Florida State (Orange Bowl, BCS National Championship Game) On the way back from KC I had told my boys that there was no way I could afford to take them to the Orange Bowl. They were disappointed but said they understood. As soon as we got home I got on the computer and started checking out prices for plane tickets to Miami…..for three. We ended up taking one other person so I had to get four tickets. Once I found out for sure the fourth person was going I left work and ran home to book the tickets. In my haste to get the plane tickets booked and back to work I inadvertently booked the return flight at 8:30 PM instead of 8:30 AM on 01/04/2001. With the plane tickets secured I then booked a motel and a rental car so all that was left was to find some tickets for the game. I did not want to go down several days before the game because I knew I would not enjoy myself thinking about the game so I had booked the flight down on 01/03/2001 the day of the game but early enough that we would be there by 11:00 that morning in plenty of time. I started searching eBay for three tickets since the person that was going down with us already had his ticket to the game and was going to set with his uncle and his family who had gone down right after Christmas. Every auction on eBay was for two or four seats but not three. After looking for a week for tickets someone suggested that I buy two tickets and then look for a single even though it would mean not setting with my boys. As bad as I hated to do that I went ahead and won an auction with “Buy It Now” on two tickets FOR FACE VALUE!!!! Nearly all the tickets that were being auctioned were from Virginia Tech fans who were sure that Vick was going to have them back in the title game and had bought tons of tickets. I guess Vick was too busy at the dog fights to lead his team to the Orange Bowl. With two tickets secured I got the bright idea to use eBay as a buying tool and not a selling tool. I made a listing like I had something for sell but instead of selling my listing read I NEED THREE ORANGE BOWL TICKETS. I explained not to bid on this but instead email me if you have three tickets for sell. I listed my email address and ask anyone with three tickets to email me. The first evening, when I got home, I had over 150 emails from people with tickets for sell. The problem was 99.9% were for two or four tickets. All in all I ended up getting over 500 emails from people trying to sell their tickets. A few weeks later, long after we were back from Florida, I got a really nasty email from eBay saying if I ever did anything like that again they would suspend my account. Finally I got an email from a VT fan with three for sell. We agreed on a price and I sent him a money order. He said as soon as he got the money order he would send the tickets USPS Next Day Delivery. I sent the money order USPS Next Day and he emailed me that he had the money order and the tickets would go out the next day. The day he sent the tickets out was on Saturday December 23. I really didn’t expect the tickets until that Tuesday since the 24th was Sunday and Monday was Christmas Day. On Sunday the 24th, when we got home from church there was a tag on the door from the USPS saying they tried to deliver a package but since it had to be signed for they would try again on the next business day. On Christmas Day my father-in-law came over for Christmas dinner. It was snowing and cold when he knocked on the door. After I let him in we started walking to the den when someone started knocking on the door. Wondering who in the world it could be I opened the door to see the postman standing there with an envelope. I signed the release and took the envelope into the bedroom. After opening it up and verifying that the three tickets were there I went to the den and got ready for Christmas dinner, with everything in place to go to the Orange Bowl. After getting the email from the guy with three tickets I had listed the other two tickets on eBay and ended up making $150.00 more then I paid on them so I came out really good on that deal. I was thrilled that the tickets had come on Christmas day since my boys were still unaware that they were going to the game. My wife had bought them each a Big 12 Championship shirt and had wrapped them in a box along with an orange that said “Orange Bowl Bound”. That evening we told them there was one more present to open and my wife went and got the boxes. They both started opening them at the same time with my oldest son getting his opened first. He pulled out the shirt and held it up. My wife said “what else is in the box”? He pulled out the orange and held it up. My wife said “what does it say”? He replied “Orange Bowl Bound”! My wife said "what does that mean" and he said "OU is going to the Orange Bowl" to which I replied “No that means YOU are going to the Orange Bowl”. With that my youngest son started tearing into his box to make sure he had an orange that said the same thing since he had not got to go to Notre Dame the year before. After pulling out his orange he yelled “I’m going too”! To this day I don’t think they have ever had a Christmas present that was better then that. To be continued…………..
