Taken out to the Swamp!!

So..it took me a few days to get over pictures like this...

... and put up a few of my own.

The trip to North Central Florida is always a fun one. You never know what you'll see in such beautiful places as Ocala. (Wesley Snipes is totally right about that town!)

And even when you get to the stadium, things don't get any more normal.

From these guys outside...

To the geography lesson inside the stadium...


... to (I swear!!) the Pledge of Allegiance. I know I include this in my photoblog everytime I go to the Swamp, but it's just SO weird!!


Anyway, we weren't there to salute our flag, we were there for some football. I was shakin with excitment by the time the game started, because I "had a feeling" about this one. (I also had that song in my head b/c they played it non-stop. )

The fans we met only made me want the game worse, especially THIS kid, who's hideous Gator costume ("A Chistmas Story" bunny, anyone?) took up most of Gina's leg room.

It wouldn't take long for 90,000 to learn what I already knew, that this would be no cakewalk.

Hogs scored first....

...and even gave us reason to smile...

... as the clock ticked down.

Unfortunately, they've got a pretty good QB...

... and they'd climb right back into it.

I kept yelling for the Hogs to call a proven winner (the famous Head-Knee play that worked so well for Kentucky)...

.. but it never happened.

I like this picture. The team huddled talking specifics, and Bobby P. staring down the enemy as we head to clutch time. If only we could read his mind!

You all know what happened next. This is the last picture I took before burying my head in my hands, refusing to watch the winning FG.

In the end, there's no way to be too disappointed, and I can't wait to see the Gators again.... next year in Atlanta! (I told their fans that, too.)

Annual trip to Mississippi is off, but I can already start planning for a November trek to Death Valley! (and maybe I'll throw in a UCF photoblog or two between now and then). You know the drill, leave your comments below!

Get Ready Gators!!

So, this week is one I circled when I first moved to Florida. My Hogs come to Gainesville to take on Tebow and the Gators in "the Swamp". Ben Hill Griffin always offers a fun photoblog, with such asanine traditions as the "Pledge of Allegiance" before the game, and that creepy-ass song they sing before the fourth quarter. (Don't even get me going on the ridiculousness of "two-bits"!) Add all that to the +24.5 spread that I know the Hogs will cover, and we're in for quite a day Saturday, one that will provide a fun blog next week. That being said, I'm presenting last weekends bonus trip to Fayetteville without a lot of words, just letting the pictures speak for themselves! Enjoy!!

How do you spell Bama?

Finally, I was able to hit the road for some football, and officially kick off my 2009 season!! Packed a bag full of Razorbacks shirts, and dusted off the flags for the 550-mile trip to see my Hogs battle the Bloody Water (Crimson Tide).

If you know me, you know I'm all about organization (It's kind of what I do for a living). So, of course, we didn't leave the house without our Neat, Essential Road trip Data (N.E.R.D) Packet. Tickets, campus maps, directions, hotel confirmation, etc. Trust me, i'm prepared before I turn the key!

We arrived in Birmingham with just enough time left in the night to get some wings. Of course, I took the opportunity to goad the locals by suiting up in Razorback gear for the trip.

Then is was back to the hotel for some rest. (This is a perfect spot to throw in my unsolicited advertisement for Hotwire. We got this awesome room for $56 a night. $56 a night is supposed to get you a room with plastered-over bullet holes, but this place is awesome. If you're not using Hotwire for your hotels, do it!! Call that my travel tip of the day!)

Saturday would start just as the forecasters said it would, with a slight deluge. We decided it wouldn't ruin our day, and hit up the sporting goods store for some extra gear.

That being said, you would not believe our excitment when we saw THIS:

About 10,000 of the 92,000 seats were covered, and we happened to have two of them!! Perfect start to the game.

The rain let up just in time for Alabama's traditional pre-game spelling lesson, mandated by the legislature to improve literacy. (Seriously. I wouldn't make that up!)

The band cleared the way for the Hogs to run out, and we didn't know at this point it was the fastest we'd get to see the Hogs run that day.

As the game wore on, we noticed some odd scenery just beyond the end zone.

All we could come up with is that this is where "Bear" is buried. It's an effort to help Alabama fans cope with the fact he's actually gone, something that is obviously lost on most of them!

Before the mid-way point in the 4th quarter, I could see things weren't looking good... and we started the long trek down.

We took the long way home to take in some history in Montgomery...

... and make one important stop!!

Now we sit at home and watch TV for a couple of weeks, before heading up "The Swamp" in a couple of weeks. Hope you enjoyed, feel free to comment.