Defining the "Game Time Decision"

It’s not everyday that you and three friends hop into your car at 11pm on a Friday night to arrive on the Las Vegas Strip at 7am –joggers and streetwalkers the sole inhabitants of an otherwise vacant street.  Caesar’s Palace staring at you in all its gaudy lure, void of the blaring music and flashing lights that commanded hordes of club goers merely hours prior.  But alas, somehow I found my way there Memorial Day Weekend. So let me tell you how it came about.

It all begins with something known as a game time decision.

Urban Dictionary defines the game time decision as a “decision that is held off until the moment when it must be made. Very commonly used by professional coaches, especially of the NFL.”  San Francisco 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh favored the use of the game time decision during his tenure at Stanford when evaluating players’ injuries, preferring to list them as a “game time decision,” thus eluding his opponents who therefore would have to scheme for the first team player when, in fact, Harbaugh was fully aware that said player was incapable of walking, better yet meaningfully contributing on the field.  Talk about tactics.

Contemporary use of the “game time decision” has come to encapsulate making last minute decisions –whether it’s what outfit you’ll wear to the party (plan a few, choose one the night of) or where the night will take you (have a few options and go with the flow), which is precisely how we ended up in Las Vegas for a total of 16 hours and drove for 18.  I never said the game time decision would be the most well conceived, now did I?

9:45pm:

“What’s happening on campus tonight?  Another frat party?”

9:46pm:

“Ugh, I wish we were in Vegas right now.”

9:47pm:

“Let’s drive to Vegas!”

9:48pm:

“I’ll pack my things!”

9:49pm:

RA chimes in about the safety of driving through the night to which we decide we can turn back at any time.

10pm:

We’re on the road, five bottles of 5 Hour Energy in hand.

7am:

Arrive in Las Vegas and immediately devour IHOP. Proceed to feel slightly nauseous.

7:30am:

Arrive at the Cosmopolitan spa; purchase a $40 day pass, ensuring our lodging for the next 12 and a half hours.

Look at the wide-eyed excitement entering the spa after the 547 mile drive.

8am:

A Jacuzzi, steam room and shower later, we are all asleep on four of the five lounge chairs, much to the horror of the women strolling through for their relaxing treatments.

Yup, still happy leaving for Kaskade at Marquee.

12pm:

High five Kaskade at Marquee Dayclub.

6pm:

Return to the spa’s trusty lounge chairs for nap round two.

9pm:

Birthday dinner at Bouchon.

Pre-dinner cocktails at Bouchon.

9:30pm:

Realize we can barely keep our eyes open yet alone stay up until 1am for Iggy Azalea.

10pm:

Furiously search for hotel rooms, which includes a desperate phone call to the Hooters Hotel, which amazingly finds it completely within their rights to charge $398 per night, a miraculous 1000% increase over their standard rate. Holidays -__-

11:30pm:

Back on the road!

7am:

Back to school. Zzzzz.

Give it up for the game time decision.  Now tell me, what’s your most memorable GTD?

*Note that no alcohol was consumed prior to driving back to school thanks to a 5pm alarm titled "Stop drinking!" thus no persons were harmed in the execution of pursuing the GTD.  Also note the conspicuous absence of photos leaving Vegas.