Florida State (Orange Bowl, BCS National Championship Game)……………continued As the day drew closer to the game it was all my kids could talk about. I had made a motel reservation by DFW on the day before the game because our flight was to leave at 7:00 in the morning. About fifteen minutes before we were heading out the door to go and get the other person that was going with us the phone rang. The caller ID said UNKNOWN so I started not to answer it. Thinking, oh what the heck, I picked the phone up and said hello. The next voice I heard was Chastity from Delta Airlines. She asked if anyone had called me about my flight. I replied that no one had called and she then went on to inform me that my flight had been canceled. I said rather loudly “My flight has been canceled”! My boys hearing this were going “Our flights been canceled”! It was then that Chastity told me not to worry that they had rebooked me on a non-stop flight that would arrive in Ft Lauderdale at 8:15………..PM! I said “lady we are going to the Orange Bowl if we get there at 8:15 PM we will miss the game”. She said “Oh my gosh hold on”. After about a fifteen minute wait she came back on the phone and told me that she had booked us on American Airlines non-stop leaving at 7:30 the next morning. She said just go to the Delta terminal in the morning and they would give me the tickets for the AA flight. I told the boys to come on we are going. After picking up our fourth we headed to DFW. Before we even went to the motel I told the boys that we were going to the airport and get out tickets today so we could be at the AA terminal and get our boarding passes as soon as they opened in the morning. We drove straight to the airport and parked. We went inside and I explained to the lady at the ticket counter what was going on. She said she would fix us right up. In the meantime one of the boys came over and said “there is a flight leaving to Ft Lauderdale in 40 minutes”. I ask the lady at the ticket counter if she could get us on that flight. She said “you want to get on that flight”? To which I replied “Lady, I will ride in the overhead bin if you can get us on that flight”. She said to let her check but the flight was full so she gave us our tickets and we headed to the motel. We checked into the motel and head to Grapevine Mills Mall and had dinner at Chili’s. After eating we went back to the motel and watched the Sugar Bowl before going to bed. The next morning we were at the airport at 5:00 AM. We got our boarding passes and all three boys headed off to look for something to eat for breakfast. I just sat reading the paper at our gate. My youngest son was the first to make it back and he sat down beside me. By then it was around 6:30 and they announced that our flight was full and if anyone was willing to give up their seat they would give them $300 and guarantee you would be on the next flight at 10:30. My son said “Wow that's $1200 for all four of us let’s do it”. I told him if he wanted to take a chance on that next plane having a problem and missing the football game he was welcome to stay behind but I was getting on this plane as soon as they started boarding. He decided that with all that had happened that would probably be a good idea. The other two boys wandered back down and in fifteen minutes they started boarding the plane. Around thirty minutes later we took off for Florida and a date with the Florida State Seminoles. To be continued.............
Florida State (Orange Bowl, BCS National Championship Game)……………continued After an uneventful flight we landed in Ft Lauderdale and picked up our rental. We then drove to the motel and checked in so we could dump our bags in the room. After driving around a bit we stopped and had lunch at Hooters looking out over the Atlantic. Back to the motel to rest up a little before heading to Pro Player Stadium and a date with destiny. I watched a weather forecast just before leaving the motel and not once was the word rain mentioned. Thinking it was okay I left our rain gear in the room. We arrived at the stadium about four hours before the game and went to the Miller Lite Orange Bowl Tailgate Party that was going on before the game. The boys and I had a picture taken that had us looking like we were in OU uniforms on the cover of a USA Today, with the Sears Trophy, saying Sooners win National Title. We then walked over to the stadium and picked up some tee-shirts and other souvenirs before heading back to the car to deposit our loot. On the walk to and from the stadium hundreds of FSU fans informed us “we didn’t have a chance in hell” and “load up your wagon and head back to Oklahoma”. As soon as the stadium opened we headed inside and found our seats. As game time approached I wasn’t nervous in the least. I had actually been more nervous at the OSU game then I was one hour before the National Championship game. The clock ticked down and Patti LaBelle was going sing the National Anthem. For some reason she didn’t make it so native son Toby Keith, after having to stop and restart due to the FSU fans chanting and chopping, sang The national Anthem before a sold out Orange Bowl crowd. With Denzel Washington doing the coin toss and Torrance Marshall asking for Josh Heupels trophy back the game was just minutes from beginning. After going to the first 12 games of the season, win or lose the Sooners had taken me on an incredible journey that would never be forgotten. To be continued.............
