Visit the ultimate automotive marketplace and find your perfect green car within seconds at http://www.autotrader.com.

 

MapQuest's gas portal (www.mapquest.com/gasprices) provides information on gas prices at more than 100,000 stations around the country, as well as the location of stations offering diesel and alternative fuels, gas saving tips and more.

 

StubHub (www.stubhub.com) is the largest ticket marketplace in the world, based on sales. Fans can buy and sell tickets at fair market value to a vast selection of sporting, concert, theater and other live entertainment events, even those that are "sold out." 

 

Does size matter? Well, in football it sure does. And so does fight, which I saw plenty of this past week as I criss-crossed the lower south part of the country from Miami, Florida to Austin to Houston and back east toward New Orleans.

 

The Miami Hurricanes weren’t particularly oversized, but they had more fight in their romp over the Texas A&M Aggies on Thursday night prime-time, Sept. 20, at the Orange Bowl.

Traditionally, the Orange Bowl has been one of the toughest places for opponents to achieve success when going up against “The U.” Texas A&M found this out the hard way, as the Hurricanes and their raucous fans came out rocking from the opening kickoff.

Located on the outskirts of downtown Miami in the rough, Little Havana section of town, the Aggies appeared intimidated and overwhelmed by the noise resonating from the stands. In fact, during the Aggies first offensive series of the game, I thought the Orange Bowl might just come crashing down! It turned out Texas A&M would crash and burn early and often, and in the end, this old, antiquated stadium will likely be imploded, too.

The Hurricanes cruised to victory over the then No. 19-ranked Aggies on what was likely the final night game in Orange Bowl history, which has also hosted Super Bowls, national championship college football bowl games and legendary rock concerts.

The Orange Bowl is pure old-school, with no fancy suites, scoreboards or luxury boxes. But old-school venues – no matter how historic – often don’t last long in today’s modern 21^st century bells-and-whistles world of football stadiums. As a consequence, the Hurricanes will begin a new chapter in 2008 when they play their home games at Dolphins Stadium, and share that more modern venue with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Before stopping in Miami, I made two alternative-fuel related stops. First, I visited a great sports museum in Boca Raton called Sports Immortals Museum (http://www.sportsimmortals.com), which has a plethora of sports memorabilia on display. I then met with State Rep. Adam Hasner, who drives a hybrid car, and posed for a photo opp for the Boca Raton News. Rep. Hasner has been pushing alternative fuels legislation in Florida. Later, I swung by Sol Atlantic Biodiesel in Hialeah Gardens and fueled up on Biodiesel and met the owners, Chris and Lisa (http://www.sol-atlantic-biodiesel.com).

Fri., Sept. 21 was a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong travel day as I headed deeeeeeeep into the heart of Texas. On Sat., Sept. 22, I picked up 16, free gallons of vegetable oil from Dave in Conroe, Texas – Dave, thanks, and I owe you a pizza, man! Later, I got some more veg and some Biodiesel at Diesel Green Fuels (http://www.dieselgreenfuels.com) in Austin before the Texas Longhorns game against Rice.

The Longhorns have renovated Darryl K. Royal Memorial Stadium more times than Larry King has found the nearest wedding chapel, and construction materials were everywhere in the north end zone. The ‘Horns are expanding that section of their stadium because apparently more than 90,000 current seats, which include luxury suites, isn’t quite enough to satisfy the Texas-sized hunger of its fan base!

It’s not hard to figure out why. That’s because perhaps no college football program has more tradition of excellence than Big 12 Conference power, Texas. While winning national championships and graduating future NFL stars like Earl Campbell and Vince Young have long been a part of Longhorns history, so too has the tradition of its Texas-sized marching band and its unique, Texas-only wardrobes. Add in a modern, Texas-sized scoreboard – the largest in college football – and you have one of college football’s most historic, tradition-rich venues! Texas whooped Rice silly.

