Hog Happenings

I’ve never been a spots fan, per say.  In fact, my main knowledge of sports consisted of mixed up rules however, I was pretty good at remembering which colors went with which teams. (The artist in me remembers a good mix of complimentary colors.)

 Apparently, matching colors with the team, however, doesn’t qualify me as a sports fanatic.

Last year, if you would have asked me what happened during a football game, I’d tell you that a bunch of boys ran around trying to get the foot ball through the field goal posts.  I would have told you that they tip off, and that defense and offense were the same players. I thought that the quarterback just meant he was team captain and that off sides was when the ball got out of bounds or something.

I had no idea what football was.  Clearly.

But when Scott and Jennifer  took us to our first football game last year — I learned that a touchdown is actually what we want, that the game stops for commercials, and that I actually enjoy watching a bunch of boys hit one another on the field.  Once I got the rules down, learned what off sides was– I actually started to enjoy it.  I found myself, the rest of the year anxious for Saturday afternoons spent on the couch watching the game.

This year, my new love for football has only gotten worse.  This year, not only do I know the game, understand it, know all the cheers and songs for my beloved Razorbacks, but I also know some of the boys by name.  And when they do dumb things– I have absolutely no problem calling them on it.

Last weekend, Scott, Jen, Rusty and I headed to Oxford Mississippi for my second live Razorback game.  And I tell you, there’s nothing like getting up at 3:30 on a crisp fall morning, decked out in your hog colors with the flags on the car, two pregnant women in the back seat sleeping, the boys in the front talking over the radio about the upcoming game and hearing the honks you get from passing razorback fans also headed to the game.  There’s nothing like the camaraderie you feel when you see the same hog fans at breakfast, the game, dinner and walking around downtown and you spontaneously give people high fives and a “Woo Pig!”

And at the game, there’s nothing like cheering on your team with half the stadium, tearing up at the National Anthem echoing through the stadium and the man beside you yelling obnoxiously the whole game. You know that fan.  The one that would rip his shirt open at any time and is like a ticking time bomb.  The one that screams at the top of his lungs and gives obscene hand signals towards the other team and the refs.

I sat by him.

 And no, I don’t mean Rusty.

However, when I started to get into the whole, game day feeling and began to be on my feet screaming more than I was sitting in my seat eating — I surprised Rusty with my enthusiasm and the man beside me at one point gave me a big high five and a hug.  By the end of the game, our voices were cracking, our feet were sore and we were a little sunburned– but we walked away feeling victorious.

We spent the rest of the evening eating awesome food, shopping, and enjoying the ride home sleeping the whole way home.

We ate breakfast in Oxford at Big Bad Breakfast.  It was AMAZING.

Rusty and I came home with matching coffee cups like the one below– and the lights above the tables were made with egg baskets!

We all look pretty good for getting up at 3:30 am.

They have an AWESOME downtown area. Historical buildings, lots of stores and some fabulous restaurants!

Pregame!