bringing up bradshaws: Football Thoughts

UT Football.

What can one say?

Now, I am relatively new to the state of Tennessee. I thought I knew what to expect here in regards to football. Pure Genius. You see, I'm a native Louisianan who has faithfully committed herself to the support of the LSU Tigers for many years. They have made it easy to love them. Oh, with their Death Valley and their many fight songs and their championship titles that are too many to number. In addition, I am New Orleans born and bred, one who has repeatedly ridden the rollercoaster known as the New Orleans Saints fan! There have been so many embarrassing moments, few hopeful scenarios, and even in the past few years, rare occasions when the city of New Orleans has practically SHUT DOWN because there was a glimmer of the NFL Superbowl playoffs in our future. Alas, we were disappointed.

So, in moving to Tennessee--Knoxville, mind you-- I must say my college football expectations were pretty high. Even before we knew we were moving here, I heard how the town turned orange on game days and how the pride of the team was evident everywhere. That much is totally true. I have even tried my hardest to cut ties with my loyalties down south in hopes of becoming a hardcore Vol! (It's not going to happen, fully). I've got the cute shirt and my fair share of orange in the closet. However, what I experienced yesterday was so disheartening.

We-- Jonathan, me, Amy (Jonathan's sister), and Robert Townsend--were able to go to the UT vs Florida game in Neyland Stadium yesterday. We were so pumped, so ready to cheer our heads off, sweat our socks off, run the course of our seat-induced nosebleeds. However, it was sad. I don't know where the Tennessee Volunteers were, but they didn't appear to be on the football field. Amy kept saying they were playing like a bunch of high schoolers. They were. I was truly disappointed that their was truly no sense of competition taking place. Florida ate us alive.

Despite the poor playing, we really had a great time. We were given a parking pass so that we didn't have to pay to park. However, we failed to realize that parking was about three miles from where we were going to tailgate. You come to realize that "comfortable" flipflops are not really comfortable when walking briskly through UT's campus. My feet will never be the same. We really had a lot of fun just hanging out, eating peanuts, being sunburnt on the left sides of our bodies, and singing Rocky Top just because we love UT football, whether they win or not. I enjoyed watching Jonathan get into the game and I know he just loved the fact that I asked him questions constantly because I am still learning the rules of football. It was a good day!

Thanks to Granddaddy and Granna who watched Nora for most of the day so that we could tailgate and attend the game. It's so comfortable for me knowing how much you love our girl and how much she loves you in return.

Enjoy the pics.

Amy & I tailgaiting