Alabama / Arkansas Game

We were able to get tickets (thank you Mark and Jennifer) to the Alabama/Arkansas game on Saturday. Contralto's sister and some of her friends have a sky box at the Arkansas stadium. It seemed like a really good idea at the time to go to the game and to get to sit in the sky box. We really didn't realize how far we had infiltrated behind enemy lines. We were definitely in hostile territory. Although we were all attired in red, (Arkansas was conducting a red-out) we kinda felt like spies, with a great big A target on our backs. Brother-in-law Arkansas fan/graduate said that the Alabama A is easy to spot over the Arkansas A because we have a "gay A". haha

Being in the sky box has many perks. You get GREAT seats to see the game. You get lots and lots of free food. You get a TV that shows instant replays of the game. Sounds good on paper but I don't really recommend it if you are on the opposing team.

The game started very cool. They had 3 para-troopers to parachute into the stadium with the game ball. I'm not sure which one was carrying the ball. They had smoke and flags. It was awesome.

The good guys came in at our end of the stadium. The other guys came from the other end where the pig nose is. It actually was pretty cool, if you like pig stuff. haha

If you watched the game, you know that it didn't take long for Arkansas to get off to a very quick lead. Withing 50 seconds, and 2 plays, the score was 7-0 Arkansas. The stadium was complete bedlam. I don't think I've ever heard anything so loud for so long. While everyone else in the sky box was ecstatic, Sparky and I were sitting quitely in the corner. One of the men in the sky box told Sparky, "If Alabama loses this game, that houndstooth hat you are wearing is going out the window. He said it with laughter and with a smile but something told me that hat would be history. At halftime, the score was 17-7 Arkansas. I leaned over to Sparky and said, "Just give up your hat willingly. We'll buy you another one."

Well, if you watched the game, you know that Alabama pulled the game out and at the end, our scoreboard had more points than theirs did. It was one of the hardest games I've every witnessed. Every single play was intense and hard.

When the game was over, the Arkansas fans did not clear out. They just stood there for several minutes, stunned and in disbelief. Sparky and Contralto felt very awkward but we tried to be gracious and humble. As we were leaving, somewhere under the stands I heard someone yelling "Roll Tide". I thought, "Are you crazy? Keep your mouth shut and get out of here." Honestly. Everyone was very kind to us. It was a hard loss for them. They have a great team. I hope they don't move down in the rankings. They don't deserve it.

Sparky still has the hat.