I knew I was in for a treat when I walked up to the grill at Lorena Stadium on Friday night.
About 45 minutes before kickoff, a man who called himself Hervie (that's him in the picture) watched over burgers and the kind of sausage links that you could tell by looking weren't your average, run-of-the-mill links. He also took care to place his tortillas on the grill for just the right amount of time before pulling them off the grill, then wrapping a sausage in each one, and then wrapping that in foil so that it would stay warm until the concession stand opened.
And since the concession stand had not opened for business at that moment, I had the good fortunate of getting a sausage wrap for free. I'm not sure why Hervie decided to give me one on the house. I was wearing my WacoFork T-shirt, but I don't think that was it. Earlier that day, I promoted the excellent grill work at Lorena Stadium with Dan Ingham on the Channel 10 morning show. But I don't think that was it either. I think Hervie just wanted me to enjoy his cuisine.
And let it be known I did enjoy it. Not just the sausage, which was rich with flavor and the right amount of pepper, but I could really taste Hervie's care in the tortilla. Sometimes, the tortilla can be an afterthought. I've been guilty of that in my own grilling at my house. It's easy to say, "Hey, just pull a tortilla out of the package and run with it." But that extra touch of grilling the tortilla made the thing.
Now, understand, I could watch football for football's sake.
I don't need cheerleaders or marching bands or homecoming queens or even, yes even stadium food. I just love football. I love a running back breaking tackles and bursting into open field and wide receivers hauling in passes way beyond the defense.
Nevertheless, I do appreciate the trappings, especially the way they serve them up in Lorena. The Leopards' stadium sits on the edge of a valley in McLennan County so it seems that it's the perfect environment when a football game is minutes away from kickoff, the sun is setting over the valley and burgers and sausages create an oh-so enticing aroma as smoke from the grill floats across the stadium.
Such was the case Friday night as I once again went through the Friday ritual of high school football.
I sat, or more accurately stood, in the stands on Friday night while trying to keep stats and play-by-play so I could write a game story for the Tribune-Herald. This is not ideal. The press box in Lorena is too small, but I guess that makes it quaint.
Anyway, I powered through, with a big assist from Hervie's cooking.
