There aren’t many things I wdiould be willing to stand… or sit in -15 wind chill for; but College Game Day and Michigan State at Purdue University would be one of those. It all started Friday January 21st at 1pm. The lottery for seats started. I was in class. Does that mean I was paying attention? Not all the way… but I was there. When I got a text at about 1:18 I knew it was good. Avery texts me and says we got 12th in the lottery! Let’s just say I was PUMPED! I couldn’t wait! But, I knew that meant we wouldn’t have very good seats for GameDay, which was sad. But I was willing to sacrifice!
I knew it was cold.diss But you don't realize how cold -15 is until you sit/stand in it for 4 hours in 1 day. We were under a ton of blankets, and I'm pretty sure I had like 6 layers on. But, it didn't help. I was FREEZING! But, I knew in the long run it would be worth it, because I knew I would have great seats for the game, which was televised on ESPN; so freezing was okay. On my break I went to grab some dinner and I get a call from Brian as I am sitting there eating that the GameDay crew (Rece Davis, Digger Phelps (Yes, there are roads that lead to West Lafayette, Digger!), Jay Bilas, and Hubert Davis) were up visiting the Paint Crew while we were camping out. So, what did I do? I ran up the hill from The Knight Spot to Ross Ade just in time to get my picture taken with Jay and Rece... after Kyle and I chased them down the hill! :)
Then I got to sit some more. Audrey and I were there from 6:30-7:30. And boy did it get cold when the sun went down! :/ So we bundled up and watched Twilight to pass the time!
I got to go back to my warm and cozy bed for a little while... but I was back at Mackey at 5:55AM because they canceled the camping, so we had to be back by then to get in line for the role call for Gameday. So Jacob and I got there and stood out in the FREEZING cold! You don't realize how much the sun helps until it isn't there. Finally we get to go inside for a few minutes and we are greeted with doughnuts! Such a nice surprise. Especially since I hadn't eaten breakfast yet and we were going to be in Mackey until noon... at least.
Once we got pumped up, it was time for the show to actually start. It was so loud my ears were ringing. Chris and I were taking turns leading all of the cheers so we could save our voices some for the game. It sort of worked.
GameDay was one of those once in a life time experiences that I will never forget. It is something I will be able to tell my grandkids about one day!
Here are some pretty cool videos of the day too. You will have to look at them sideways though!
Digger dancing!
So after all of the GameDay festivities were over, we had about a 6 hour break before we had to be back in line to go into the game. So what did I do? I took a nap and rested my throat. It sorta worked. :)
At about 7 we went back up to Mackey to get inline and start the process of getting wrist bands and everything. It was pretty intense. It was probably the most excited line we have had all year. It all started when we were standing there and the MSU bus pulled up. What did we do? We boooooooooooooed them! Most of them didn't pay attention, but one thug did. He decided to show us how he felt about us... it wasn't very nice.
Also before the game we had some visitors. Dicky V and the Schwab came over! i got to shake Dicky V's hand baby!
Anyways, when we finally got inside, the game plan was to go behind the officers, but since that didn't work because people were already sitting there, we decided to go 3 rows up on the opposite side. AMAZING seats! I was PUMPED! :) Brian was talking to me and he told me to come down next to him for a minute and get on TV, so I did... and I was! People were texting me and writing on my wall that they saw me on TV! I was pretty pumped! i had my 10 seconds of fame several times on Saturday!
But right before the game started Tom Izzo came out and was watching them warm up, so I figure, what's the worst that could happen if I scream at him? So I did. And I have my sign in the air. "The Paint Crew Burns a Hole in the Izzone" I know he saw it. I got a head shake and a "nope" so that's when the war really started.
The game began. I have never heard Mackey that loud! My ears were ringing! We got up to 119 on the dB scale. 120 is hearing loss. That's a little nuts. We were rocking and MSU could never get started. It was awesome to see the boys come out with such intensity and passion!
Even coach Painter got into it!
At the end of the day, I had no voice and the Boiler came out with a huge win over MSU! I thought without a doubt Tuesday was going to be awesome as we went up to Columbus to face #1 tO$U.
But boy was I wrong.
99 of my closest friends and I left Mackey Arean at 4pm on Tuesday afternoon. We didn't get home until 4:15 Wednesday morning. I thought I would be happy riding home, but I wasn't. The ride up was long, but fun at the same time. We had WiFi on the bus and were watching movies so the time seemed to pass quickly.
We finally get to OSU and we get booed as soon as we get outside the stadium. And we didn't even start it. We were just singing Hail Purdue while we were waiting on Mike to get our tickets.
Once we finally get them, we begin the treck upward to our seats. Mind you, we only have about 5 minutes once we get into the stadium to find our seats and get situated. We made it. Right before the starting line ups. It was pretty cool. It was set up like a NBA stadium tough.
Yeah, that's how high up we were. But the team could still hear us, because A. they couldn't even sell out the stadium for the game. B. The fans weren't that loud. and C. We were CRAZY loud! ;)
Let's just say our excitement didn't roll over into the players. They came out flat. They looked like they didn't want to be there. I was embarrassed and frustrated and shocked. I had never seen a Matt Painter team come out so flat. I think they were coming off an emotional high and they didn't come out ready to play in a hostile environment. Let's just say I don't remember the score of that game for a reason. It was bad.
