gary Williams, adding that she wept while reading his book, “Sweet Redemption.”

Embracing a college football Mecca like Baton Rouge or Columbus the night before a big game is always fun, but some of my most interesting trips over the past decade have been to off-the-beaten path pits like Moscow, Idaho; Ottumwa, Iowa; and Ruston, La., towns nestled halfway to nowhere that are a little off kilter. Murfreesboro is one of these places.

Most everywhere you go you’ll encounter a Middle Tennessee State football poster, T-shirt or flag. But mention Saturday’s Maryland-Middle Tennessee State game to locals and they either tell you the game was Friday night, trash the Blue Raiders football program or look at you as if something was lost in translation.

For a picture of Murfreesboro, think a poor man’s Morgantown. Here are some fit-for-print details: Ate my first of three dinners at a shack called Slick Pig BBQ, located a hail mary’s pass from MTSU. No better meal for $6.50. Visited a Wall Street in the town square, where a spitting image of Terps offensive coordinator James Franklin ran the joint. Same face, same glasses, same mannerisms. Not him, obviously. The town square was similar to The Square in Oxford, Miss., except for the lack of ambience, people, food, and a pulse.

We asked twentysomethings for the best place to hang out. A consensus: Gentlemen Jim’s. What’s it like?

“Ever see the movie ‘Deliverance’?” someone asked.

This concrete box was straight out of the 1980s flick “Road House,” and had the same feel as the Double Deuce. Walking in, I half expected to see Patrick Swayze flinging fools over the pool table. A man sat at the bar wearing a construction hard hat; this was a blood-sweat-and-tears joint. It started as a gas station, and once had red shag carpet on the walls. Much later on, a woman educated in such matters told us we had been to “Clean Jim’s” and that for the true rip-roaring time, we should try “Dirty Jim’s” on the other side of campus. Took a rain check on that one.

I asked the “Dirty Jim’s” veteran her game prediction and she said MTSU was about to get creamed. Sounds about right. And that was the extent of my football-related in-depth reporting for the night. Let’s kick the ball off already.

By Eric Prisbell  |  September 6, 2008; 3:31 AM ET  | Category:  Football
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