I witnessed something the other day that makes me think Jesus is preparing to come gather his flock. Vanderbilt not only made it to a bowl, but they won. The last time we MADE it to a bowl, I was 10, the last time we WON a bowl--my mom was 10. And trust me, she's no spring chicken (lova ya Mom!)
There has been a long standing feud between Vanderbilt's football program and Haley's Comet to see which one could outdo the other. I think this battle is over, and the winner, clear. IN YOUR FACE EDMOND HALEY! 53 years beats 76 years all day long and twice on Sunday. And we had 23 years to spare. HA HA!
So anyway, in Revelations, I think it clearly infers that a Vandy bowl win is one of the first signs of the Apocalypse. So get ready--things could move quickly.
On to the day--it was wild and wooly. We decided to buy 4 tickets for Ging, myself, and the girls. We figured Jaybo would not have the attention span to last through cold temperatures and a football game that didnt involve Thomas the Tank Engine, Spiderman, or the Transformers. But, after thinking about it, that would be a pretty good game. Here is a pic of the girls as they prepared to leave. I love that they are wearing every imaginable color God created--EXCEPT Black and Gold...
Being the die-hard Vandy fan that I am, I was determined to cram as much stuff in as I could and still keep the family entertained. There was a Vandy bball game that morning at 11:00, and I have missed so many games this year despite having season tix, that I thought we would include that into our game day. Here is a pic we took at the thrashing of St. Francis:
The bball game was going to be over in the 1:00-1:15 range, and I knew we needed to get lunch, so I made the decision to leave the game with about 7 minutes left to head down to the Wendy's by Vandy to grab some food. I HATE to leave games early, but this was the call of the day. We walked right in, ordered and sat down with out meals. No less than 10 minutes later, the place was jam-packed with Vandy fans who had the same idea as me, but without the foresight to leave the game early. Decision vindicated. Ha ha all you johnny-come-latelys! Here is a picture I took with my Iphone of the line while we were eating. At one point we counted more than 50 people in line:
So then we had the bright idea to ride the shuttle service Vandy was offering from the hoops game to the Music City Bowl. I thought--this is convenient--we don't have to find a place to park or walk a long way, and we can just catch the shuttle back after the game and avoid the hassle. Good idea gone bad. We finally found the pickup locale for the shuttle (Vandy did a poor job explaining to folks where this was--it was nowhere near Memorial Gym), and proceeded to stand in line for almost an HOUR waiting on the shuttles. There were a couple of hundred people behind us as well, so who knows how long they had to wait. But, it wasn't too cold at this point, and we played a couple of games in line, garnering strange looks from the Vandy students standing behind us. Here are a couple of images of boredom, with me carrying 7 blankets for 4 people. Never did understand that one...
We finally got to the game, and had to split up. Why? Because one of my friends from high school came through with 2 seats on the 50 yard line 4 rows up from the Vandy bench. That's right--holla at my girl LWB!!! Thanks Lisa--I owe you one! So I had spent nearly $300 on 4 tickets (we bought club level) and ended up sending the girls to sit with their Aunt Amanda in the 300 sections while we sat on the 50.
The game speaks for itself. Here are a few shots we took. SEC > ACC. You guys already knew that.
Hard to see, but this is Jay Cutler on the sidelines in the brown coat.
This is my cousin DJ Moore getting attended to on trainer's table.
Great seats--Thanks LISA!!
Game Over--MADNESS ENSUES!!!
One Happy Commodore Fan and His Wife!!
Post-game reunion--even more colors, still no black and gold.
After the game, we decided to let my bro-in-law, JC, drive us back to our car so we could talk about the game (plus everyone was coming over to our house for New Years). So we walk out into the parking lot towards the car, and we walk, and we walk, and we walk. By this time, it is REALLY cold, and with 4 kids, and my older sister, who was not wearing many layers because she got to sit in a heated suite, the situation was turning dire. JC was convinced that his car had been stolen. Everyone except he and I went back inside to the merchandise store to get warm and avoid frostbite, which at this point, was indeed a reality. JC flagged down a security guy in a golf cart who eventually found it (much to my shock, it had not been stolen, wink wink), we got in the car, and savored the only Vandy bowl victory in my lifetime.
So all this to say--you need to get some religion quickly. Events of epic proportions are happening. For many Vanderbilt fans, their lives are complete as they have witnessed something that they never thought possible, that rivals the Seven Wonders of the World. Get right with God, and get right now.
In conclusion, I would like to share a Youtube video from a Vandy fan that sums up the way I felt as the seconds ticked off the clock in a way I could never describe with words. I saw grown men crying, holding their heads in their hands, and with a look of decades-long satisfaction as we finally got the 800-lb. monkey off our backs. Congrats, Vandy fans--we deserve it!