If I thought Memorial Stadium was living large, I hadn’t seen anything yet. Within 12 hours, I was on Planet Texans. I left the Texas state capitol of orange-clad Longhorns Nation after 10 p.m. Sat., Sept. 22, and hit a pillow outside Space City Houston around 1 a.m. the next day. Some eight hours later, I felt I had landed on the ultimate tailgaters’ salty piece of land.

Houston Texans tailgating is unlike any other in football, or at very least, no other venue has even come close to capturing the spirit and tradition of the practice that I’ve seen so far on my travels.

There’s the “beer bong guys” who were chugging long before I arrived on this salty piece of concrete outside monolithic Reliant Stadium. There were yellow school buses converted into red-and-blue, Texas-sized tailgating machines, including “roof seats.” And there was Texas barbecue – my, oh my, was there Texas barbecue – and steak and chicken, all over the aromas. In short, there was excess supply of anything and everything, which is only fitting because everything in the Lone Star State is big, from 90,000-plus fans singing “Deep in the Heart of Texas” in Austin to J.R. Ewing’s cowboy hat in Dallas and Ross Perot’s ears on Planet “Larry, are you listenin’?”

Back in 1999, I had an opportunity to visit the Astrodome, better known as the “Eighth Blunder of the World” before the Astros baseball team exited there for a new downtown ballpark. The blunder – at one time, the largest sports facility on planet earth – is still standing. Of course, it’s still standing next to arguably the newest, largest sports facility on planet earth – Reliant Stadium.

Driving on Interstate 610, you can see Spaceship Reliant in the distance from miles away. Once inside this fortress, I found those fans that had been chugging plenty of cold ones in the parking lot, in a very vocal mood. During the opening introductions, they screamed out loud the last name of each starting Texan player that took the field. Reliant Stadium was loud and proud as their team hosted defending Super Bowl champion, Indianapolis.

In the end, Peyton Manning and the Colts were too big an offensive hurricane for the Texans to withstand. Suffering a close, 30-24 loss though, the expansion Texans earned league-wide respect, something every great competitor – and Texans tailgater – covets.

Before the game, I did an interview with KPRC, the NBC affiliate, and a piece on the Green Machine aired that night.

Up next was a visit to “The Big Easy,” New Orleans and the Saints, who hosted the Titans on Monday Night Football, Sept. 24. Bourbon Street seemed back to normal, as I cruised the pedestrian-friendly, raunch-road before kickoff during a rainstorm. Still, the crowds were less than I had seen in the past during my pre-Katrina visits. The Crescent City is on the rebound, but not back yet. 

The Saints? What’s happened to these guys? They played more like the old “’Aints” against the Titans, and dropped to 0-3, not good in an ultra-competitive, 16-game league. After the game, cruising Bourbon Street en route to my hotel, I saw a fan with a brown paper bag over his head and wondered – maybe the ‘Aints are back. I know one thing for sure – this ain’t been a bad trip so far. In fact, it’s been everything I expected and nothing I expected – and more.

Oh, this traveling thing is a rough go. What a tough weekend, I had. I mean really. Saw Troy whoop Oklahoma State, 41-23, and the students tear a goal post down. Then saw Mississippi State upset Auburn – at Auburn, mind you – 19-14. And if that wasn’t enough, Nick Saban’s tide proceeded to dominate the Hogs for three quarters, fall asleep for about a quarter, then wake up to win it with seconds remaining, 41-38.

 

God, I love college football.

 

And them Alabamans love there football, too – and, apparently, even the Lime Green Publicity Machine! Ok, so the Trojans, Tigers and Tide won’t be applying with the U.S. Color Patent Office and incorporating lime green into their color scheme, but I was pleasantly surprised by the reception I got down ‘Bama way this past weekend.

 

Let me clarify what I mean by that.

 

Alabamans have always treated me with Southern hospitality, including last year during the baseball tour, visiting Mobile, Birmingham, Huntsville and my favorite town and ballpark, Montgomery. But – let me be honest here – the South isn’t exactly the most up to speed on Biodiesel, let alone a car running on vegetable oil.

