Bode's First Football Game

On Saturday, Bode went to his first football game. We have some friends (Nancy and Ron) that have two children attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Nancy is also an alum, while Ron went to Indiana, so much like me and Auburn, Ron married into being a Miami fan. Miami was playing Army, the weather was beautiful, and it turned into a perfect Saturday afternoon (note the evening was tarnished due Arkansas giving Auburn a beating; as Forest would say, that's all I have to say about that).

We headed out around 1100 and arrived just after noon. The Miami campus is beautiful. Here's a picture of Ashley, Nancy, and Bode in a large field just outside the basketball arena.

The band was playing, and you can probably notice the bouncy inflatable castles off in the distance. We made a bee line for them because Bode was anxious to play.

There was one bouncy device that had little canons which shot out nerf balls. It reminded me of the old-school American Gladiators. Here's a picture of Bode preparing to fire.

We then headed to the stadium. Ashley started to check her ticket to determine the right section and seat. Nancy just laughed. "It's really sit where you want," she told us, explaining it's not usually a sell out. Ashley was a bit bewildered at first--why wouldn't it be a sellout. I then had to explain to her the difference between an SEC game and a MAC game :-) We found a place to sit, right near the field, and watched as some parachutist brought in the game ball.

Bode needs to work on his football IQ. While he has the clapping and cheering thing down, he doesn't really know why he's cheering. He thinks the team has scored every time we cheered. Despite this little misunderstanding, he was a big help in firing up the crowd.

Here's a nice picture of Ashley, Ron, and Nancy.

Here's a cute picture of Nancy describing Ron's...err...ahh...maybe she was talking about how close Miami was to a first down.

At some point, Bode started to run out of steam. We had been in the sun all day, so we headed over to the other side of the stadium for some shade and relaxation and also a nap.

At one point, Miami was down 28-14, but they scored three straight touchdowns and held on for the victory. It was a great game, and afterwards, we were thrilled.

After the game, we met Katie (Ron and Nancy's daughter), her boyfriend, Ben, and Andy (Ron and Nancy's son) for a nice dinner. Unfortunately I didn't bring the camera, so I didn't get any good shots, which I'm sure will disappoint Bode because he adores Katie. After the meal, we headed home. Bode got some more rest in the car.

We had a wonderful time in Oxford, and the joyful memories do help to offset some of the sting of Auburn's loss. This morning, I woke up early and ran the Dayton Corridor Half Marathon. It was another beautiful day--actually a bit too hot near the end of the race (which I'll use as an excuse for my time). I haven't seen the results yet, so I don't know how I did. I don't think I earned any age group awards, but I was pleased with my result (1:31:40--barely under a 7 min per mile pace).

Big holiday tomorrow (Columbus Day--got to love those obscure federal ones). Ashley will work while Bode and I stay home and play. Pleasant week to all.