Day 2: Nothing Beats McDonald's Breakfast

Last night we made a classic, "college-style" midnight run.  We opted for the Ypsilanti McDonald's as it was closer to cheap gas, and we needed to fill up the team bus.  As it turns out, gas stations in Ypsi close after midnight.  But after saying hello to Eastern Michigan University, the full team stopped at McDonald's and pulled a classic economizing move.  For all you rookies out there following along at home, you'll want to pay close attention to this.

Our order was:

• 3 large fries (McKyle opted out)
• A McChicken (this was for appearances sake only)
• 12 Medium Waters

That's right, medium waters.  They come in soft drink cups with pieces.  This move can be vital down the stretch as it helps you to save both money and calories and should never be overlooked.  Even when you're getting an actual meal I find it useful to throw in a few medium waters to double the pleasure, double the fun so to speak. 

Now some McDonald's out in the boonies will give you the waters for free.  This is not the time to show integrity: game the system.  Get as many medium waters as you can.  But for the rest of you living in more urban areas, most McDonald's have cottoned on to this trick and will charge you for the water.  However, if you're trying to maximize your plays per dollar, this is definitely the route to take.  While prices may vary (the Ypsi McDonald's charges $0.39 while the one in Ann Arbor only charges $0.24), this is a relative steal.

Now as every college kid knows, the dollar menu gives you the most bang for your buck.  But as a result, McDonald's doesn't put any game pieces on dollar menu items.  By getting waters for a quarter, and a few McDoubles, you can still come out with pieces for about $1.50.  Definitely the best value (although this year the double pieces on a large fry makes that good play as well, however I am suspect of the win percentages).  It all depends on how much gall you have and how many waters you're willing to order.  I personally find it helpful to go at night when there are less people around.  Or you can go inside, explain to the cashier your goal, and not even fill the cups up.  Whatever your strategy is, today's lesson is buy medium waters.  It's an important one and I had to give it to you up front.  Keep learning, young Monopolites.  Always keep learning.

 --Day 2--

After waking up at 5 am and completing a 2 mile sprint workout, several hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and other various calisthenics, I felt I had earned a little Mickey D's.  (Remember, it's hard to stay healthy when you're consuming 10,000 calories a day.)  And after all, nothing starts the day off better than hash browns a coffee.  As this was my first breakfast trip, I was eager to see how the McCafe and Hash Browns stats.  As you'll shortly see, we're tracking not only winning percentage (to test McDonald's claim of 1 in 4 wins) but also which items have a higher winning percentage.  Our theory last year was that angus burgers were more likely to win, but we didn't gather sufficient data.  I went 1 for 3, with a medium fry win coming off my medium water.  A pinch hitter came with me who went 0 for 1 on his water.  An odds on morning according to McDonald's.  Anyways, that's all for now, but we'll give you an average update after this first wave.

McKyle leading the way after his stellar dinner performance yesterday with a .429 average, although McCappo is catching up at .364.  McGomez is performing solidly at .250 exactly and McHoff, with an off-night, yet to get a win.  The team average is running at .284.  We'll keep you posted as we continue to gather data.

I'm Lovin' It,

McCappo