It was a homecoming of sorts for Danny. He played in the band at Madrid 10 or so seasons ago. Unfortunately, the band still keeps the tradition of not marching at half-time.

The game was a blowout and the popcorn was underwhelming. We needed something to save our night.

Popcorn Vitals:

• $0.75/bag. When I saw the price, I said to Seth, "Uh oh." Seventy-five cents always makes me nervous as a price for popcorn. I've had dollar-a-bag live up to its price. I've had fifty-cent that I would have paid two dollars for. I've never had a seventy-five that hit the spot. Tradition held in Madrid last night.
• Standard bag size. If there is such a thing.

Advice:

The bag of popcorn is the lifeblood of a high school football concession stand. Pre-popping is more art than science. If you pre-pop too much, you end up giving people hour-old popcorn midway through the first quarter. If you wait too long to pre-pop, you end up running the risk of having to pop it while folks wait. It's a delicate balance. Pop wisely.

What they're known for:

My standard order on Friday night's is: I'll have a bag of popcorn and: what are you known for? The response from the young lady taking my order: "We have pretty good hot dogs."

If you look hard enough, you can see the surprise and excitement on my face when I took that first bite. It was that good. Danny went and picked himself up a dog about halfway through the second quarter.

Madrid was two-for-two on dogs. 

As I said in the video, the grill marks were a good sign. It's impressive to see a concession still grilling their dogs through October. Along with that -- as you can see in the pictures -- the dog filled up the bun. At $2.50, it was worth every penny. Danny and I both commented after eating our respective dogs that they "weren't normal hot dogs. There's something in here like cheddar or something." The more I've thought about it, though, I don't think that's the case. 

Had to lend a hand after a touchdown.

Game Vitals:

The game broke open a few minutes into the first quarter. It was over by the end of the first quarter. We didn't stay for the whole thing, but I assume Madrid put up something in the 60s. Martensdale fought hard all night and had 13 on the board when we left.

The biting wind and chilly temperatures seemed to slow Martensdale's air attack. They had a few dropped passes. I know the feeling of a football that hardens and heavies when the cold comes in. Problem is last night wasn't really that cold. Not even close to what it'll be like in a few weeks.

Luckily, that's what hot chocolate is for. 

In the end, it was a great night in Madrid. We'll be back, Tigers.

Thanks to Seth Biesterfelt for the pictures and hot dog video.Thanks to Danny Fath for the touchdown video.