Frank read "they" were trying to get a group of fans together to meet at the Athletic Center and give the Seminoles a big sendoff prior to them heading out of town for the evening.
We got there a little early and fortunately, were able to catch a tour of the various facilities within the Athletic Center. I had seen it a couple of years ago when Lynne and I did the Women's Football Clinic, but Frank hadn't. Still as impressive as it was, but improved for the new era! After the tour, we headed outside to see the guys as they headed toward the buses.
Not quite as orderly as when they get off the bus. They seemed to come out of the locker room two by two with a lot of time in between. But most of the guys waved or high-fived or patted little kids on the head.
Coach Eddie Gran
Head Coach Jimbo Fisher bringing up the rear.
After sending off the team, we headed to DownTown GetDown and caught up with the Astors and Ruggeri crew. A couple of BYU fans were hanging around and we invited them to join us. (I have to say I was a caught a bit off guard as both of them had alcoholic beverages in hand!) After talking with Pat and Kelly, who are from Atlanta, their grandson got a scholarship to BYU and they were in town to cheer him on, but made it pretty clear they were not Mormans. :o)
We enjoyed a yummy dinner with the Astors at Avenue Eat and Drink, and headed back to the crash pad. We had a tailgate to get ready for!
Fortunately, the game wasn't until mid-afternoon so it made it much more palatable to do a tailgate. And we were looking forward to it, albeit a smaller version since we didn't have The Beast. In "honor" of our BYU opponents, the tailgate theme was alcohol-related: beer brats, beer-cheese dip, Kahlua brownies, etc.
Everyone huddled in the shade, around the TV.
Joanne, Little Nole Alden and Grandma Lee
Our friend Tim (white shirt) was working on a video for the Boosters and asked if he could include our tailgate and interview the Tailgate Coordinator Extraordinaire!
The Usual Suspects.
Janie and I won't complain about "wind-blown hair" - the breeze was WONDERFUL!
We got to our seats in plenty of time to enjoy all the pre-game traditions, including the flyover by a C130 as well as Chief Osceola and Renegade plant the spear!
After suffering such a horrible loss in Oklahoma, everyone was very curious what team would show up.
While there were a few mistakes, the whole team obviously worked hard during practice and it showed. At one point, Jimbo was so fired up because of a call by the refs! He was m-a-d mad, ranting up and down the sideline. Well that just got the crowd riled up and cheered all the more for the Seminoles and Jimbo. (We can't wait to see his show when we know he's going to be asked about it!)
It was a great game, good showing of Seminole spirit and ended with a win. (We were surprised how big the BYU crowd was, but learned there is a large Mormon contingent in Tallahassee..who knew?)
Next up - the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest come to Tallahassee. (Thankfully it's another 3:30pm game and hopefully the temperature will start to get a little cooler.)
