Minutes to Memories

I went on my first blog-venture of 2008, and had a (cue Tony the Tiger) GRRR-EAT time watching the BCS National Championship Game at the Superdome in New Orleans.

I am indebted to my friend, DeJon, forever and ever. He bought his parents tickets as a Christmas present to his dad, and he ended up with four tickets and only three people. I am both stunned and honored that he asked me to tag along, and I had an unbelievable time. I am an Arkansas Razorback fan, and thus an SEC fan. So, though it was strange to be so fully an LSU Tiger fan for one night (chanting L-S-U so many times my throat is sore today), it was just a whole lot of fun. GO TIGERS!!!

You can check out a folder of my pictures from yesterday HERE.

New Orleans was nuts. I knew it would be nuts, but it was more crowded and more crazy than I expected. I did get to park right next to the Dome for $20, which was refreshing…

I bought a BCS championship shirt first thing, since I didn’t have any purple or gold shirts in the closet, and then walked around the French Quarter for a while before meeting up with DeJon and his parents. We sat and talked (mostly about law school since, coincidentally, DeJon is applying to law schools right now, too) and wandered before deciding to head the mile or so back to the Superdome.

On the long walk back to the Dome, we stopped in the Ritz-Carlton for a potty break (I mean, if you gotta go, you might as well go at the Ritz-Carlton). There, we saw both Jimmy Johnson and Urban Meyer in the lobby. I was going to get my picture made with Jimmy Johnson, but he was on a cell phone when we started to leave and looked like he was in a hurry. He had posed for a few pics with others and seemed really gracious.

When we made it back to the Dome, we stood on the bridge, enjoying the cool breeze and 70 degree temps on a perfectly overcast day, and watching the assorted fruitcakes that continuously gathered around. When you check out my pics, you’ll see a pregnant LSU fan who had painted a tiger on her pooching belly, one of the reporters from the Best Dang Sports Show Period interviewing some wildly costumed characters, and other various and sundry oddities.

They opened the Dome at 4:30pm and we went in right away. Our seats were simply awesome. We were behind the E in the OHIO STATE endzone. We were officially on Row 17, but the actual seating started on Row 9, so we were actually on the 9th row. The end zone we sat in witnessed 6 of the 8 touchdowns scored in the game, including both of Richard Dickson’s TDs (my man from OCEAN SPRINGS!!!).

DeJon and I wandered over to the TV stage and saw Eddie George, Jimmy Johnson, Urban Meyer, etc. We also saw Archie Manning wandering around a bunch, along with lots of Fox Sports dudes and dudettes.

The game, of course, was great, and LOUD – a raucous, fun atmosphere.

When the game ended, we stayed for the trophy presentation and pretty much waited until all the players finally wandered off the field and into the dressing room. I left the Dome at 11:30, was on I-10 by 11:50, and home and in bed at 1:30am.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of night. Simply unforgettable.