Florida State (Orange Bowl, BCS National Championship Game)……………continued When Chris Weinke threw a 35-yard completion on the first play of the game, my youngest son flopped into his seat and said “they are going to kill us”. I told him to get up and watch the game. Little did we know then that would be the longest play of the night for FSU. The defense held and it was our turn. We moved the ball but Andre Woolfolk fumbled and the Seminoles had the ball in OU territory and what would have seemed to be momentum. Torrence Marshall, was the momentum killer, on the next play with an interception of Weinke. The Sooners drove down to the FSU nine yard line but the drive stalled and we had to settle for a field goal. At this point I would have never believed that would be all the scoring in the first half, let alone all the points we would need to win the game, but that was the case and the Sooners took a slim 3-0 lead into the locker room. In the second half it was more of the same with FSU missing a field goal and OU returning the favor. A 42-yard field goal by Tim Duncan with 4:24 left in the third period, and the lead had doubled the lead to 6-0. The fourth quarter ended with OU hanging on to that slim lead. In the fourth quarter the OU defense made some outstanding play. The kind of plays that win National Championships. On a fourth down-and-ten from the OU 35, Derrick Strait tipped away a Weinke's pass that would have been a touchdown. On FSU’s next possession, they were faced with a third down at its ten. On the play, a scrambling Weinke ran seven yards but was hit by Calmus and the ball squirted loose, and safety Roy Williams recovered at the Seminoles' 15-yard line. Two plays later, Quentin Griffin darted into the end zone from ten yards out and the game, for all practical purposes, was over. We had aisle seats and were seated amongst a throng of Seminole fans and right after Q scored my youngest son jumps into the aisle and starts doing the FSU tomahawk chomp going O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a, O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a. I grabbed him and yanked him back to his seat telling him the last thing I need is to get into a fist fight with some pi$$ed off Nole fan. There were four, twenty something, Miami fans seated three rows behind us and they were pretty buzzed. All game they had yelled for FSU so they could get a share of the title. As the clock ticked off the final seconds they broke out into a “We're #2, We're #2” chant that even had a few FSU fans laughing. Only a bad snap over punter Jeff Ferguson's head in the final minute kept OU from shutting out Florida State and winning the game 13-0, the same as their record but it really didn’t matter. I just want to mention Ontei Jones. He was all over the field never letting Florida State get any kind of return game and just wasting several guys in the process. With OU running out the clock I stood there wishing my dad was alive to see this. As tears welled up in my eyes I hugged my boys thankful, not so much that OU had won the title, but the fact the three of us had just shared a memory that would last a lifetime. We headed over to my best friends seats and celebrated with them watching Bob Stoops accept the crystal ball and the players hugging each other. For players like Josh Norman, Rocky Calmus and a few other players this was extra sweet. After going through the Blake years to this must have seemed like a dream. But it wasn’t a dream and even as I type this I glance over at the picture of my boys and me, with the scoreboard in the background, just to make sure it wasn't. It just doesn’t get any better then this. To be continued.............
