OK, so it's not Christmas...but it might as well be!
IT'S MY FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR!!!
College Football Opener, baby!!!!!!!!
My Golden Gophers are kicking off their season in Las Vegas tonight against UNLV, and a certain Husby of mine may or may not be on a plane there RIGHT NOW! (jerk)
In honor of my beloved Gophers and my family's 10th (yes, TENTH) season with season tickets, here is a countdown of my favorite Gopher memories from the last 10 years!
#10. Our Wedding Day
November 5, 2011
OK, don't judge, the ONLY reason this isn't #1 is because it wasn't technically a Gopher game...you all know there was no way I was getting married during a home game. The Gophers did play that day, and sadly lost at Michigan State, but going to the stadium was my favorite part of our wedding day and is DEFINITELY a favorite Gopher memory.
#9. Gophers vs Penn State, 2006
This particular game was nothing special, in fact we lost in overtime but this was one of my favorite memories because my cousin Ben who lives in Colorado was in town. Ben came to visit and stayed with me for the weekend. I took him out on campus and converted him to a Gopher fan by bringing him tailgating and to the game! It was such a fun weekend!
This particular game was nothing special, in fact we lost in overtime but this was one of my favorite memories because my cousin Ben who lives in Colorado was in town. Ben came to visit and stayed with me for the weekend. I took him out on campus and converted him to a Gopher fan by bringing him tailgating and to the game! It was such a fun weekend!
#8. Big Ten Opener, 2007
I love any excuse to throw a party, and when I lived in a house on campus with a GIANT deck, the Big Ten Opener was as good an excuse as any. I had a bunch of friends (and my brother) over for a pre-tailgating party, which got out of hand in a hurry.
It was such a fun group of people and we had a BLAST!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
I love any excuse to throw a party, and when I lived in a house on campus with a GIANT deck, the Big Ten Opener was as good an excuse as any. I had a bunch of friends (and my brother) over for a pre-tailgating party, which got out of hand in a hurry.
It was such a fun group of people and we had a BLAST!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
#7. Halloween, 2009
There was nothing special about this game except for the fact that it was Halloween and it was CRAZY! I can't even tell you who we played that night, but I can tell you that this night was a BLAST!
Check out those GI Joe costumes!
There was nothing special about this game except for the fact that it was Halloween and it was CRAZY! I can't even tell you who we played that night, but I can tell you that this night was a BLAST!
Check out those GI Joe costumes!
#6. Inaugural Game at TCF Bank Stadium, 2009
To say I was excited to get a brand new stadium ON campus is a major understatement. There was SO much anticipation leading up to the game and it was such a fun day! I still get goosebumps every time I walk in to that stadium.
#5. Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN
December 29-31, 2005
This was a trip of a lifetime...after a very unfortunate series of events that left me and my friends without a bus to Nashville (long story) we were on the road and driving through the night to make sure we didn't miss the bowl game. We met up with my Dad and Denise and had an incredible weekend, despite losing to Virginia. Apparently I had a little too much fun because I took close to no pictures.
#4. Gophers at Northwestern, 2009
Me, Jason, my brother Nate and his now fiance Tate traveled to Chicago to cheer on the Goph's to a 35-24 victory over Northwestern. We had a BLAST, but the best part of the trip is when my dad surprised us by FLYING to Chi-town that morning and showing up at our tailgate!
#3. Beating Iowa, 2011
It was exactly one week before our wedding day and the Gophers were playing our rivals, the Iowa Hawkeyes. Because you never really can trust the Gophers, it's always an emotional ride when we play a team that we want to beat SO badly. BUT, for the second year in a row the Gophers beat the Hawkeyes! The fans were SO pumped they rushed the field! Then after the game is when I met our starting QB MarQueis Gray!
#2. Gophers at Michigan, 2005
It was a Thursday night and my dad called, "What are you doing on Saturday?" I had plans to go to a Hawaiian themed party at Delta Chi but other than that I was free. Good thing too, because my dad surprised me and my brother with tickets to the Gopher game against Michigan....IN MICHIGAN!
We were on a plane at 6am on Saturday morning and in Ann Arbor tailgating later that morning. We traveled with a group of Gopher fans who had set up a delicious tailgating breakfast for us. After we ate, we wandered around the campus and finally walked in to The Big House to cheer on our Gophers. The games was NUTS the Gophers WON on a last second field goal kicked by our VERY unreliable kicker. My dad couldn't even watch the field goal and when he heard everyone going nuts he figured out we had lost...when opened his eyes and saw all the Gopher fans and his two kids FREAKING-THE-F-OUT and he finally realized what had actually happened!