 

So I thought.

 

Sure, the Northeast and Pacific Northwest are decidedly more progressive on Biofuels, but I was impressed with the reception I got from folks in ‘Bama. For example, at Auburn, I appreciated the opportunity to tailgate with “The Toomerheads” before the kickoff. The Toomerheads name is a play on “Toomer’s Corner,” a famous campus landmark, where gigantic oak trees hover and a 150-year-old Toomer’s Drugs store lies across the street. A Tiger tradition is to toilet paper the trees when they win games!

 

The Tigers students didn’t toilet paper the campus because they lost, but from my perspective, that was fine. Auburn probably has the prettiest campus in the Southeastern Conference, as far as I’m concerned although I also enjoy the setting at a lot of other schools like ‘Bama, Arky, Florida, Vandy, Ole Miss and UGA.

 

The Toomerheads asked a lot of questions about the car, and let me have at their tailgate fiesta. Check them out online at http://www.toomerheads.com. Not only that, the daily newspaper in the Auburn area wrote a story about the green machine tour. Check it out here: http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=OAN/MGArticle/OAN_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352764531&path=!news

 

After the ‘Bama comeback, I spent about two hours sleeping in the back of my car at a truck stop in Albany, Georgia before heading to Tampa where I had been invited to “The Pillage Inn,” a diehard group of Buccaneers fans that recently won an award as the “best Bucs football tailgate party.”

 

The Pillagers did not disappoint and lived up to their award-winning billing, serving up a Cajun stew of shrimp boil in honor of the visiting Saints from New Orleans. Like at Auburn, the folks in the Tampa tailgate were very interested with the inner workings of the green machine, from the filtration system to the miles per gallon and I would like to thank them for hosting me. The Bucs cooked the Saints good, 31-14, in a rout. Check out this bunch of crazy Bucs fans at http://www.thepillageinn.com. Also check out the photos from this past weekend on the photos page here on the blog. Now I got to get some rest!

Visit the ultimate automotive marketplace and find your perfect green car within seconds at http://www.autotrader.com.

MapQuest's gas portal (www.mapquest.com/gasprices) provides information on gas prices at more than 100,000 stations around the country, as well as the location of stations offering diesel and alternative fuels, gas saving tips and more.

StubHub (www.stubhub.com) is the largest ticket marketplace in the world, based on sales. Fans can buy and sell tickets at fair market value to a vast selection of sporting, concert, theater and other live entertainment events, even those that are "sold out." 

 

Sic’em Dawgs. That was Georgia’s goal on Sept. 8 as they hosted South Carolina. Little did I know that shortly I would be Sic’ As a Dawg, too. On Sept. 8, no individual heard more of the wrath of the Bulldog faithful at Sanford Stadium than Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier. After all, it was Spurrier who for years whopped Georgia as the head coach of Florida whom he also led to a national title. Now residing in Columbia, South Carolina, Spurrier waved to the crowd as he exited the field during his visit to Athens, Georgia.

 

Spurrier had reason to smile. His Gamecocks were up 10-3 at the half.

 

South Carolina came into Athens on a mission, and they demonstrated that fire by playing physical from the opening kickoff. Spurrier’s bunch were also not intimidated by the more than 90,000 roaring Bulldog fans, nor the spotlight of a game broadcast on national television by ESPN. In the end, the Gamecocks prevailed, 16-12.

 

Sunday morning, Sept. 9 came around, but my voice apparently did not. Joe was one Sic’ Dawg.

 

A very early morning drive from Tyrone, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida – some six hours – probably didn’t help either. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium was my destination, as the Jaguars hosted the Tennessee Titans.