Florida State (Orange Bowl, BCS National Championship Game)……………continued After the celebration we headed out of the stadium and to the car. On the way out Lance West with channel 4 was there and boys got on TV back home. We got to the car and worked our way back to the Interstate. 90% of the traffic had cleared out seeing how most of it was FSU fans, and they got out of there in a hurry. Driving up the Interstate, towards the motel we passed the truck pulling the trailer with Boomer and Sooner inside. We honked and waved and they honked and waved back. When we finally arrived back at the motel it was late. After watching ESPN do a wrap up on the game we got to bed because we had to get to the airport early in the morning for our flight back, or so I thought. Getting up at 6:00 with about four hours sleep I showered and woke the boys so we could return the rental and get to the airport. Needless to say they weren’t experiencing an adrenalin rush like I was and could barely stay awake. Once we cleared security at the airport my youngest son headed off to find something to eat and the other two boys found a place to park and went back to sleep. Finding a monitor I start looking for our gate. I see flights to Dallas but not our flight number. Finally I walk over to a gate that is getting ready to start boarding for Dallas and I get in line to talk to the GA. When I get up to the counter the GA ask if he could help me and I ask what gate our flight left from. He looked at the tickets looked at me looked at the tickets and then said; “You do realize these tickets are for 8:30 PM”. My first thought is we are going to be stuck at the airport for twelve more hours. I said I didn’t realize I had made the return flight for 8:30 PM and thanked him. He said hold on a minute I might be able to get you on this flight. He told me to give him all of our tickets and wait there close by and he would call my name if he was able to get us on. I then head out to get the boys and get all of us to that gate incase he could get us on that flight. I found my youngest son eating a bowl of cereal at a little coffee shop and hollered for him to come on. He said he was almost through and I said “NOW”! He turned the bowl up and gulped the cereal down and came running. I found the other two boys and told them to come on, that I had made the return for 8:30 PM instead of AM but they might get us on this flight that was leaving. We all got to the gate area and waited. He called out about a dozen names on the standby list and I had just about given up hope when he called my name. We all went running up to the counter and he gave us our boarding passes. He apologized because he couldn’t seat us together and I told him that was fine I just appreciated him getting us on that flight. We had to make a connection in Atlanta but he told me they should have all our info when we get there and there were plenty of seats on that flight so we shouldn’t have a problem. We had just barely gotten seated when the plane started moving. After we took off I started going around too see if the boys were okay. Just about as I expected the two oldest boys were asleep and my youngest was watching the Simpson’s on the TV monitor in the plane. After a short flight to Atlanta we got off the plane and I was worried we would have to go half way around the airport to get to our gate. Much to my surprise our gate was only three gates from where we had just arrived and we walked right over. I told the gentleman at the counter that we had been standby in Ft Lauderdale and before I even told him my name he said I have your boarding passes right here. We had to wait around thirty minutes before they started boarding our flight but before long we were on our way to Dallas. When we got to Dallas we called the motel for the shuttle, where we had stayed on the way down, because we had left the car parked there while we were gone. As we stood at the curb waiting for the shuttle I told them “Boys enjoy this because you will never see another season like this one”. “We may win ten more National Titles in your lifetime but there will never be another season a magical as this”. I don’t really know if they understood what I was talking about at the time but I think over the last six years they have come to understand that teams don’t start 19th and win National Titles. It’s hard to start first and win without some breaks along the way. The shuttle arrived; we got to the car and started for home. As we were driving up I-35 we passed this car with Nebraska tags and as we got beside it there were two girls in the car. We waved at them and they gave us the one finger salute. We just laughed at them and drove on. Thirteen games played and thirteen games won, I was lucky enough to have attended all of them. Sometimes you just catch magic in a bottle. Make that Sooner Magic in a bottle.
