Week 6 - Arkansas



There's not really much to say about the Arkansas game.  Five turnovers.  Eight sacks.  Zero offense.  One and Four.  Well, that's about it.  But that doesn't make for a very interesting blog post, so I'll tell you about the GREAT part of the weekend, which was Friday night.

 

We did a tour of the locker room and then went to an event called Cafe Jordan-Hare for dinner.  It was a really cool dinner setup on the Auburn sideline on the field.  They had really good food (I ate a lamb burger! - trying new things!) and a jazz band.  Plus it was ON the FIELD.  Lots of fun.

 

We even made it into the first segment of Auburn Football: Every Day.

In registering for the event, my goal was to get a picture at center field with the AU logo.  Sadly, however, there were signs all over the field asking us to stay off the grass, so this was the officially-sanctioned mid-field photo:





Later in the evening, a few people threw caution to the wind, ran to the middle of the field, and had someone take their picture before Security could run them off.  That was my initial plan; however, I was able to find a more dignified approach.  One of the donor relations people introduced me to the Athletic Turf Grass Manager, Eric Kleypas, who of course was hovering around the event trying to make sure no one tore up the field. 

 



I told him that I wasn't going to go on the field if he didn't want me to but that I would really love the opportunity to get a picture with the logo.  I asked if it was even a possibility, and he said it depended on how many of the other people at dinner left first (obviously he didn't want everyone traipsing out there).  So you're saying all I have to do is outlast everyone else?  Challenge accepted.  True to his word, when everyone else left, Eric gave us his blessing to be on the field.  It was surreal.

 

 



One of my friends left the following quote as a comment on the above photo on Facebook, and it sums it up perfectly: "And there...she knew she was home...not just a place in her peaceful soul but the actual physical place she belonged, and she could not have been happier."  Exactly. 

 

And then she took off running.



WILL YOU PROTECT THIS HOUSE?  I WILL!  I WILL!

 

My Dad said I looked like a crazy person, and my sister said I looked like I was wearing a stylish flag football outfit.  Either way, we had a great time.  It was a night I'll never forget.