I know it’s been four days since my birthday and you girls {guys?} are ready for a football recap. Right?
Ella has been talking about this day for months. Since football season began, really. She couldn’t wait to go “to that ballgame on tv.” Thankfully, she slept most of the drive down and was ready to meet Big Al by the time we got there. We had been explaining for weeks that we might not see him, but knew there would be plenty for her to do on the quad. Unfortunately, she didn’t want to do anything we couldn’t do with her and SD wasn’t really in the mood for the bounce house. Instead we made a quick stop by Denny Chimes and headed downtown on foot for frozen yogurt.
Chocolate chips never tasted so good! We opted to eat inside the warm yogurt shop and watch a little football on-screen while we waited on my cousin Kalli to arrive. We have four season tickets and with one to spare we called to see if she wanted to hang out. She was our resident baby-sitter for many summers and our next door neighbor for a long time. We don’t like her living so far away and Ella misses seeing her everyday. She attends a community college in Tuscaloosa and was happy to tag along for the game.
One fake smile and a photo op later, we were at the stadium and ready to wait for the players to arrive. It makes for a long day, but it is so exciting to hear the music piped in overhead and the sirens in the distance as the buses arrive. People line up for hours to see them come down University Boulevard to deliver the team to the Walk of Champions. I was afraid that Ella would be bored, but she had so much fun hanging out with everyone while we waited. Many a stranger was pelted by her shakers.
The first thing that Ella said when the players walked by was, “They don’t have their suits on yet!” She was a little confused about why the players weren’t in uniform as they were walking to the stadium. That was the first of many one-liners for the evening.
We abandoned the crowds and headed inside to get our seats, an extra large stadium cup and a slice of pizza for dinner. Ella was a bit overwhelmed with the size of things, but once we settled in, she loved watching the players warm up and the nostalgic videos that play on the jumbotrons prior to the game. And just in case there was any question, yes, Bunny joined in the fun!
Ella was so much fun during the game, she yelled for the team, shook her shaker violently and sang the fight song at least ten times. We had fun teaching her cheers and telling her when to yell “Roll Tide” {after every first down} and how to sing “Sweet Home Alabama”. Our favorite cheers from the night were: “Go, Alabama! Don’t let that blue team win!!” and “Run, knock those boys down and get that ball!”
I think we’ve created a monster. As in, she did not want to leave her seat. She slipped her shoes off, sat back and enjoyed the game. When SD told us to load up halfway through the third quarter {it was a massacre and we all had to get up for work and school the next morning} she was not a happy camper.