My Orange Bowl Road trip 2004 in detail Saturday night the 1st (New Year’s Day): 10:05- It all starts out in Norman after eating quite possibly the best chicken grilled stuffed burrito of all time. I leave my car in a banged up apartment complex and patiently await for my GREYHOUND bus to arrive. 11:09- While waiting in a dark alley where I'm sure rapes and drug deals occur on an hourly basis....The bus pulls up promptly 30 minuets late. The bus driver, a very outspoken black woman asks where I'm going. I reply "Dallas to Miami" she laughs and says "good luck with that chief" This is my first clue to the madness about to ensue on my orange bowl bus trip. After our driver takes a lengthy sabbatical to the phone she proceeds to tell me the bus is full, and I have to stand until the next stop......!@#$..... 12:00 midnight Sunday morning- I'm numb in my left leg and a strange child is sleeping on my other leg....I've been standing for 55 minuets...and my legs give out when we hit large bumps. I meet this guy next to the strange sleeping child that brings up how much he wants to be bonging vodka....I realize my search for entertainment is over....we discus the meaning of life and why exactly we eat mcdonals even though we know whats in it...it was a good time 12:20 Paul’s Valley Oklahoma- We're finally at our first stop and the blood clot in my left leg has just cut loose. I finally get a seat next to an angry red neck and realize my person space bubble will not be existent for about 37 hours.... 1:00 AM- I find out very quickly Greyhound buses are large rolling cess pools......Filthy spawns of hell.....This bus has culture this is no boring a@# plane....psshhh. 2:45 AM Dallas- We're in a Dallas gas station named TA express....which I quickly find means "T & A express"....I've never seen more hookers in my life. 3:00 AM Dallas- We change buses and I sit about 5 feet away from possibly the stinkiest man alive.......Every 10 minuets like clock work this machine of filth let out the most spine numbing nastiness known to man...I try to ignore it with my new friends I've made on the trip but I find it increasingly difficult to ignore anything when I can't breath. 6:00 AM- I'm delirious....me and my roadies have covered every conversation imaginable.....from ghosts, to politics....to how my new motion pillow feels like boobs...I start to zone out... 8:30 AM- Trying to sleep before Shreveport LA the gentleman in front of me reclines his seat into my effing lap. I'm so tired I contemplate saying something but this man is probly packing heat....so I don’t....I need a beer....I try to sleep 11:47 AM- I wake up in easily the most uncomfortable position known to man. I have slept on my a$$ bone wrong and I can't feel my right leg. Walking to the bathroom is now a chore since I'm sure I have spine damage and my left shoulder jerks when I move my right leg. 11:55 AM- Baton Rogue looks like a scene out of the movies. I can imagine little kids playing in the sprinkler over the summer, drinking coke cola out of glass bottles, while an old man plays bayou music on the porch in a wife beater and boxers. 6:00 PM- I get to change seats! Hell yah! I get two seats to myself....the gloriousness of this cannot be explained in words though I am still tired and disgruntled. The man in front of me asks if I'm ok....I just grunt and eat my cheese nips...this man fears me....I don’t care 7:00 PM- I have not seen an attractive woman for 24 hours. Attractive women do not exist in this world I currently reside in. I go to sleep 6:30 PM- The bus we're on decides to friggin break down, I'm still under the influence of Tylenol PM and I'm zoning out in the terminal. I look stoned I guess and a man offers to sell me some "Calvin" and "Rock".....I don’t say anything, and eat my newly purchased gummy worms 6:45 AM- After some confusing actions take place the US border control comes onto the bus to check for US citizenship. A man sitting one seat to my left does not speak English, he has no passport, and they cuff him about 1 foot away from me. Another alien is spooked and tries to make a run for it....this man is not very fast and is taken down outside my window after swinging at 2 officers. 