*(By "Maize n Brew's favorite" I mean "Zach's favorite". I don't know what the rest of the team thinks about this, but I don't much care. It's one of the perks of running things around here.)
If you were to describe the target demographic for a weekly college football show on Youtube featuring muppets and the trials and tribulations of Notre Dame football, you could probably be pretty safe in assuming that "college football bloggers with a strong affinity for The Muppet Show and obscure pop culture references" would make up about 75% of the audience.
That certainly includes me.
I grew up on The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, and there is no sport I love more than college football, so really, the fact that I geek out over every new episode of Stuffing the Passer isn't much of a surprise.
A little background: the Notre Dame blog House that Rock Built started making short comedy videos that used puppets as the stand ins for Notre Dame players and coaches. Over the past few years the thing has evolved a lot, but one thing remains the same: these are hilarious.
So, since it is Notre Dame week, and it is a Friday morning, and this gives me an excuse to go back and watch a bunch of these episodes (like I need one), may I present to you -- in no order -- my top five favorite episodes* of Stuffing the Passer. These are packed full of pop culture references, inside jokes, and subtle digs at Notre Dame -- so naturally they are the best thing ever.
Watching these will be the best 20 minutes of your Friday.
*(Okay, so all of these are from season two and beyond. The first season featured muppet-Golden Tate, muppet-Jimmy Clausen, and muppet-Charlie Weis, but I didn't watch them as they came out that year -- only eventually catching up with them after the fact. Regardless, I really think the guys hit their stride after season one, so that makes up all of my top five list.)
A Beautiful Friendship
"Owww. Man, my throwing eye."
Modern Chemistry
"Its all good coach, I wore like two helmets on the next play."
Card Study
"Look, look at the deciduous topography."
Mystery Adventure Time
"And I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you mangy kids, and you're mangy wildcat, and that mangy preponderance of evidence against me."
Where in the World
"Hey kid, if you want to be QB1 around here, you're going to have to learn a thing or two about branding and emerging markets."
Honorable Mention: Boiler Room, Shipping up to Boston, Rear Window, The Gang Sings a Sea Shanty, A Fireside Chat With Coach Kelly, Wann-Stache'd, The Berlin Conference, Rain Delay Theater, Coach Kelly Gets Grilled, The Istanbowl, Bottle Episode, A Word from our Sponsors, It's Morning in Notre Dame.