The Big Game

There's not been too many times in my lifetime where I have been SO shocked, SO surprised, and SO amazed, that it's reduced to me to tears.

Last week was one of those times.

There are three things in life that I'm passionate about. (Okay - actually - I'm passionate about a lot of things, but for the sake of this story, let's just focus on THESE particular three things. Just go with it.)

Those three things are:

#1. football

#2. University of Missouri (Go, Tigers!)

#3. Auburn University (Go, War Eagle!)

A week or so ago, after the Saturday football games had completed and Auburn University had shocked the nation when they beat Alabama on the final play of the game, and the moon was in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligned with Mars…

…it dawned on me that my #1 favorite team, Missouri, would be playing my #2 favorite team, Auburn, in the SEC Championship football game in Atlanta. On December 7.

HOLY MOTHER OF PERFECT FOOTBALL TRIFECTA AND HOLY GRAIL, BATMAN!!!!!

Have you ever joked with your significant other about something so ridiculous, so insane, that you would never dream they'd take you serious? Kinda' like, "Hey, honey - let's go to Bora Bora tomorrow!" Or…"Hey, sweetie - let's sell everything we own and buy a yacht and cruise around the world?"

So…I joked with Hubby, "Hey, Hubby - wouldn't it be awesome to get tickets to that SEC game with Missouri and Auburn? In Atlanta?"

Imagine my shock…my surprise…my amazement…when he replied, "Yes, it would. It would be totally awesome. Why don't you get tickets for you and son?"

Of course I looked at him like he'd just sprouted two extra heads and fifty extra eyeballs.

"Are you CRAZY??!!" I said, adding, "Don't even JOKE with me about that."

He said, "I'm not joking. Do it. Merry Christmas!"

Well. I pretty much fainted. Then I freaked out. Then I fainted again. Remember all those videos that parents post on YouTube where kids are jumping up and down, screaming in ecstasy, because Santa Claus brought them the GIFT OF A LIFETIME??!!

Yeah. That was me.

After I recovered from the sheer shock, I went. And I took my son, who is as passionate about football as I am, even if he's not a Missouri or Auburn fan - gah. (He roots for Oklahoma…don't ask why, because I have NO idea. I agreed to take him after he pinky-swore that he would NOT wear Oklahoma crimson, which could be misconstrued as Alabama crimson (Crimson Tide, anyone??!) in which case we'd get totally killed by some irate Auburn fan. He, wisely, agreed to this.)

We had an awesome time…words can't describe how much fun we had. Here's a photo montage of what our weekend was like:


First, we caught a charter plane to Atlanta…180 passengers, decked out in black and gold, and passionate about Missouri




We stayed at the impressive Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta, who decked their halls especially for us...




Son and I spent Friday afternoon walking around downtown Atlanta, including making a trip to the Georgia Dome. See that guy in the bottom right corner in a red shirt? Little did we know...




…that he was a reporter for a news station out of Birmingham, AL - who caught up with son and I for a "man on the street" interview. If you want to see the entire interview, click HERE.




We then got gussied up for a cocktail party for Mizzou fans and alumni later Friday night...




Here, we noshed on some goodies, met some fellow passionate fans, and loaded up on some free Mizzou souvenirs...




After the party, we met up with a high school friend of mine, Allison, who coincidentally lives in Atlanta. We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, and would never have dreamed that we would be the ONLY Missouri fans in a sea of Auburn fans. They were chanting, screaming, and having a great time…which left us feeling a bit outnumbered! It was great, though, to see Allison again!




Saturday was Game Day! Here's some of the bling that we gathered…all of this would be worn/carried to the game!




After getting decked out with our bling, lucky scarf, pompoms, etc - it was time to leave for the tailgate party...




The Tailgate Party was amazing! Food, drink, the marching band, cheerleaders, chancellor of Missouri - and 6,500 fans! It was a true sea of black and gold, and we spent some time watching the Missouri basketball team beat UCLA on some giant TV screens. We happened to meet up with some fans from our own little small town, and we had a great time pre-game….



A "selfie" at the tailgate party…




Soon, we were at the game…where we had the BEST SEATS EVER!!! We were on the 32-yard line, in the upper deck, in the first row! A birds-eye view of the action on the field…where we watched both bands come out to perform the National Anthem...




Soon, it was kick-off…and the game began. WHAT A GAME! We thought we came for a football game…ended up being at a track meet, where we saw 100-yard dashes up and down the field. Back and forth went the score - first, Missouri up…Go, Mizzou! Then Auburn was ahead…go, War Eagle! WHO WOULD PREVAIL??!! Such a nail-biter!!!!




When it was all done, Auburn won by a score of 59-42…certainly the highest scoring game I've ever witnessed in person! At the end of the game, the fireworks went off and the streamers fell…and although my #1 team lost, my #2 team won…so I was happy. And VERY PROUD of my Tigers!!! Both of them - hee hee!!!



#26 on my Bucket List (located on the right side of this page) can now be crossed off…and I came back to Kansas City one happy, happy girl.


The cost of the weekend:

Tickets to the SEC Championship Game: $200

Airfare/Motel costs for a weekend in Atlanta: $1,300

Spending it with my fellow-football-loving son: Priceless

Peace.