The facts of this story are a little fuzzy after 20 plus years, but this is a true story.

Magic Bus - The facts of this story are a little fuzzy after 20 plus years, but this is a true story.

Tomorrow will be 22 years since my friend Royce Alger asked me if I wanted to go drink some beer before a Iowa Hawkeye home football game. It was 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning after we'd just had wrestling practice, so of course I said yes. Royce and I headed through a sea of football fans to the front yard of a little white house on Melrose Avenue. It was there I met a man named Brian DeCoster (now a close friend). It was his “tailgate” party, which included absolutely no tailgate, but a rubber garbage can, ice, a keg and some solo cups.

We stood there for a few hours and it went from the three of us to fifteen by game time. By half there were twenty five and by the end of the day we had enough people there Brian had make a run for another keg, ice and more cups. It was very organic, people walked up, grabbed a cup, had a beer, shot the bull and someone passed a hat when we need another keg, it was as close to the perfect college tailgate experience as you could get.

The next home game I went with Royce to this same tailgate party (how could I not). I remember for some reason Brian had brought a small flatbed that you could pull behind a truck to haul hay and put a microphone on it (bad idea). Eventually Royce had too many beers and began signing horrible country songs from what I'm guessing was a 1970's country music 8-track his father owned. He kept saying, “Here's a little diddly from 1957 by the Chips”. Don't ask me what that means, but after the 3rd time it was hilarious and by the 10th it was so annoying I remember it 20 years later.

The party went on this way for a couple more games and the party grew bigger and bigger. Eventually Brian (due to some interest by the ICPD had to rope off the yard, have someone check ID's and he started charging a $1 for a cup (not for beer, just the cup, the beer was free). Brian at the time rented small refrigerators and microwaves to college kids for their dorm rooms, so he had access to a portable multi-keg refrigeration cooler which came in handy when you go through 10 kegs in a day. FYI, the frig business eventually turned into Big Ten Rentals. DeCoster was and still is one of the best small business stories in America.

Here's where the story becomes interesting.

A few weeks into the season on a Wednesday night I was standing in the Sports Column playing pool )no wonder I never graduated) and in comes walking DeCoster. We strike up a conversation and I ask him if he's going to the game that weekend. He says yes and I ask what time he's leaving. He says same as usual, about an hour before the game starts. Brian was under the impression the game was a home game that weekend. When I informed him it was an Away game and made some smart-ass comment about him being a little late to the game he got a little embarrassed. After about a minute he looked me square in the face and said maybe “I'll buy a bus and drive a bunch of us to the game”! The game was either in Ohio or Florida, whichever Miami it was, I can't remember, it was 20 years ago?

Well, I'm here to tell you, within 24 hours DeCoster was pulling all the seats out of an old school bus he bought for $500. A day later he was driving it to the game! Someone on the first trip quite perfectly named her “The Magic Bus”. I'm guessing that has something to do with drinking so much in one state you magically wake up in another? During the off-season DeCoster began taking friends to Spring Break and Mardi Gras in the bus. Which prompted him to run keg tappers throughout the bus, add a set of steps on the back so you could access the top of the bus (where he put a stage), it evenentually had a basketball hoop and grill attached the back.

Over the next few years the party (bus included) got so big DeCoster had to move the it down Melrose a bit and eventually parked the bus behind a house across from the tennis courts. He had added live music to the entertainment (much to Alger's chagrin) and needed a better controlled area with security and a direction in which the live entertainment would not disturb the football game (although I didn't hear us complaining when the public address announcer spoke). After a year the party grew so big and became so much fun the ICPD and State Troopers shut it down (something about distributing beer without a license or unlawful assembly or something to that effect). And they impounded the damn bus! Thus the party goers became crusaders for the “Save the Magic Bus” rebellion that eventually (along with tons of Decoster's money for legal fees) got the charges dropped, the bus released and the party started again.

A funny thing to note here, it's rumored the University of Iowa changed their “pass out” policy because of this party. Back in the day spectators were given a pink ticket at halftime that allowed them back into the game after halftime was over. People would walk out at half, go over to the Magic Bus, pay a dollar, get a beer (or 5) and walk back into the game for the second half. I thought it made it made the second half a much better experience. Sometimes if it was a blowout (or vice versa) we'd just stay and watch it on TV at the bus.

On a personal note, I used to say “Every time Brian throws a party they have a football game”! Not a lot of people found it funny, but I did. I took all of my family and friends to that tailgate party. It was such a good group of people I never had a problem directing apposing fans to the party. Sure they might get some crap, but a buck for a couple a beers couldn't be beat. I've even met people who'd come to the tailgate from apposing teams for multiple years, that's just how fun it became. Brian eventually had several big named acts preform at the party (although the only one I can remember is Rick Derringer, Rock and Roll Hochie Coo?). The party got so popular it was featured in Penthouse, Playboy and The Wall Street Journal. The Sports Illustrated did a 3 page spread on Brian and the party when it won the “Best Tailgater in America”.

Eventually Brian was married and had a beautiful daughter, it was at that time he auctioned off the bus and the Iowa City Rugby Team won it for $500. They threw the party year after year since and have done a great job with security, clean up and even donating to charity until recently when the fun haters of Iowa City shut them down again. I'm very sorry to hear about this development, but I'm sure somehow the kids will start something new and they'll have their own chance at creating tailgating history. Have faith, where there's Old Milwaukee Light on sale at Dirty John's Grocery, there is a way!

One last thing about the Magic Bus. I did the math and the Magic Bus itself was the live (used, but live) for close to 22 years. Over that time it spent 1 year in jail. Which means she was the life of the party for just shy of 21 years.

It's funny, now that she's legal to drink, the party's over.