 

Unlike Georgia or South Carolina college football, the Jaguars are a mostly tradition-less franchise only because they’ve only been in the NFL for little more than a decade. The Tennessee Titans, formerly known as the Houston Oilers, have more franchise history and they played a full 60 minutes of consistent football in downing the expansion Jaguars on one of the hottest home openers in Jacksonville’s short NFL history (which also didn’t help my health, either). The Jaguars defense was atrocious, allowing the Titans to rack up nearly 300 yards rushing. And where were the fans? The Jags couldn’t even sell out their home opener. Boo.

 

Following the pigskin, I hit I-95 South for Brevard County where its Manatees (the baseball team) were hosting the Thrashers (Clearwater’s club) in Game 2 of the Florida State League baseball finals. After getting progressively worse, I exited the building so as not to Sic’ Em to all the fans in attendance.

 

Up next: Sweet Home Alabama, for a trio of college games, at Troy, Auburn and Alabama, respectively, followed by the NFL season opener for Tampa Bay.

 

That’s assuming I regain my voice. One Sic’ Dawg, signing off.

There’s something about the open road that gets me feeling all nostalgic. Perhaps it reminds me of my youth, traveling all over the State of Connecticut on travel hockey teams, or those road trips with my late Father up to Fenway No Park in the summertime. Whatever it is, it’s a feeling I obviously can’t get out of my system.

 

This is the first in what I hope will be many enjoyable blog entries from the road, bringing you new information as well as entertainment with each post. The 2007 AutoTrader.com Green Power Sports Tour (http://greenpowersportstour.com) is about raising awareness of renewable and alternative fuels, and it’s also about having a good time and being grateful we live in a country where a small town boy from West Hartford, Connecticut can partner with a bunch of cool sponsors to do a trip like this.

 

AutoTrader.com is the official naming rights sponsor of the trip, and they’ve been a joy to work with since first partnering with them for last year’s baseball journey. I bought my Mercedes on http://www.autotrader.com back in December 2005 but I wouldn’t have been able to do the 2006 baseball tour, or this tour, without their support. My other primary sponsors for this year’s trip are two newcomers: MapQuest and StubHub, and like AutoTrader.com, these guys have been great to work with. I’ve been using http://www.mapquest.com/gasprices to find service stations that sell Biodiesel, and anybody that goes to as many games as I do knows how convenient and useful http://www.stubhub.com is.

 

What a road trip it’s been so far. I left my home base of San Diego on Aug. 22, caught a 51s minor league baseball game in Las Vegas, and then headed north to some of the prettiest country in our United States of America. I was fortunate to enjoy the scenic wonders and natural beauty of Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Capitol Reef National Park, thanks to a National Parks Pass I had bought 11 months earlier.

 

On the fuel front, I was able to purchase Biodiesel in both Nevada and Utah, and I would like to thank The Galaxy, a cool restaurant in Craig, Colorado, for allowing me to turn their used vegetable oil into fuel. It got me to Denver – and then some!

 

The tour official kicked off in the Mile High City on Aug. 30. I took in an exhibition game at Invesco Field at Mile High, just on the outskirts of downtown Denver. It felt like it was a playoff game. More than 76,000 orange-clad Broncos fans packed the stadium, shouting “IN-COM-PLETE!” in unison like a veteran choir every time Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart could not reach his intended target. Denver may just be the best sports town in America.

 

Early on Aug. 31, I hit the road east for Hastings, Nebraska to catch a high school football game – inside a 1950s-style minor league baseball park. It was a unique experience, and I appreciate St. Cecilia High School for having me as their guest. The football field was essentially in the baseball outfield, and it was quite interesting to see the baseball dimensions preserved and embedded in the classic red brick that surrounds the park.

 

After the sunset, I headed out of town in the lime green machine to catch the second half of another high school football game. Being from urban California where the roads are pretty well lit, all I could see as I was driving besides the other cars lights were stadium lights in the distance. Assuming I had found my destination, I got of the lime green machine only to discover I had come upon a rodeo, not a football game! Well, yee-haw!

