Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Game with the Kids!

Sooo, after that lovely post about the Aggie game, here are some pictures from our weekend.  It was without a doubt one of the hottest games I've ever attended.  105 degrees is nothing to shake a stick at.  The kids were miserable so they left at half time.  I stayed the whole game and loved it, even though everything of mine was sweating.


Here's the fire truck. It's all decorated in Aggie maroon and white.  I should get some close up photos, but it's never as good as it is in real life, right? So about an hour before the game or so, the announce over the loud speakers that the Judge is taking the fire truck out for its game day tour.  I honestly have no idea where they go, but they offer for any little kids and adults to go for a ride.  I couldn't believe the number of kids that came out of the woodwork for this ride.  And my kids wait for this all morning. I think it is their favorite part of tailgating.




Here are some pictures of the cooker.  I guess there's nothing new (to the untrained eye) from the last pictures I posted which are 5 years old.



Here's the massive tent the guys put up.  We needed the shade!  There are two flat screen TVs hanging in there.  There are a ton of chairs and three picnic tables where people can eat, talk, and watch the game.
 
Here are the TVs.
 


Now, these are our seats.  We are on the first deck, 50-yard line, 5th row.  I absolutely adore these seats. It gives us a more intimate feel - almost like we are at a high school game because we are so close to the players.  Now, we are close to the visiting team, so what you are seeing in this picture are the Rice Owls.  Trust me, this does not detract from our game-going experience.  I love, love, love our seats!

 
We even get to be up close and personal with the yell leaders.  By the end of the season, we are on a first name basis with them and the kids usually get some fun souvenirs.  For example, one game the kids got a 12th Man towel from the Yell Leaders.  And I mean, the Yell Leader's personal 12th Man towel.  It has their name on it, the game, and a bible verse.  I was really impressed.
 
 
I guess the only negative about these seats is that we can't see the cool effects of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band.  Here they are.  They look pretty normal from this vantage point, but compare it to the picture below which is what you see from up high.  Soooooo coooool!!!
 

This is a super old picture I found on the internet.



And if you click on the following link,  you can actually watch how they march and make these really cool visual effects.  http://vimeo.com/50024793  I'm not much of a band person, but I have to admit that it is pretty cool.  It is the exact opposite of the Grambling band, and I think that's pretty cool too, so you know, just judge for yourself.

 
 Here we are miserable at the game.  Luke, Mary Clare, Stephanie, and sweet baby Bess.

George put on a good face for me and my camera . . .


 
. . .  until I accidentally snapped this picture of him picking his nose.
 
 
But I can't complain too much.  Look how hot it was!!!
 
 
Evie was probably the kid with the best spirit about the scorching heat.  She spent most of the day close to Chuck.  It was really pretty sweet.



 
And then, we can talk abou the crazies at the game.  This is Tim.  Apparently he found these sunglasses on the ground.  He was highly amused with himself.  And, to be honest, I was highly amused with him too!

 
Here we are.  I forced Chuck to look away from the field for a picture.  What a good sport!
 
 
Here we are on the field after the game. 




And then back to the tailgate afterward!  Here's my brother, his father-in-law, and his two sons, Nick and Tony.  Tony is in the red shorts and a senior in high school.   He has his eye on Texas A&M for college.  Of course, my brother went to TAMU too, so there's not a big surprise in Tony's choice!



They were glad to be out of the sun.
 
 
They insisted on a silly face. 


 
And I insisted on a group picture of my babies.  Gotta love them!
 
 
Then, back at the cottage, they entertain themselves with movies on an old console TV and playing old Atari games that Tim keeps at the cottage.  What a strange but beautiful life we lead!



Hope you enjoyed your tour of the Aggie Tailgate!
We sure enjoyed being there.

1 comment:

Angie said...

Wow, you guys are SERIOUS about football :). Iowa City gets pretty crazy on game day and I really miss my season tickets. I had to give them up a few years ago when Jake went back to school. Here's a piece of interesting info.... Kinnick stadium is literally across the street from the UI Hospital. So, that means that anyone who needs to get there on on game day is pretty much SOL. For this very reason I put the police phone number in my contacts so that if I went into labor last fall on a game day I would have an escort to open up the traffic for us.
But after all is said and done...isn't football season just the BEST? :)