Northern Arizona University

25 Aug 2006. Perhaps this is not news to all you world weary travelers out there, but Flagstaff Arizona is not like the rest of the state. I knew NAU's mascot was the lumberjacks but that did not make any sense to me. Were the saguaros so large and numerous that an entire industry was dedicated to felling them? No, not at all. No saguaros. Only skinny alpine trees. And rain, lots of rain! Many roads were blocked from flooding. All during student move-in day too. Their lumberjack statue in front of the bookstore was defiantly shirtless and the wet brassy torso only added to his chiseled eroticism. Ooh la la!!!

Lumberjack photo courtesy "forrestcook" on Flickr.com

University of New Mexico

25 Aug 2006. This is where the CCP starts to get interesting. It takes on a tinge of adventure, for the what in the name of the Hogwaller Ramblers am I doing in New Mexico? (There's a New Mexico now?) The good folks in Albuquerque can try all they might to show off their fine town as a real city with real city services like libraries and aquariums, but we all know their state is basically America's Mongolia. Big. Barren. Where wildlife die of thirst before they can make it to the interstate to commit suicide and where suburban-raised people curl up and bawl. UNM's campus, devoid of much botanical life, is still striking with its brilliant red and tan buildings. The energetic student population took over all the inner campus roads. They will take a bite out of your bumper and stuff your exhaust pipe with your lips, watch out. The tall ceilinged bookstore is big like the rest of the state, so all visitors can stay kicking distance away from each other. Unfortunately there were no cups with its flesh rippin' wolf mascot on it. A buoyant plastic stadium cup will have to do. I entered New Mexico...a boy...and left...no, barely escaped...a man. With frunky cactus breath.

Vanderbilt University

22 Aug 2006. Third time's a charm. Nashville, Tenn., is the first large city we pass when undergoing a cross-country road trip. Having a brother attending university in southern California facilitates multiple such journeys along I-40. First time it was a weekend or a night, store was closed. Second time was a late afternoon, store had just closed. There were still employees and slowpoke customers inside though. That was infuriating, pounding on the windows helplessly like Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters only to be ignored by the snooty clientele. Third time it was the beginning of fall semester. I was the only person in the circuitous queue holding anything other than reams of textbooks. The Nashville portion of the CCP was finally complete. Or so I thought. Later I discovered that there were three other large schools in town too. (Sorry Belmont, Lipscomb, and Tennessee State!) That was almost as disappointing as learning that Vandy's team name Commodores...it...it doesn't refer to my soul brothers at all?!?!

Georgia Tech

1 July 2006. Here's another to add to life's big list of regrets: not visited The Varsity and gotten high-grade indigestion! Hey, sometimes it's not the food but the atmosphere. The Georgia Institute of Technology is integrated nicely into downtown Atlanta, something that Georgia State is rightfully trying to achieve as well. Their bookstore is one of those 'licensed' stores. You will find everything you will ever need with the school's logo, but still something is missing in its sterility. The wide tumbler earns its name - I can almost fit my entire head into it, or at least an adventurous guinea pig. The gold GT is forced together a bit awkwardly, but as well as could be expected from those two letters.
I find my thirst and appetite growing smaller as I grow older, so that the fat little tumblers (such as the Georgia Tech cup) are plenty filling in one sitting, whereas the tall tumblers are freakin' insurmountable. But they stack quite nicely and the reptilian part of my brain still finds their bright bold colors attractive. So they will continue to find a place in the College Cup Project, even if their status of 'cup' has been retired.

Georgia State University

1 July 2006. I had heard awful things about this campus. Strictly a commuter school, no school spirit or atmosphere, sports coverage is lost in the Atlanta metromix. Perhaps GSU administration is listening to those cries - they are building and building and building. They are launching a football team, creating new on-campus housing by the barrelful, upgrading their sports conference from Atlantic Sun to Colonial, and flaunting their presence in the national academic rankings (especially in business and law). Their athletic logo is still a work in progress. Pounce is a cartoon blue panther who is not quite sure whether to be fierce or adorable. This frosted blue pint glass gives the apparent date of the school's founding - I suppose that is what the "13" signifies? It is frosted on the inside too so it's relegated to being a display glass and not for everyday use, though I'm sure it is perfectly safe and would not give me peanut cancer.

University of Minnesota

3 June 2006. It has been half a year since the last item was added to the CCP. This entry takes me to a state I had never visited before. It was summer break so there was an awkward stillness about the beautiful campus that abuts the Mississippi, but whose pedestrian bridges are flooded with nasty flies at night. Even the turn of the century grain mills look hip and retro. After returning from Minnesota I had heard that there are only two tolerable months to visit: May and June (or was it June and July?). I didn't plan it that way, but we saw the best of the Golden Gophers' home in Dinkytown. On the pint glass, Goldy is running away from a swarm of black flies on his way to a Lake Calhoun. Fun fact: the men's and women's ice hockey teams have two seperate arenas.