(DISCLAIMER: Enjoy responsibly. 21 means 21. Don't drink and drive.)
This Mixology series is going to be tougher than we thought.
It's only Game 13, and this is already the second opponent where a humorous alcoholic theme beverage would be Dude, Not Funny. (The first was, of course, Penn State. We've also played BYU recently.)
Southern Mississippi's head basketball coach is Larry Eustachy. If you recognize that name at all, it's most likely due to his embarrassing behavior at a fraternity party in 2003. As it turns out, that story had a positive ending.
As Iowa State decided whether or not to fire him over the incident (which they ultimately did), Eustachy said at a press conference that he was seeking treatment for alcoholism. Like most sports figures' public admissions of wrongdoing, he didn't really mean it. Eustachy later admitted:
I went into rehab with the idea that I would get the Good Housekeeping Seal and get back to coaching. I didn't think I was an alcoholic. I didn't know what an alcoholic was.
But rehab showed him that he was, in fact, an alcoholic:
But when I got there I had doctors telling me, "OK. You drink every night, and when you drink you can't stop. That means you're an alcoholic."
I was in groups, I was listening to speakers. And then, as it went along, my mind started to clear and I started to see. I kept hearing all these stories and it started to ring a bell, and I started to realize that the way I was living was such a crazy and unrealistic lifestyle.
After a year out of coaching, Southern Miss hired Eustachy in 2004, back when USF still a Conference USA rival. He has been there ever since, posting three 20-win seasons, and has said on several occasions that he has not had a drink since leaving rehab. For even more good guy points, he refused an incentive bonus when he didn't feel he'd earned it, and to help the school budget.
So, in deference to Larry Eustachy, have a soft drink and enjoy tonight's game. If you're looking for something regionally appropriate, have a Barq's root beer, which was invented in Biloxi, Mississippi.
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BARQ'S ROOT BEER
1 bottle of Barq (any size will do)
- Unscrew cap on bottle.
- Pour root beer into glass and serve. Add ice if desired. Bottle can also be pre-chilled.