12:00 PM- I've made it to Ft. Lauderdale but my friends don’t get in until at least 6:00. I cab over to the hotel and wait it out. I meet older OU alumni from Kansas and even some OU fans from Nebraska. Deprived of sleep and food I'm positive I look like a homeless man and regret meeting sooner fans looking like a crack head. 6:00 PM- I've been sleeping by the hotel pool for 6 hours now....I'm positive people thing I'm homeless 6:05 PM- My friend Nat shows up, Hell yah! Let’s get some McDonalds. We eat like 8 pounds of food and decide to go to the bar. 8:00 PM- We meet up with Logan who apparently is our designated driver for the trip even though he drinks heavily. We hit the bar up called "soer apple" I tell them about the typo on the name, they're not amused. Auburn/ V. Tech games on....Auburn squeaks by V tech. The bartender is kind of cute....after 7 beers. 10:00 PM- We pick up more friends, Ben and His brother Bobby from the hotel. Nat gets a tip from the bartender earlier to try this place called "elbo room"....Another very clever choice of spelling....Its on the beach so why not. We get to Elbo room, and Bobby isn't old enough to get in. So we head down to another bar. We're all ID'ed again except our server Rachael is awesome. Logan gets her number, I find a 20 on the ground, and Bobby gets beer we all win. 2:00 AM- Slightly buzzed we all find out bars are open in Florida until 4:00.....hell yah, I'm down. Bobby and Logan have vanished.... Nat, Ben and myself hit another bar. I drink a couple more beers until some woman buys me easily the strongest rum and coke I've ever had....I'm a happy man. Liquid courage sets in, and Ben decides to hit on this moderately good looking middle aged woman. He crashes and burns....Its cool though, we're in Miami, the weather is nice, and I'm drunk dialing everyone in my phone. Life is good 4:00AM- We're trying to drive home....Bobby keeps talking about this store called 24 hour taco. I see a trend in our scenery....old caddys, and lincoln town cars everywhere...... We've slipped into the projects of Miami.....We're rolling 5 drunk white guys deep, in a rental dodge neon, with the beach boys "Barbara Ann" cranked up in the car....in the ghettos of Miami....Fabulous.... Tuesday: 10:00 AM- I wake up with the worst hangover I've ever had. I go to the sink and drink about 3 gallons of water.....water is the nectar of the gods when hung over, except Florida water tastes like an armpit. I'm in no position to complain. 2:00 PM- Time to tailgate. We ride out to the stadium and park. 2 o'clock is now "beer o'clock" We go to the store and buy the cheapest miller light known to man. Its sold to us by the miller light girls....God bless the miller light girls....they're great sales women...we buy lots of beer. 2:05 PM- The miller light girls aren’t good sales people, we've been fooled happily by T and A. 5:00 PM- We've killed 3 18 packs of miller light....I'm waisted...I want to talk smack on USC but I cannot form complete sentences. I have to pee for the 8th time in 20 minuets. The lines to the port-a-potties are getting longer and I wait it out 5:12 PM- finally get into the potty; I forget to leave my beer outside. There is a cup holder in the potty.......This may be simultaneously the best and grossest idea in the history of man. I leave the potty 10 pounds lighter, but I forget my beer....bah....the beer is damned to the potty forever. 5:35 PM- Lynn Swan from ESPN walks by and bumps into me and says..."excuse me" I'm like its freaking Lynn swan and want to say "Mr. Swan I'm a huge fan of your work and that catch you made for the stealers during the super bowl, God bless you Mr. Swan" What came out sounded more like "Swaaaannnzzyyy!!::giggle giggle::".....He looks at me like he was just analy violated.....I see his disgust and comprehend hugging him...."sober Joe" interjects I listen to "sober Joe" 5:35 PM- I find Nat who has now holstered a Miller light 18 box to his belt. He says he has to pee, I tell him about the cup holder in the potty, he seems uninterested and his eyes show a sense of urgency. We run into Ben on our Voyage we find a potty line for Ben to stand in but this is completely unacceptable for Nat. We try to find Nat a spot to pee out of the public eye but nothing is available....he looses control and whips it out and punishes an Azalea bush with his liquid fury out in the open. Many see, few care. 6:00 PM Stadium is open...we find our seats. I have faith in my sooners. My fellow comrades and legions of sooners commence **** talk and boast proudly of our future sooner victory. We rule the pre game kingdom. 