THE BIG TIME

L and I thought we were going to see something pretty obscure when we decided to go to Tug Fest. Well, we were wrong. Not only were there television advertisements for it in the Quad Cities, but this AP piece was in the Sun-Times today:

Rope burn: Illinois wins Mississippi tug-of war
August 15, 2006

LE CLAIRE, Iowa -- They pulled and tugged and tugged and pulled, and when it was over, Port Byron, Ill. had reclaimed the Great River Tugfest title.

2,700-foot rope spans river

It was the 20th annual tug-of-war across the Mississippi River between the western Illinois town and the eastern Iowa community of Le Claire.

A 2,700-foot rope spans the river. On each side, teams compete in 11 matches. On Saturday, Port Byron came away with an 8-3 victory, recapturing the alabaster bald eagle trophy from Le Claire.

''It was awesome to be out there and show them what Illinois is all about,'' said tugger Dusty McKeag.

The win ties the overall series at 10 victories apiece. Angela Mapes, president of the Iowa Tug team, said she was surprised at how far the Illinois teams pulled.

''They had seven pulls over 50 feet,'' Mapes said. ''I'm glad for Port Byron. Now we're tied and I think that'll make next year's competition even better.''

That pretty much sums it up.