But, they did bounce back against Minnesota on Saturday and now have a tough stretch in front of them until March Madness starts. We have to prove something right now. And, I think we are ready!
Until later,
Boiler Up!
FINALLY 7:45 came! After 18 long hours, it came. We were going inside for GameDay. I couldn't believe that it was actually happening until i walked in there and saw the set. WOW! I knew this was going to be an awesome day! :) When we walk in I see a row at the very bottom with no one in it, so we ran down there and got them! I knew we were going to get some face time because of where we were. Right over the shoulder of Jay. I knew these were good... but I thought we could do better. I knew Brian had gotten a wrist band to get in the pit (right behind the GameDay set, on the floor, where the players sit.) So I asked him if we could have one, he said ask someone. So I asked Chris (the Mackey MadMan) if he wanted to be my BFF and he said why? I said can I have a wristband? He said for sure! i'll go get you one. Come down here girl. So I did. I was PUMPED! But, at the same time, I felt kind of bad because I left Jacob, Caleb and Bre up in the stands... but not for long. After a few minutes, Tom came down and said we had more wrist bands, go give them to your friends, so let's just say I grabbed 3 and was out of there. i ran them over to Bre, Caleb, and Jacob and Brian took some over to Brad, Emily, and Rachel. We were all on the floor! It was awesome!
Here are some pictures of the GameDay festivities...
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| One of the best signs of the day! Bobby chairs are for SITTING! |
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| we were taking in all of the craziness! |
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| The team gave all of us fives and them went up through the crowd... let's just say we were all a little nervous. Especially for Robbie and his knee! |
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| Brother and I right after I got a wrist band! |
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| This little boy was like running with Robbie down the stairs! So cute! |
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| Probably my favorite picture of the day! |
GameDay was one of those once in a life time experiences that I will never forget. It is something I will be able to tell my grandkids about one day!
Here are some pretty cool videos of the day too. You will have to look at them sideways though!
Digger dancing!
So after all of the GameDay festivities were over, we had about a 6 hour break before we had to be back in line to go into the game. So what did I do? I took a nap and rested my throat. It sorta worked. :)
At about 7 we went back up to Mackey to get inline and start the process of getting wrist bands and everything. It was pretty intense. It was probably the most excited line we have had all year. It all started when we were standing there and the MSU bus pulled up. What did we do? We boooooooooooooed them! Most of them didn't pay attention, but one thug did. He decided to show us how he felt about us... it wasn't very nice.
Also before the game we had some visitors. Dicky V and the Schwab came over! i got to shake Dicky V's hand baby!
 |
| He is a funny man! |
Anyways, when we finally got inside, the game plan was to go behind the officers, but since that didn't work because people were already sitting there, we decided to go 3 rows up on the opposite side. AMAZING seats! I was PUMPED! :) Brian was talking to me and he told me to come down next to him for a minute and get on TV, so I did... and I was! People were texting me and writing on my wall that they saw me on TV! I was pretty pumped! i had my 10 seconds of fame several times on Saturday!
But right before the game started Tom Izzo came out and was watching them warm up, so I figure, what's the worst that could happen if I scream at him? So I did. And I have my sign in the air. "The Paint Crew Burns a Hole in the Izzone" I know he saw it. I got a head shake and a "nope" so that's when the war really started.
 |
| He's nervous! |
The game began. I have never heard Mackey that loud! My ears were ringing! We got up to 119 on the dB scale. 120 is hearing loss. That's a little nuts. We were rocking and MSU could never get started. It was awesome to see the boys come out with such intensity and passion!
Even coach Painter got into it!
At the end of the day, I had no voice and the Boiler came out with a huge win over MSU! I thought without a doubt Tuesday was going to be awesome as we went up to Columbus to face #1 tO$U.
But boy was I wrong.
99 of my closest friends and I left Mackey Arean at 4pm on Tuesday afternoon. We didn't get home until 4:15 Wednesday morning. I thought I would be happy riding home, but I wasn't. The ride up was long, but fun at the same time. We had WiFi on the bus and were watching movies so the time seemed to pass quickly.
We finally get to OSU and we get booed as soon as we get outside the stadium. And we didn't even start it. We were just singing Hail Purdue while we were waiting on Mike to get our tickets.
Once we finally get them, we begin the treck upward to our seats. Mind you, we only have about 5 minutes once we get into the stadium to find our seats and get situated. We made it. Right before the starting line ups. It was pretty cool. It was set up like a NBA stadium tough.
Yeah, that's how high up we were. But the team could still hear us, because A. they couldn't even sell out the stadium for the game. B. The fans weren't that loud. and C. We were CRAZY loud! ;)
Let's just say our excitement didn't roll over into the players. They came out flat. They looked like they didn't want to be there. I was embarrassed and frustrated and shocked. I had never seen a Matt Painter team come out so flat. I think they were coming off an emotional high and they didn't come out ready to play in a hostile environment. Let's just say I don't remember the score of that game for a reason. It was bad.
But, they did bounce back against Minnesota on Saturday and now have a tough stretch in front of them until March Madness starts. We have to prove something right now. And, I think we are ready!
Until later,
Boiler Up!