8:00 PM- KICK OFF!!!!! 8:05 PM- OKLAHOMA SCORES!!! We are now sure of our sooner victory!! 8:06 PM- USC scores.....S#@!.....just a set back.... 8:09 PM- I notice something troubling....USC is strong, USC is fast, USC is very ****ed off at Oklahoma 9:00 PM- halftime....I'm still drunk and starting to get the post drunk "earthquake head ache"..... Ashley Simpson starts to sing....the head ache gets worse.....Oklahoma is getting killed 10:30 PM- After the 8th consecutive "worst effing call I've ever seen in my life" I head to the bathroom....I see an obviously drunk and disgruntled man kicking the wall, I say "chill man, don’t you think you're taking this a bit to seriously".....He grunts and swings his arms in a fury at the urinal, he goes out of control and throws a paper towel at the wall... in doing so he clips his face with his thumbnail cutting a one quarter inch gash above his left eye.....he stops to see the blood now blending in with his crimson shirt and gives me a look like "I may be taking this a bit to seriously" Wednesday: 12:00 midnight- USC tears us a new a$$ hole...I feel like I just payed someone to hit me in the testicles with a 9 iron for 4 hours. 1:00 AM- Time to drown our sorrows 1:10 AM- We arrive at hard rock Casino. I'm starving. I order my first beer. The beer sells out quickly...I stick with long island iced teas. Logan calls our former waitress Rachael to come hang out.... 3:00 AM- Rachael shows up and we're all drunk. Ben puts a dollar in a slot machine and wins like 5 dollars....I call BS....he puts that 5 dollars in the slot machine and wins like 16 dollars.....Ben is now addicted to gambling....I try it out I loose 5 dollars....psshh 3:04 AM- Ben is now 30 dollars in the hole 3:30 AM- We do what college students do best when drunk....talk politics...good conversation commences 4:00 AM- Me and Rachael have been talking for a while now while Ben is passed out on the couch, Bobby is belligerent, Logan has disappeared and Nat is still drinking. 5:00 AM- We all stumble out of the casino, Rachael mentions a hot tub....hot tub sounds good....I go to Rachael's 6:00 AM- We don’t go near the hot tub instead talk about politics some more 6:30 AM- This leads to philosophy 7:00 AM- This leads to kissing..... 7:30 AM- We just met each other like 5 hours prior to this event and my drunk self is confused...Both a little freaked out by these untimely events she drives me to the hotel....we'll keep in touch, like I said before Rachael is the awesome. 8:00 AM- pass out on the floor 4:00 PM- time to get up and go home 5:46 PM- I go to the bus station after a taxi robs me blind, and sit down....a crack head walks in and says "blashed meh rah tupatasah ::laugh:: meh blacks azz. He continues to talk to himself and laugh. I think about talking to him.....a part of me thinks this is not wise.....20 seconds later a larger woman stoned off her gourd on meth is hitting the window and talking gibberish. 6:20 PM- Bus shows up, thank God......I see a drug dealer arrested outside my window...I've slipped into Dante’s 9th ring of hell.... Thursday: 12:00 AM- Tired and horribly emotional, I write a 4 page essay and listen to Enya cds.....I meet a fellow Normanite on the bus named Michelle....trip back is going to be easier 6:30 PM- Houston.......This is the filthiest stop yet...a police officer escorts a man outside...the man jacks the officer in the face. I partially crap myself...the man is taken down and cracked in the head. 5:00 AM- our bus is 3 hours behind schedule... 5:30 AM- a man stumbles in and passes out in the middle of the floor in Dallas......everyone is freaked out, he is dragged off by paramedics......The trip back has slipped into the twigh light zone. We are held in Dallas for an extra 2 hours and its freezing cold here 8:45 AM- I take it back....Oklahoma is freezing cold..... 11:45 AM- I'm home.....I walk into my house and realize I haven’t slept on a bed in close to a week......This is the conclusion of the absolute insanity that was my Orange Bowl road trip........ God Bless the all mighty road trip. Boomer Sooner! -Bosley
Information on A.A. Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
That story contains snippets of a story I remember of a Texas fan's account of his trip to the 1999 Big 12 Championship game.
