Good Morning, Stumpers!

When we scrolled upon the blip that Idaho would be wearing helmets that said the “Fightin Taters” on them. It was right then and there that we realized what the feature story had to be today. Just an unreal name to throw on a helmet. Hope everybody is enjoying the shortened week. Two days til Friday! Let’s roll!

The Rundown

🥔 The Fightin’ Taters

🎾 US Open Stumpdate

🏈 Tough Start for Bill and UNC

🎼 We’re back to some Noah!

On This Day

🎾 First Ever US Open Champion

The US Open has come a long way in its storied history. The tournament that is now played in Flushing, New York, was first played on the coast of Rhode Island in Newport.

On this day in 1881, Richard Sears won the inaugural US Open over William E. Glyn. Originally called the US National Championship, Sears swept Glyn 6-0. 6-3, 6-2, en route to his victory. He would go on to win the first SEVEN Men’s Singles crowns, as well as the six doubles championships. After 1887, he retired from tennis.

Today’s Trivia

Glue Guy of the Day

🥔 The Fightin’ Taters!

In what may be arguably the best nickname of all time, the University of Idaho Vandals will dawn “Fightin’ Taters” helmets in this upcoming weekends home opener against St. Thomas.

Not only is this an absolutely electric nickname, but the fun doesn’t stop there. As celebration of the states history in the potato farming industry, the athletic department and the Idaho Potato Commission came together and created this masterpiece. The Idaho Potato Commission will be the main sponsor of this weekends game, a collab titled “Grown in Idaho”.

As part of the celebration, the nationally known Big Potato Truck, a 70-foot-long truck with a fiberglass potato, will be in attendance outside the stadium. So if you were looking to celebrate the past and present of potatoes, while also catch some football while you’re at it, you gotta head to Idaho this weekend.

Things like these are the reason why I love college football. The ability to be creative, while also leaning into the past, present, and future of your university and brand, is so fun. Athletic departments, especially since the rise of social media, have always looked for ways to be unique and attract attention to their campus in whatever way possible. For the University of Idaho, it’s the Fightin’ Taters. Western Kentucky University has also because popular in recent years for their highly unique helmets that showcase their mascot. All in all, athletic departments are now more than ever, a brand that people want to buy into. I mean, heck, I’d love to buy a Fightin’ Taters shirt, just because I can!

Where else can you find a school leaning into the potato other than in Idaho? You can’t. And gosh darn it, I love it!

The BIG Moments

🎾 U.S. Open Stumpdate

The Stump Short Story: This one has been fun. In the mens draw we had seven straight 3-set bludgeonings before Taylor Fritz was able to get one off Novak Djokovic last night. (4) Fritz had his best shot to beat (7) Djokovic after being 0-10 against the legend in previous bouts. Novak was able to hunker down and won in four sets and will now face off against Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal. We will find out what the other semifinal will be today. On the Women’s side we still have Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisamova (both american) still in the final 8. (4) Pegula was able to advance to the semifinals yesterday where she will now face off against (1) Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her in the US Open Finals last year. How great it would be for an American to reclaim this title!

Why it Matters: The US Open is one of the more slept on tournaments every year. If you have been able to catch some recently, you’ve seen a treat. The main storyline is the Djokovic is really trying for his 25th major, but to do so he will likely have to go through both Alcaraz and Sinner, which seems absolutely impossible. If he isn’t we could very well be heading straight for another collision course between the two young superstars.

Read More: Djokovic set to faceoff against Carlos Alcaraz in Semis (Yahoo Sports)

🏈 Tough Start to the Belichick-UNC Era

The Stump Short Story: Everyday it seemed as if there was a game that had a lot of hype around it that was almost too hyped for what actually happened. Monday night was no different. Everyone was interested to see what Bill Belichick would be able to do in his debut game against TCU. It was in Chapel Hill in front of a packed home crowd, and an opening drive TD for UNC had everybody ready to start the parade. It’s been the UNC defense that has been questionable throughout training camp, and it ended up being all sides of the ball for the rest of the game that needed help. The offense sputtered and the defense couldn’t stop a cold against TCU, with the game ending 48-14.

Why it Matters: When a guy of Bill’s magnitude makes a move the way he did, obviously it will gain a lot of eyeballs. A UNC-TCU Week 1 matchup wouldn’t usually get the primetime slot, but that’s what we got, and after the first 10 minutes it got ugly quick! It’s just one game, and we’re dealing with the greatest football coach of all time, so if there was anybody who could right the ship, it would be the hoodie man himself.

Read More: UNC blown out in Belichick debut (ESPN)

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🔗 Quick Links

⚾️ Someone just hit their 100th HR as a Dodger!

🎾 VAMOS! Carlos Alcaraz is on fire!

🏈 Just found this Kirby clip! Leader!

What To Watch

🏈 NFL Season Opener: The Dallas Cowboys will take the field for the first time without Micah Parsons while they watch their division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, raise a banner at home. The NFL season kicks off tomorrow night with Cowboys @ Eagles (8:20 PM on NBC)!

🎾 The Quarterfinals (today) and the Semifinals (tomorrow) keep rolling as the US Open enters the final stretch from Flushing, New York and Arthur Ashe Stadium. Check out the action all day long!

⚾️ What if I told you there were less than 30 days left in the regular season of Major League Baseball? I’d start paying attention STAT.

• Mets @ Tigers, Rangers @ DBacks, Blue Jays @ Reds, Guardians @ Red Sox, Yankees @ Astros, full schedule

Of! The! Day’s!

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