WOW. It’s all I can say. I’m back home in Atlanta where it’s snowing and the roads are all closed, missing Arizona’s beautiful weather and the buzz from such a major win. (and the cacti... loved them!) An amazing past few days, friends! To back up…
I woke up Monday AKA the day of the National Championship Game and we just chilled, rested, blogged and prepared. Our car came to get us at 11 and we were at the stadium by 11:30. We immediately took it all in – it’s just wild how they built this UFO-looking stadium in the middle of no where, and then created a mini time square around it of two stories of restaurants and bars. Wha?! We walked over and immediately bumped into Adam and Anne Marie and some of their friends. We also saw Kelly and Ryan! We ended up walking around and getting a bite to eat in Auburn’s Under Armour area, then we all headed out to the parking lot to Brandon’s tailgate (i.e. $10 gets you 12 beers rather than 1). I bumped into Margot there – loved catching up with her! And Nicole – great to be with Auburn people! Our ticket seller (new one we found on eBay the night before) met us there with tickets in hand, better seats then he promised since we were paying cash, but alas they were on the Oregon side. So he left to go figure it out.
We stayed out there and tailgated for a while, then headed toward the stadium to meet up with our ticket seller – WE GOT TICKETS! Even better seats, on the lower level, for not that much more – AMAZING. Austin was on a cloud. Then we headed to the stadium to meet Andy, Monica, Jamie, Candice and crew. SO AWESOME to see everyone – we all just kept saying we can’t believe we’re here! We decided to go in the stadium an hour early – why not? There is no where to tailgate near the stadium (with alcohol) or anywhere to buy it so we rolled in, bought programs, checked out our seats and took pictures. I won’t get ALL into the game, but let me just say that it was a nail-biter. One of our guys got hurt during kick-off. The new turf was slippery and everyone didn’t seem confident on the ground. We were up just about the whole game – they tied it up but in the end our kick won the game. You guys, it was amazing! I still can’t believe that Auburn is the national champion! I also couldn’t believe how many fans came out – so many just said they came to be in Arizona to watch it (which bode well since the weather in the Southeast went to shit in our absence). AU fans DEFINITELY outnumbered Oregon fans – it was pretty crazy.
Great area to celebrate the game! Glendale really did it right... aside from the fact that it's in the middle of no where
hehe tostitos were everywhere - the new flavor they gave out in the game was yummy
Austin and Andrew before the game
LOVED mini timesquare! 
how cute is it? Westgate was awesome.
Had to get Austin with his favorite domestic
Austin and Taylor in Under Armour tent/area
Austin and Emilio - our ticket seller - such a nice guy
Austin before we ended up with the tix from Emilio - a very stressed out guy
Austin, Adam and Brandon at the tailgate - tall boys!
Of course I had to put on that taco hat and stand with my cuban friend - duh
Austin outside the stadium, REAL tickets in hand = happy boy
Adam, Austin, Andy and Andy with their programs
Adam, Austin and Andy with their programs
Me and Austin - our tickets are OFFICIALLY real and not fake - we just got in
Adam, Anne-Marie, me, Austin, Andy and Mon!
Yesssssss we're in! Nice guy behind us offered to take pictures!
Smoke to introduce AU (sorry - these are a bit out of order hehe)
Awesome to see our B'ham friends - but it made us miss Mary & Jimmy even more!
this is how we won the game - setting up for the kick
winners! Me and lauren - a girl who sat next to me with her dad and a fellow Pi Phi from AU! (except she's like 6 years younger than me - lucky lady!)
Me and Austin admist the celebration
Meeing up the boys after - Jamie, Austin, Andy and Tyler
Me and Austin - my fave picture from the day.
Bumped into our buddy Ryan on the way out of the game
Spent the evening with Ryan and Kelly celebrating post-game - SO fun!
Austin loved those 1/2 yard beers - I want some of the glasses for the house but where would I store them?
Loved Yard House - yummy food too
A few fun tidbits:
- Favorite Signs: Shut the Duck up! War Eagle!; Going Hunting with CAM-O!; The 8th Wonder of the World: Grand Camyon; Duck Duck Lose!
- Oregon Random Facts: Those we asked didn’t know their mascot’s name. For real – we asked sets of people and it was like Puddles, Bubbles, Stanly, etc. So interesting! Must not be a tradition for them like our Aubie. Other interesting notes: they used duck calls. Why? Duck calls kill ducks. Now a lot of AU fans had duck calls. THAT made sense. Lastly: they were so nice. Like why not? Our rivalry was non-existent so it was a lot of “great catch Auburn!” “WOW – your guy is fast.” They were super friendly, except for the, I don’t know, 7 ‘Roll Tide’s’ I got that day. Um, support your own team, not our enemy who has nothing. To. Do. With. Today. Randar!
- Saban: Really? Why were you there? Why were you involved in our event? Last time I checked Auburn wasn't representing at your national championship game. I SO hope someone can uncover proof that our representatives were invited but declined because it’s just TACKY. Yes, this is how I felt about it. :)
So after the game we met with the group then walked over and met with Kelly and Ryan! Great to see them!! They had buddies at the Yardhouse so we had dinner (chicken tortilla soup) and awesome ½ yard beers - so cool! We stayed until the bar shut down, visiting with Kel and Ryan and having a blast. Then we all shared a cab, them heading to their hotel in downtown Phoenix and us heading to Erin’s hotel in old towne for a drink. Her and her cousin Brian are hilarious! We visited with them then cabbed it to Tempe – exhausting end to an amazing day – I’m still just so fortunate that we were able to go to Arizona, get real tickets, see Auburn win the national championship, meet so many great Arizona peeps, visit with so many of our Auburn besties – like it just really hasn’t hit me!
Q: What was the best part of your weekend? Mine was seeing our friends and shopping on Sunday – however, the best Monday of my life was definitely being in Arizona to see our Tigers win the game!
Q: Have you ever drank a ½ yard beer? I thought they were just so cool – I’d really never seen anything like them!
Last but not least - THANK YOU for all of your support with the scammer. That honestly did suck... :( And on a happier note - thank you very much for your sweet comments about my new bag - it worked out PERFECT! It even held my flats for when my boots got too painful!! :)