I think I know what you're talking about, dont think there is any except the line big, fast and ****ed off. Could be wrong though, I wrote this years after I read that account.
2000…The conclusion After going to all thirteen games there was no way I was going to miss the championship celebration. I don’t remember exactly how many people were at the event but it seems like it was in the 25,000 to 35,000 range. David Boren spoke, the OU Glee Club, or whatever they are called, sang and Toby Keith sang the National Anthem, just like he did a few days earlier in the Orange Bowl. Players and coaches were introduced and we just sat and soaked in the whole thing. When Toby Keith sang “How do you like me now”, with the season highlights going on the SoonerVision I got goose bumps. When it was all over, as we walked to the car, all my boys could talk about was next year. All I wanted to do was enjoy this year.
2001 I am just going back to picking my favorite game of the year and mentioning a few other games. After going to all thirteen games in 2000 my youngest son decided he wanted to go all the games in 2001. That would include trips to Colorado Springs, Colorado, Lawrence, Kansas, Lincoln, Nebraska and Lubbock, Texas. Since I had planned to go to the Air Force game the other three wouldn’t be that much trouble. Just to mention a few things about the road trips. I was sicker than a dog when we went to Lawrence, but all of the great Kansas City bunch (that used to post on here) had a fantastic tailgate before the game. I just wish I had felt well enough to enjoy it. I miss all those guys posting on here. At the Nebraska game I had gone to the restroom and missed seeing Jason White tear his ACL. When I got back to my seat my son said “It doesn’t look good” and it wasn’t. Memorial Stadium, in Lincoln, has to be one of, if not, the dumpiest stadium in the Big 12. The seats are only big enough for Paris Hilton boney butt and even that would be a tight fit. The restrooms are nasty, the seats are splintered, 75% of the seats are end zone seats and it looks like some drunk with an Erector Set put it together. I would even have to say as crappy as T. Boone stadium was, I would rather watch a game there then in Lincoln. You would think after all these years and the tradition they have they would have spent some of the money upgrading their facilities. As far as the self proclaimed “Best Fans in the World” my son and I were flipped off dozens of times driving around Lincoln the Friday night before the game. I guess that’s why it’s self proclaimed. The closest I have ever come to getting in a fight at a game was in Lubbock. The really sad thing was it was with some drunken Sooner fans that were cussing and making complete asses of themselves. After I finally told them one more obscenity and I was getting security they finally shut up. And some people wonder why other team’s fans don’t like us. My favorite game of 2001 is, without a doubt, the Air Force game. As soon as my youngest son got out of school on Thursday, him my oldest son and I, drove to Amarillo and spent the night. The next morning we drove to Canyon City and went to the Royal Gorge. Leaving there we headed to Colorado Springs. You could see dark rain clouds in the distance and sheets of rain falling the closer we got to CS. When we got there the streets were flooded but we were able to make it to our motel. We checked in then went to meet up with my best friend, his son, and his brother-in-law. The next day we got up and drove to the game. This was an historic game in that it was the first ever official Soonerfans.com away game tailgate. Norm. Dean, Phil and many others were there. After the game Dean headed to the mountains looking for something to kill. The scenery was fantastic, the weather wonderful and the stadium was about 75% red. Before the game they had a fly over that seemed to last thirty minutes and included every kind of plane you can imagine. At halftime the Air Force Falcon flew over the stands, just out of arms length, from the fans, in what was said to be the “only live mascot to perform at a college halftime”. It looked like rain several times but just seemed to go around us and never did rain a drop. The next day we went to the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame before heading home. Just nine days after we got home the whole world changed forever. If the Air Force game had been scheduled after 9/11 we would not have been able to go as they did not allow any visiting fans to their games the rest of the year until the end of the year when they played Army. When all was said and done my youngest son and I attended all thirteen games home and away and I ran my games in a row streak to 26 games.
