Yesterday was a Good Day...!

So we did it. My son and I went to both the FSU - Wake Forest game AND the Kentucky @ Florida game. We left home a little after 8:00 and by the time we exited I-10 in Tallahassee, we had tickets lined up for us AND my other son who lives


in Tally. Cousin Tyler had two nice extra seats, complete with chair backs and most important, in the shade! It was brutal hot yesterday. I sat in Golden Chief seats thanks to OLD bud Roger. We stopped by Tyler's and talked to he and Beth and then Tyndall and Mike came over and I was able to see another cousin :). The talk at Tyler's was about Lance's soccer match earlier in the day. Too bad we didn't get to town in the morning, because 3 & 4 year old soccer is a treat. Then we had wings and fish tacos with Josh, BEFORE we went to the stadium to tailgate with Roger and the Camp's group. Did I mention it was hot?
To pull off the college football double header with 140 miles separating the venues, we had to leave the FSU game at half time. It worked out well, as right after the half, the Noles had a weather delay for 30 minutes. We walked back to the car and stopped by to see Michael Carter at work, for a few minutes. Before I shift gears, FSU played pretty well yesterday. They should have a good season, but will probably lose ~ 3 more games and will be underdogs against Miami and Clemson, maybe NC State and certainly Florida. I estimate about 60,000 fans at Doak Campbell for the ACC opener. Quite a few more left when we did at halftime... It was still fun to be there and remember ALL the great memories and fun times cheering on Florida State. It was also great for my sons to get together, since Dent leaves in 2 weeks for a year...

We arrived at the Swamp with about 7 minutes left in the first half. My hope was that we could snag some ticket stubs from people leaving at the half. Turns out that UF doesn't allow reentry anymore either. Plan was derailed...however, as we circled the stadium like it was the walls of Jerico, we looked for weakness in the usher army that guarded our prize. After almost a complete lap, we found a lapse in guard and slipped into Ben Hill Griffin stadium at Florida Field :) Alas, they also have a 2nd layer of sentries guarding each entrance into said section. Again, we staked out the perimeter until we detected the badly needed slacker employee :) We were "in" right as the half wound down and the band stormed the field. The contrast between the two venues was dramatic. I love FSU games and have been to DOZENS of games in Tally and Gainesville over the years. The game experience at the Swamp is so much more passionate. That is the SEC difference I think. Gator fans are fired up the whole game and the stadium itself feels so much closer to the action. There we no empty seats for this game and most fans were on their feet yelling throughout the contest. SEC football is the pinnacle. Florida played up to their potential for the first time last night and the showdown with Alabama next Saturday night will be a MONSTER! :) Let the hype and anticipation begin!

We didn't stay at the Gator game long into the 3rd quarter as UF was rolling and we wanted to see how the Boise State game against OSU was going, as well as the South Carolina at Auburn brawl. So, we slid down to Ocala and watched the exciting finishes of those games at Ruby Tuesday. South Carolina self destructed in the 4th quarter with fumbles and interceptions, but give the war beagles credit for causing the turnovers.

Alabama came back and beat Arkansas to preserve the hype for their showdown with the Gators. Georgia lost to Mississippi State to go 0-3 in the conference...ouch! UCLA went to Austin and spanked the Longhorns, which will not help the promoters of the Red River showdown against Oklahoma on Saturday!

UCF almost beat K-St yesterday and NC State continued their roll by beating the defending ACC champs, Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack could be trouble...

It will be another great week for football, but in my life I will not have too many days like yesterday. What a blessing it was.

Outlaw