 

Since I had never been to the rodeo before, my curiosity was running wild and I convinced the usher to let me sneak inside and take a quick peak. Whoa, Nellie! It was quite an experience watching cowboys chase after cows! They don’t have this form of entertainment in Pacific Beach, San Diego, let me tell ya! I did make it to the football game, eventually.

 

On Sept. 1, opening Saturday of the college football season, there was no better place to be than in the Nebraska state capitol of Lincoln.

 

Make no mistake, Husker Nation isn’t just a saying in these parts, it’s a religion. And the numbers are undisputable. The University of Nebraska Cornhuskers have sold out every single home football game at Memorial Stadium since 1962, the longest streak in the sport. It didn’t matter that Nebraska was hosting an unknown, non-conference opponent in the University of Nevada, which they abruptly pummeled, 54-10. That’s because Nebraska Football is a Nebraska institution for six Saturday’s every year. It’s those six special days when all Nebraskans, from Beatrice to Hastings and St. Paul to Omaha, believe in the power of red and let their guard down to put a giant corn stalk on their head.

 

And what an experience it was, from the pre-game introductions to the final whistle. Virtually all of the 85,000-plus fans donned red and most were in their seats by game’s end, despite a Cornhusker blowout and some serious Midwest heat. I suppose that’s because the fans there realize was a privilege it is to watch a game inside this massive concrete edifice where you can’t help but notice the inspirational messages etched in stone in the stadium façade like “COURAGE, GENEROSITY, FAIRNESS, HONOR: IN THESE ARE THE TRUE AWARDS OF MANLY SPIRIT” or the bold, but perhaps true, statement above every single gated entryway on all sides of the building: “THROUGH THESE GATES PASS THE GREATEST FANS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.”

 

After buying some biodiesel off I-29 after the Nebraska game, on Sept. 2, I visited another sea of red: Cardinals baseball fans. Surging St. Louis swept the Reds of Cincinnati and after doing so, the lime green machine headed to the largest ketchup bottle in America, Collinsville, Illinois, for a photo op. After making Ernie Banks proud and taking in an independent league baseball game across the mighty Mississippi in Sauget, Illinois, home of the Gateway Grizzlies, I hit the road south for Marion, Illinois, also known as the former home of disgraced former Reds hit king, Pete Rose. Charlie Hustle spent a few years in the slammer here for tax invasion.

 

On Sun., Sept. 3, there was no time to take a tourist visit of the federal penitentiary for my destination was four states away: Clemson, South Carolina, aka, Death Valley. It was the longest 548 miles I have driven in one day in recent memory but it was well worth every mile. It started with a pit stop in Metropolis, Illinois so I could be a dumb tourist and have a cheesy photo taken in front of the Superman statue in front of town hall. Then it was on the road again, through parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and then the Palmetto State of South Carolina.

 

The lime green machine made great time, reaching Death Valley around 5:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. prime-time kickoff, especially considering I picked up a buddy in Atlanta en route. The orange-clad Clemson Tigers fans were out in full force for the Bowden Bowl, pitting Tommy Bowden against his pops, Florida State’s Bobby Bowden. It was a tale of two half’s, with Clemson dominating the first half and the Seminoles, the second half. But in the end, it was Tigers fans that swarmed Death Valley to knock down the goal posts in joy.

 

After sleeping about 18 hours on Sept. 4, I managed to wake up on Sept. 5 to catch a Braves game back in Atlanta. Not only that, I managed to catch a foul ball off the bat of Andrew Jones in the bottom of the second inning. Well, sort of. Sitting above home plate, I was in the process of taking some pictures when all of the sudden the ball came blistering back toward me. With only seconds to react, I simply knocked the ball down with my right hand like an infielder preventing a very well hit grounder from advancing into the outfield. My palm was red, but I was alright for I had gotten a foul ball on this night (ok, it was actually a day game, but alright and night rhythms pretty good!).

 

Both Sept. 6, and today, Sept. 7, have been chill out days. Now you’re up to speed. Now I’m ready to hit the road again, with destinations that include the likes of Athens, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida.