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TERPSTRA: Don’t forget the cranberry sauce

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

The turkey wasn’t dry, the ham was delicious and my frozen pumpkin pie seemed to meet some sort of approval from a small legion of admirers.

Thank you, Marie Callender’s.

That was my Thanksgiving, cranberry sauce and all. I felt fortunate enough to spend it with the ones that I love.

Kelly Terpstra
Kelly Terpstra

Now the tossing around of the football at the end of the cul de sac after the turkey/ham dinner was safely in the fridge was quite a different story.

Let’s just say I’ve lost a few steps since my “glory days” in high school. Apparently my hands have either turned to stone or I’ve developed “butter fingers.”

That pretty much encapsulated my Thanksgiving holiday.

I don’t shop or even attempt to go out in public if I don’t have to on Black Friday.

Deal-hunting shoppers on a deadline scare me. The ones with little to no sleep — all jacked up on iced coffee and Red Bull — are in league of their own.

But, to each their own.

I can tell you what part of My Black Friday consisted of — trying to keep a panic attack at bay after witnessing yet another roll of the dice by the Iowa football coaching staff.

I’m not going to classify the longest tenured college football coach in the nation, Captain Kirk Ferentz, as a riverboat gambler. But Iowa has kept fans on the edge of their seats this season with a vast array of what ole’ Hayden Fry used to call “exotics.” You know, trick plays.

A lot of them worked this season, but some didn’t.

It was a regular season of “what-ifs” for Hawkeye fans – too many close games squandered for the team from Iowa City to actually crack a New Year’s Six bowl.

But at least we beat Iowa State.

Sunny San Diego and the Holiday Bowl will suit me just fine after an 8-4 regular season.

Also, props should be given to another fine season for Matt Campbell and his Cyclones.

A storm is a brewin’.

I think we’ve reached next level, Cyclone fans. There needs to be another tagline or theme/motto to signify where this program currently stands.

I’m drawing blanks on that one but “Show Me the Money” is what Campbell should be saying after another year of productive football. ISU Athletic Director extended his contract last season and there may be another raise in Campbell’s future.

Also, can’t forget Mark Farley down there in Cedar Falls with his Northern Iowa Panthers. UNI topped Lamar in the first round of the FCS football playoffs and will make a trip out west to take on UC Davis this Saturday to keep its dream of a national title alive.

Drake, good luck Saturday versus those Cyclones.

There aren’t a lot of sportsbooks that list point spreads when FBS teams play FCS squads, but I did see one that listed Iowa State as a 42-point favorite. Drake is non-scholarship FCS, but did go 7-3 overall in the regular season and 6-2 in the Pioneer League.

But what a cool matchup. I’m looking forward to it. The Bulldogs and Cyclones haven’t met since 1985, when Drake pulled off a stunner and upset Iowa State, 20-17. They’ll continue their renewed rivalry for the 70th time – Iowa State leading the all-time series, 48-17-4.

Now, back to those “blue-light special,” door-busting savings or whatever phrase retailers are using to get people out and about and spending some cold, hard cash.

Like I said, I did not participate in what is generally considered the start to the holiday shopping season on Friday.

But I did get reeled in by Cyber Monday, hook, line and sinker.

A bargain basement price led me to a year’s subscription of Sports Illustrated for — here’s the kicker — just $10.

I was floored.

I didn’t get any windbreakers with my favorite sports team’s logo splashed all over it or an SI coffee mug to go along with my subscription, but I still thought it was a heck of a deal.

You mean for just $10, I’m going to get SI delivered to my mailbox every week, just like when I was a kid? The anticipation will be palpable.

Then I started to peruse around a little more on the website where I purchased the subscription. My shopping buzz or “retail high” quickly morphed into the realization that what I was receiving wasn’t as cool as I had first thought.

I found out that the price was slashed in half from what a normal subscription costs for SI now in 2018 – just $20.

And I realized that starting at the beginning of this year, SI became a bi-weekly magazine.

They advertised I’d be getting 39 issues, but that came with 12 double issues. Which brought the total down to 27 weeks of delivery.

What?!?

I realized that my incredible relationship over the years with SI was changing. It wasn’t the magazine that I knew as a child growing up.

It had changed and so has life.

In order to survive, one must adapt to its surroundings and current climate.

It’s a cold, hard reality – this magazine world. But I was still taken aback somewhat. The once mighty SI – a bi-weekly???

I won’t go down a long, laundry list of once mighty titans of industry that have gone by the wayside or are slowly closing up shop.

I saw where General Motors is shutting the doors on five plants in North America and cutting its salaried workforce by 15 percent.

My how the mighty have fallen.

Sears – we hardly knew ya.

It’s a sad state of affairs for those two companies – stalwarts of Americana.

But hey, I’ve still got my SI.

My first issue should arrive in two to five weeks.

And the SI swimsuit edition better not be considered a double issue.

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