October 14, 2004
Flag on the Play - Pudding Strike
Have you ever believed in something with such certainty that you were willing to put it all on the line? So confident that you were right & that your cause was just that you had to take it to the next level? Well, I haven't, but I now know someone who has.
Clay Travis has been eating nothing but pudding for 30+ days to protest an unfair policy against football fans. Travis is on a pudding strike against the NFL & DirecTV because they will not allow him to have NFL Sunday Ticket in the US Virgin Islands.
Fanblogs sat down with Travis to get the scoop first-hand:
Q - So, you've been on a pudding only diet for about a month. What sort of changes does a man's body endure? If you're willing to fight through this difficult period, why won't the NFL meet you halfway?First of all no man's body is built to endure the havoc that constant pudding can entail. Secondly, your guess is as good as mine. Both the NFL and DirecTV won't respond to me. Lately people have been asking if I like the attention, and the answer is not particularly, I like solid food a lot better.
Q - Have you been contacted by anyone from the NFL or DirecTV? How 'bout Hunts? Have you been approached by a corporate sponsor?Well, if Hunts decided to sponsor me it would probably mark the first time a corporate spokesperson actually despised the product he endorsed. So I am not holding my breath. Again the NFL and DirecTV won't respond to me. They're both multi-billion dollar corporations and if they sprinkled a few thousand dollars and a couple of satellite dishes in the islands this problem would be over and I could end this strike.
Q - Not so long ago, you won an SUV and a boat on the field during a Titans game. You went to Vandy - you're a Nashville guy! Any word from the Titans or Jeff Fischer?I'm not sure. There's a small possibility he actually signed my guestbook. Certainly he is aware of the strike as it has been covered with some depth by the Nashville media, but I haven't heard a direct quote from him. For the record he's a great coach and even though we're currently 2-3 he took us to the AFC championship game after starting 1-4 two years ago.
Q- Couldn't they be burning you a copy of some game film?That's a great question and it would probably help me out quite a bit in Madden. Unfortunately for them my interest level would probably be picqued by the hotdog vendors in the stands because I'm so hungry.
Q - From your daily diary on your website, www.nflpuddingstrike.com, I get that you're in it for the long haul. That could be a lot of pudding. How many flavors have you tried so far?This is off the top of my head because I'm too lazy to do research right now in the site, vanilla, chocolate, Scooby Doo Chocolate Boo (primary difference with chocolate is that SCDB has more O's), banana creme pie (tastes like neither banana nor creme), chocolate peanut butter pie, chocolate cookie dough (tastes like chocolate), tapioca (I could only finish a third of the snack pack), and Looney Tunes Strawberry Dream. Incidentally all of these are reviewed on the site and Scooby Doo Chocolate Boo and Looney Tunes Strawberry Dream each came with prizes. Which made them a little better but not much.
Q - Now your wife is...what's delicate way to say this...hot. I believe you said she is a former Tennessee Titans cheerleader, so she probably has some interest in watching the games, too. Has she joined in on the pudding strike?No, her biggest contribution has been allowing the strike to take place. Also she has made pudding for me to eat to relieve of the Hunts product. She would love for the strike to be over so we could go out to dinner. And for all those people wondering how she ended up with me, smoke and mirrors, lots of smoke and mirrors.
Q - Since you've been able to enjoy the greatness of College Football pretty much uninterrupted this season, what's your take on the season? Who do you see as "the teamto beat"? Do you think an SEC team can make it to the BCS championship?I've actually been able to see pretty much everything since I have ESPN Gameplan. Interestingly enough when the La. Tech-Tennessee game was blocked out in Nashville unless you shelled out the money for pay-per-view, I kept my dad updated on the game.
As far as the top teams go, I'm just not sold on USC or Oklahoma. USC primarily because I'm wary of any Pac-10 team because I dont think they have the intensity of game action week in and week out like the SEC does, and Oklahoma because they've really faded down the stretch the last few years. Plus in last year's co-national championship game, they really couldn't match the speed and athleticism of LSU. Miami is sort of flying under the radar right now, winning without solid performances by Brock Berlin. If they get past Louisville tonight, then I think they will be set up for a pretty good finishing run.
On the SEC front, I'd say Auburn and Georgia are still alive. Auburn just destroyed my Vols. We made Jason Campbell look like Peyton Manning playing against a jr. high team. I mean the guy (a fifth year senior) almost set a career high in passing in the first half. So Auburn has a really solid shot, particularly given the fact that they get Georgia on the Plains. Cadillac and Ronnie Brown can give anybody headaches. The pollsters are still enamored with Georgia and if they could run the table and there were more losses ahead of them, we could have another Nebraska situation where the team that doesn't even when it's own division or conference ends up playing for the national title.
Q - You've obviously shown your passion to right wrongs, any chance that we could see a pudding strike against the BCS?There is no way in the world that once this strike is over, I will ever consider another strike of this sort again. It's deserving of a strike, but that's a for another man and another time.
Q - I'm sure a lot of fans get where you're coming from. What can we do collectively to support your cause?Visit the site and sign the petition, hopefully you'll be entertained. www.nflpuddingstrike.com Email your buddies if you think they would enjoy it, and tip back a pudding for me. The more pressure we put on the NFL and DirecTV to bring the games to the US Virgin Islands, the sooner I can eat solid foods.
