NEWSLETTER
Trevor Lawrence led the third biggest comeback in NFL Playoff history last night. And he celebrated the only way a kid from Cartersville, Georgia (attending college in Clemson, South Carolina) knew how: He went to Waffle House.
Since most of the Bleacher Nation audience is part of Chicago sports fandom (hi, I’m Dan from Betsperts!) you may not be aware of Waffle House. The closest one to Chicago is 160 miles away in Indiana. For the uninitiated, Waffle House is a cultural staple in the South. Canada has Tim Horton’s, New England has Dunkin, we have the Waffle House. (Michael: I guess that means we Midwesterners have IHOP? Cracker Barrel? Denny’s?).
Sure, at its core, Waffle House is just like any other 24-hour greasy spoon diner you can find all over America. But culturally, it’s much more than that to anyone who grew up in a small town in the South. It was basically THE place to go late at night in high school, when you could find all kinds of characters convening in one spot after a night out. Back in the day, you could put a tune on the jukebox and the waitresses would all sing. Now, the wait staff at Waffle House is known for something else: their proficiency in knock down, drag out brawls.
There was this one that went viral recently:
I mean, seriously, this lady could teach NFL linemen how to use their hands properly.
But just Twitter search “Waffle House fight” and you can spend hours watching people channel their inner UFC fighter and get absolutely wild, while everyone else is trying to eat their hash browns.
Yes, I said hash browns, despite its name, people rarely go to Waffle House for the waffles. It’s all about the hash browns and there are particular ways you should order them.
At the very least you have to go scattered, smothered and covered. Anything less and you’re doing it wrong.
Waffle House is so sacred in the South, that they once opened one at Turner Field in Atlanta and the Braves promptly went on a 14-game winning streak, a feat so improbable I was almost able to get Billy Corben to make a 30 For 30 about it.
So if you’re ever in the south and looking for a place to eat at two in the morning after a night of drinking, direct your designated driver to the place with the yellow and black sign, get some hash browns, keep your head on a swivel and eat like a king the way Trevor Lawrence did after one of the great comebacks in NFL history.
