BHGP Presents: AIRBHGAPALOOZA

Human civilization has a long history of celebrating the existence of destructive and angry deities, mostly to avoid further anger and destruction. The Mayans held celebrations every twentieth day to appease their gods, full of dancing and eating and occasional sacrifices. The Greeks built temples all over southeast Europe to avoid angering Zeus or Apollo or Athena. The ancient Chinese used to set off fireworks to keep angry demons away. We don't know if these things worked particularly well, but hey, at least China and Greece are still around.

As I'm sure you remember, we face our own angry deity: The Angry Iowa Running Back Hating God, who has struck down myriad halfbacks with increasing effectiveness and creativity. Recently, AIRBHG has gone national, getting a mention on ESPN's College Football Live and citation by the BTN announcers calling last week's game.

It's in the spirit of those ancient cultures, and the hope that we can find some fun in a season that has been anything but, that we at BHGP have decided to celebrate our own angry, destructive deity. And so we proudly announce AIRBHGAPALOOZA, our first ever festival dedicated to the Angry Iowa Running Back Hating God.

WHEN: Saturday, October 20 (the day of the Penn State game, the only home night game on the calendar) starting at 11:00 a.m. and running until mid-afternoon.

WHERE: Backpocket Brewery & Tap Room, Iowa River Landing, Coralville

WHO: You and anyone you want to bring. It's the afternoon, so the Tap Room is open to all ages to the extent that a brewery in Coralville on game day is kid-friendly.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Here's where things get fun. Backpocket is making special edition AIRBHG Ale for the occasion, an IPA as bitter as the deity it's named for. We'll have a special-made AIRBHG piñata, which we may fill with candy or spare knee tendons. We're going to roast a pig. There will be a special tribute video to AIRBHG's victims. There's an outside chance we'll have a band. We might even have a special guest or two. We're still putting things together, but suffice it to say it will be fun.

HOW MUCH: Almost certainly nothing, though we'll have details as the date approaches.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO: If you're really excited and are absolutely certain to go, you can leave a comment below or drop me an email and let me know you're coming, just so we have a rough minimum head count. I'm certainly not saying you need to get one, but AIRBHG shirts are available at Black Heart Gold Shirts. Feel free to get all Comic-Con on this if you want and dress up like Tavian Banks or something.

Get ready, people. AIRBHGAPALOOZA is coming.