I do not know how I can possible put last night into words. I really don't. So all I can do is just describe the events and let you figure out how excited I was and still am. I think my heart is still beating at double speed though. And I will probably leave out some of the minor details just because this entry could be 14 pages long if I don't. And it may end up that long.
Shit, there is also a back story to the guy I got tickets from. In short, he is a kicker and he plays semi pro football for a team called The Lawmen. He also has some connections with the 49ers.
Also, because I don't have much time this morning, the pictures will be in another post, later.
OK...We get to the stadium and we have preffered parking. The only cars parked closer to the VIP entrance are the player's cars. We were going to sit in the parking lot and drink a few beers but then Mike (the guy who provided the suite) pulled up and told us the suite was stocked with food and drinks so let's head up there. We walk through the entrance where the players enter the stadium and we go up to the suite. I'm in heaven because the view is just awesome. The room is heated and stocked and it has nice theater chairs and our chairs are right up front along the window. This suite holds 20 people and we had front row. I start to get settled, have a beer, eat weiner (it's stocked with big wieners, WOO HOO) and I get ready to sit down. In comes this lady who hands us these passes and she says to Mike "How would you like to go down on the field?" This is where I stood with my jaw open, eyes wide and perhaps a little dribble of pee running down my leg.
We get down on the field and we are told that as long as we stay on this side of the white chalk mark on the field, we can wander wherever we want just as long as we all meet up and are off the field at least 15 minutes before the game. So wander I did. At first I just stood there, gazing all around, taking it all in. Staring into the stands at the little people. *grin* Then Jodi (Mike's wife) whacks me and says "come on girl, let's make sure you get all that you can out of this" and she grabs my camera and took picture of me down on the field. *insert picture of me on field*
I asked the tour lady if I could pull some of the grass to keep. She laughed and told me that I could. So I plucked me some grass and shoved it in my pocket. *dork grin*. We start walking and now we are at the visitor's bench. It's pretty cool to see that close up. The Gatorade jugs, the workout bikes, the bench, the oxygen tanks, the media stuff, the tarp. Cool stuff. We walk a little more and now we are at the end zone. I BEG the security guy if I can take a picture touching the goal post. He said we aren't supposed to but I begged enough that we could do it if we did it real fast and didn't get hit by any of the players. *snort* *insert picture of me HUGGING the goal post* *insert various picture of players that I took while standing in the end zone*
We keep walking and now we are on the sidelines of MY team. The coaches are there, players are there, the media. *insert pictures of the team stretching* *insert pictures of how close I was to the bench* These guys are fricken huge. HUGE. You have no idea.
Then, I hear "Are you Carey". *gasp*. I turn around and it is an old friend of mine from way back. I forgot that he is friends with lots of football players and as it turns out, he is on the sidelines for every home game. Jim (the other person that I went to the game with) said he was pretty shocked and impressed that we were on the field and somebody knew me. *snort*. Anyhow, we chatted for awhile and then I wanted to move on and continue taking it all in. Again, I just stood down there and looked all around. I couldn't believe where I was. Down on the field, during warmups, people in the stands, the lights all aglow, people staring at us wondering who we were. It was just fucking unfuckingbelievable. UNFUCKING BELIEVABLE. I never wanted to leave. But it was time to leave the field so we kept walking around. The timing was great. The players were heading off the field into the lockerroom, ready to come out through the big infaltable helmut that is our tunnel. There they were, all the players. WHEEEEE. *insert pictures*. I got to shake hands with and meet a couple of the alumni. *insert pictures*.
As we leave the field and had just passed Steve Bono (ex QB) and I was all ooglie and stuff and then I got to shake hands with another legend *insert picture* and then we headed up to the elevator. Who walks up but Steve Bono and his family. He was standing right next to me at the elevator. Like a dork, I just stood there and gazed up at him. He said "Hi, how are you?" and with a big huge smile I said something like "argh urgh ack gah hi fine thanks how are you" I'm quite the schmoozer aren't I? That dude is tall. From where I was standing, which was right next to him, he was about 11 feet tall. Then it was time to go. I'm pretty sure that I made quite an impression on him though. He will probably remember me forever. *giggle* *insert picture*
Jim said that in all the time he has known me that he has never seen me speechless and has never seen such a look of happiness on my face.
anyhow, back up to the suite. We get situated again and start to relax and in comes Eric Wright. He is signing autographs and letting us take pictures. *insert picture*. Have I mentioned how big these guys are? Holy shit. A few minutes go by and in walk some of the cheerleaders. Also signing pictures and taking pictures. *insert picture*
The suites are cool. If you want garlic fries or a burger or a t-shirt or an anything, you call on the phone and they take your order and deliver it to you. You don't even have to leave your seat. How cool is that?
The game itself was secondary to all of the peripherals. I had no hope of winning this game and quite honestly, I didn't even care. This was about an experience of a lifetime for me. BUT!!!! We ended up winning the game. Just icing on the cake. The cool thing about sitting with Mike is that he knows all about football and lots of inside stuff. So he would point out a player and then give me all these stats and tell me their chances of making the team and his point on whether they would end up being a star. Way cool to have that going on while I watched my team win.
All in all, it was one of the best nights of my entire life. One I will never forget for the rest of my life. I just don't think I could ever put into words what last night was to me. *deep happy sigh*
The only thing that made last night not perfect was Michelle not being there to experience it with me. But yes, I did call her when I was down on the field so that I could share my happiness with her. Oh, um, yeah. There was just one minor little bathroom incident. I was rushing because I wanted to get back to the game. And in doing so, I ended up zipping my jersey in my pants. And zipping it so that the jersey was sticking out of my fly and it looked as if I was displaying my excitement. IYKWIM. *giggle* Luckily, I noticed this before leaving the stall. Unluckily, it took me about 5 minutes to be able to jiggle the zipper so that it would release my shirt. When I got back to the suite, they asked me what took so long and they all got a great laugh when I told them what had happened. *snort*
What an absolute almost perfect night for me. My heart is still racing and I still have the biggest smile on my face. I have no idea how I could ever repay Mike and Jodi and Jim for the unforgettable night and unforgettable experience that I had. Just fucking magnificent. *happy sigh*
Now I'm off to take a shower because we are headed off to the flea market. *grin*
*smooches to everyone*