I will never forget that moment for as long as I'll live.
After the game we hit up a little bar downtown Ann Arbor that was packed with Gopher fans! We celebrated, sang the rouser and even made friends with some hilarious Michigan students. Then, we boarded another plane and I was home by 11pm on Saturday night, just in time for the party at Delta Chi.
That day is not only a top 10 Gopher memory but one of the top 10 best days of my life.
We were on a plane at 6am on Saturday morning and in Ann Arbor tailgating later that morning. We traveled with a group of Gopher fans who had set up a delicious tailgating breakfast for us. After we ate, we wandered around the campus and finally walked in to The Big House to cheer on our Gophers. The games was NUTS the Gophers WON on a last second field goal kicked by our VERY unreliable kicker. My dad couldn't even watch the field goal and when he heard everyone going nuts he figured out we had lost...when opened his eyes and saw all the Gopher fans and his two kids FREAKING-THE-F-OUT and he finally realized what had actually happened!
After the game we hit up a little bar downtown Ann Arbor that was packed with Gopher fans! We celebrated, sang the rouser and even made friends with some hilarious Michigan students. Then, we boarded another plane and I was home by 11pm on Saturday night, just in time for the party at Delta Chi.
That day is not only a top 10 Gopher memory but one of the top 10 best days of my life.
#1. Thursday, September 2nd 2010...
Season Opener/Surprise Engagement
I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the 2010 season than by going to TCF Bank Stadium and watching the game against Middle Tennessee State on the jumbotron, from the field, with my boyfriend.
Never in a million years would I have thought that it was the day that would change my life forever.
I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the 2010 season than by going to TCF Bank Stadium and watching the game against Middle Tennessee State on the jumbotron, from the field, with my boyfriend.
Never in a million years would I have thought that it was the day that would change my life forever.
It was the absolute PERFECT proposal and is without a doubt my favorite Gopher memory!
Oh, and the Gophers won that game!
{Full proposal story HERE, if you haven't heard it}
RAH, RAH, RAH for SKI U MAH!
Here's to another season of amazing memories...and hopefully a few more wins than last year.
Here's to another season of amazing memories...and hopefully a few more wins than last year.
That's so awesome! I wish my college had a football team I could be so passionate about.
ReplyDeleteGoing to read the proposal now! xoxo
seriously you are so cute! #9 you look like a baby so young. #3 I LOVE the picture of you standing on the car! And #1 We are so glad that happened so now we get to watch you grow as a mama!
ReplyDeleteyou are SO adorable! I love this! A part of me wishes I went to a big 10 school, or just got more into my team (UMD, but.. D-2,...let's get serious). For whatever reason, I never did. I've never been tailgating at a Gopher's game (which I'm sure is blasphemy to you! hahaha!)but the last 2 and a half years I've been dating M... every Saturday he got up early to go tailgating I spent in a coffee shop or library studying. Mer. SO, for the first time this year, I'm going to try to get to a tailgate! Kind of excited. haha.
ReplyDeleteYay!! :) Love this post... giant knuckles and all! I can't wait when you bring the nugget to her first game! That will definitely make the next top 10, right??
ReplyDeleteThere is soooooooooooooo much to say about this post!! Where do I begin??? Looking at all of your photos makes me miss KU SOOOO MUCH. I just LOVE me some college sports so much! I can only imagine how much fun the innagural game at TCF was! The photo of your dad surprising you at Northwestern is SO cute! And the picture of you guys rushing the field after being Iowa? Love it! OF COURSE love the engagement photos too though, so awesome :-) And DIDDO on what Carolyn said-- Nugget at her first game will be the best day!!
ReplyDeleteAwww, what a precious proposal!! I love that!!!! And hooray for football!!
ReplyDeleteAHHHH, freaking freaking love this whole post!!! :) I love how much you love football and how cool that your family has had season tickets for that long! Go them!!!! So many good memories and I love that we both got proposed to on our fave football fields ;)
ReplyDeletePS- I just remembered this... randomly in high school my friend and I bought matching Minnesota hoodies for a couple of reasons. 1. Maroon and Gold were our high school colors, lol 2. They were dirt cheap from Steve & Barry's before they closed down and 3. We used to have some joke about Minnesota accents, which I forget. ANYWAY- I'm gonna have to dig out the pics of that for ya ;)