NCAA Final Four: What to Cook for the Losers
This Saturday, 80,000-plus spectators will flock to Arlington, Texas’s AT&T Stadium for the NCAA Men’s Final Four. And they will likely nosh on a host of smoked, smothered meats.
The players, on the other hand, are on strict diets to stay in peak shape until that moment when—a foul here, a missed three-point shot there—they lose. They lift those hoodies over their brows in shame as they skulk to their locker rooms, hit the showers, and board the bus back to Loserville, Wherever.
That same feeling of defeat will fill the cars of every disappointed fan driving home on I-30.
How do we comfort those in need? With food. Here are the dishes that will give team players and their fans a sweet, sweet taste of home—and maybe an illusory whiff of victory, just for a moment.
Coconut Key Lime Pie. Photo credit: Everyday Food
Florida Gators: While Gainesville is smack in the middle of Florida’s east and west coasts and way north of the southern tip of the state closest to the Keys, these boys have certainly had their fill of Key Lime Pie in their years at U of F. The dessert, made of Key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened, condensed milk, is the official pie of the Sunshine State. So lift a forkful of the tart, creamy stuff to the sky and and wave it side to side as you commiserate with your Gators.
Connecticut Huskies: We doubt UConn’s McMahon Dining Hall will be serving up oysters when those boys return to their campus. So we say indulge in them now, because the Eastern oyster is your state shellfish. (Who knew?) Yes, sometimes when you’re sad, you want to be comforted—seafood chowder or hamburgers will do the trick—but sometimes you want to shine your shoes, spend some dough, and party like there’s no tomorrow. (Because you don’t want to face tomorrow.) So go on, Huskies: make it rain oysters and Champagne.
Midwestern Grilled Bratwurst Sandwiches. Photo credit: Everyday Food
Wisconsin Badgers: Wisconsin is all about the bratwurst. Vegetarian Badgers, you will get hazed with plates piled high of cylindrical blends of veal, pork, or beef. You’re just going to have to bite the bullet—er, brat. You’re all in this together. The state also has a proud German-style beer heritage, so yeah. Have some of that, too.
Kentucky Wildcats: If the University of Kentucky were in Louisville, we’d order up some Kentucky Hot Browns, but as Lexington is the horse capital of the world, we’re gonna be sippin’ pretty if the Wildcats lose. Sippin’ Mint Juleps, that is, until we’re so fed up with rage that we lose the frou-frou mint leaves and start drinking Kentucky bourbon from the bottle. (Then we’ll turn to Hot Browns the next morning.)
