Obligatory Season Opener Post

IT'S GAME DAY! 

That's right, tonight at 6:00pm Central Standard Time my Gophers will be kicking off for the first time in this 2014 season! RAH! It shouldn't be new information that I bleed Maroon & Gold and Gopher Football is one of my most favorite things in life. In honor of opening day and our 11th season with season tickets, here are my 11 favorite Gopher Football memories. 

11. Our Wedding. The day we were married the Gophers played at Michigan State and lost, we were all listening to the game at the church before the ceremony. So while it wasn't the best day for my Gophs, it is still one of my favorite memories because immediately following the "I Dos" we grabbed our wedding party, hopped in a party bus and headed for the stadium. This also happens to be my favorite part of our wedding day. 

10. Kenley's 1st Game. Bringing Kenley to her very first Gopher game last season was so fun and so special! This little girl really has no choice to be a super fan and I am so excited for the family memories to come!

9. Pregnant Rickshaw. Being preggo for nearly an entire season isn't the most fun, but getting VIP treatment is! One of the games while I was pregnant, my dad flagged down a rickshaw to give us a ride to the stadium so my big ol preggo self didn't have to walk. Gotta love him! It was so random and so fun and an ode to our favorite NYC mode of transportation.

8. Homecoming 2008. This particular game is one of those epic yet hazy memories, one that started at 7am and ended at probably 4am the next day. There were several bars, a game suite, a brutal Gopher loss and me waking up to Jason and Jeff in my bed while I slept on the couch. Enough said. 

7. First ever game at TCF Bank Stadium. In 2009 we got ourselves a new stadium and after 28 years of playing off campus we were all pretty damn excited to break in a brand spankin' new stadium! I still goosebumps walking in to that gorgeous building.

6. Gophers vs Iowa 2013. Our honeymoon friends are from Iowa and therefore cheer for the Hawkeyes, one of the Gophers biggest rivals. So to have Bill & Jackie come to Minnesota to for a game was SUPER FUN! Although, the stupid Hawks killed the Gophers we had a blast. Not pictured: horizontal rain and massive gusts of wind nearly blowing over our tent.

5. Music City Bowl. I am pretty embarrassed that these are the only 4 pictures I have from this epic trip to Nashville. It's a pretty long and hilarious story of how this trip came to be but that really should a blog post all on it's own. Let's just say it was an awesome trip!

4. Beating Iowa. The Gophers are fairly notorious for choking during big games and when we play our rivals, Iowa, it's always a big game. So to beat Iowa and exactly one week before our wedding was SO.FRICKIN.AWESOME. We rushed the field, celebrated all night and even met our quarterback at the time who just-so-happens to be my favorite player.

3. at Northwestern. This is not only one of my favorite Gopher memories, but one of my all time favorite trips. Me, Jason, my brother and sister-in-law drove to Chicago for the Gopher/Wildcat game...we were the first people in the lot, made some crazy new friends and about halfway through our tailgate, out of nowhere MY DAD SHOWED UP! He surprised us all by flying in to Chicago that morning. To say we were excited and surprised would be a huge understatement. 

2. at Michigan. When I was a junior in college my dad surprised my brother and I with a whirlwind trip to Michigan to watch the Gophers take on the Wolverines. We left super early Saturday morning on a flight made up entirely of Gopher fans {no joke, we sang the rouser at take off}. We made it to Ann Arbor with enough time for a Gopher fan breakfast, a super fun walk around campus, and a little tailgating before the game. The Big House was an incredible stadium and THE GOPHERS WON on a last second 30 yard field goal kicked by our terrible kicker - my dad was so nervous he covered his eyes and when the stadium erupted he was sure our kicker missed it, until he opened his eyes and realized that it wasn't the stadium going nuts, it was the rowdy Gopher fans! We celebrated at a cute little bar downtown Ann Arbor then flew back to Minneapolis that same night. It is a 24 hours I will never forget!

1. Getting Engaged! This is a Gopher memory that will be REALLY hard to beat. Getting engaged on the 50 yard line was seriously a dream come true and the most perfect way to get engaged, not to mention I had NO CLUE it was coming! You can read the whole story HERE if you'd like. 

I'm off to press my Maroon & Gold and head to campus!

RAH!