Tales from the Stanimal's Wedding

I needed a 8 hour drive, plus another day to get my thoughts together on the wedding of the now newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Stanimal. The bride was beautiful, the venue was fantastic, and perhaps most importantly, the band was incredible. The VSL Brain-Trust was assembled where a lot of Commodore sports was discussed, although I'd say it was a 70/30 football to basketball ratio which shows there is already a hedge. Here are some highlights:

Stanimal's pre-game meal: The groom joined the O'Shea's, Douglas James, and other distinguished Vanderbilt alums for some Mexican (because apparently the BBQ joints in Columbia hate money and would rather not be open on the weekends). What was noteworthy about this meal was the fact that the groom to be ordered an inordinate amount of beans, even drawing a slight head-shake from the waitress.

What Do You Think the Ring Finger Is? This was an open question as Stanimal sought to make it official by slipping a ring on his soon-to-be wife's finger. An expert on breaking down Commodore offensive and defensive schemes, Stanimal was unable to immediately locate which finger the ring went on. The lovely bride helped him out.

C'mon Baby, Let's Do the Twist: Seamus O'Toole wowed the crowd with his sole twist show. Decked out in seersucker, as Mrs. O'Toole periodically averted her eyes, Seamus clearly internalized scenes from Pulp Fiction.

Douglas James is Mick Jagger: You wouldn't know by looking at him, by Douglas James can move. What got me, was that he can do a flawless impression of the Rolling Stones' front-man's moves on stage.





The Stanimal Fist Pump: Like myself, Stanimal is not the most gifted dancer, a fact that is OK when you are one of many on the dance-floor, but an inconvenient truth during the first dance and at other times during the reception. When the band called the wedding party up to individually break it down, I have to admit, I was a little nervous. The lovely Mrs. Stanimal and her bridesmaids had some moves; the groomsmen could also break it down. Then there was Stanimal...playing to his strenghts, the band played a little diddy of Van Halen's Jump where Stanimal led the crowd in fist pumping a la Springsteen's Born in the USA. To quote Rome, it was "EPIC," even if I wasn't able to do my patented leg-kick.

A great time was had by all, and on behalf of everyone at VSLNation, we miss the Stanimals the best of luck: may your marriage include many bowl games for both the bride and groom.