Today we took Amelia to her first University of Tennessee football game. It's always good to go to the General's quarters, but today was particularly special...even though it was against Ohio University. No, not The Ohio State University (whatever that means anyways!). Katy and I both love the Vols, and we were very excited to share the experience with Amelia.
I have to begin by thanking our friend, who will most likely not read this blog, but he hooked us up with tickets in the Tennessee Terrace. Think suite level seats at a first class venue. He also gave us his parking pass for the game, which meant that we didn't have to deal with walking around downtown Knoxville with a toddler.
We arrived in time to see the Vol Walk, but I guess they decided to do it a little early. So, we then moved on to the Band March. Amelia loved this! We saw the flags off in the distance approaching the new route, which takes the Pride of the Southland across a new pedestrian bridge to salute the hill. We sing Rocky Top on a semi-regular basis in our house. So, the song is familiar to Amelia, but to experience the band playing it and tens of thousands of orange-clad friends singing along made it even better. The highlight was seeing 3 Smokies leading everyone into Neyland Stadium. I really think this blew Amelia's mind.
We walked into the stadium, and perused the concourse amazed at the amount of friends holding pom-poms. Therefore, Amelia must have one...DUH! The Tennessee Terrace is a sight to behold for any fan of the Big Orange. Everything is top notch. Our seats were 1 yard shy of the 50, but the only thing we could complain about were the heat and sun. Amelia loved marching with the band, and watching the formation of the Power T. Mostly she loved watching Smokey run around on the field.
She may have gotten a little overheated, and had a minor meltdown in the 1st quarter, but once the shade appeared with the start of the 2nd quarter, everything got better. Everyone was a little happier, even our friends seated around us.
At halftime, the Ohio band put on a show, but the star, of course, was the Pride of Southland's tribute to Pat Summitt. They played, and sang the Tennessee Waltz and Amazing Grace. It was beautiful.
The start of second half produced more of the same for Amelia. Celebrating touchdowns, wondering where Smokey is (maybe he's going potty?), teaching some sportsmanship when encouraging injured players as they walk off the field, letting Amelia know that it's not ok to shake your pom-pom in your neighbor's face, signing Rocky Top, learning the first down signal, etc. A fun time was had by all.
The best part is that we got to share this with our daughter. Was it hot? Yes. Did she miss a nap today for it? Yes. Was there a meltdown? Yes. Did strangers question our parenting based on a 5 second timeframe of Amelia's actions? Yes. Was it hard? Yes. Would we do it again? Unquestionably....YAAAAAASSSSS!
Also, if you clicked that link, you're welcome for learning about the Surrender Cobra!
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