A big CONGRATS to Coach Payton and his Saints team last night. What a game. To be neck and neck the entire time - the back and forth of it all. WHEW! I was about to have a coronary thru most of it. Not just because I was rooting for my COLTS but also because I had a bet going with a Saints fan on facebook that I'd owe her a drink if her team won. Needless to say, I lost the bet and now owe her a drink. I promised her that my pick, a "BLUE" martini, would be waiting here in Naples for her. LOL! We both decided that since neither of us drink, maybe a dessert would be a better gift. Therefore, "BLUE"berry pie is on me. HA HA!
We all had a great time razzing each other in good fun. The Saints outplayed our Colts after halftime and they deserve the win. Coach Payton lead them to an incredible victory after an incredible season. I know our friends/old neighbors are proud. Their brother in law is now a Superbowl champ when it comes to the NFL and his coaching history. What an incredible blessing! Thankfully for them, they were all at the Superbowl last night to witness history. Soooo soooo fun!
Anywho, I'm taking the razzing about our COLTS loosing like a good sport should. Our team let go of the notion after halftime. They gave up the game. Totally. The Saints ROCKED it and ROCKED it well. No other team is more deserving (other than our COLTS that is).
It is funny to me though how many people can't play along with the razzing "in fun." Some are so over the top about it. It's just a game people. Just a game. To the person who commented on my blog today that rarely does and to the one individual on facebook who can't let it die, I pray you both got some sleep last night. Again, it is just a game peeps. Good sportsmanship and a good rivalry never hurt anyone. Lighten up. Laugh a little. Smile genuinely because your team won and not because you wish to rub their win in the losers face. Life is too short. Way too short for grudge matches. LOL!
With that said, CONGRATS to the Superbowl champs, the New Orleans Saints and all of their fans. CONGRATS to Coach Sean Payton. You deserve it buddy! You really do!
For now, I'm off to go soak up these sunny Florida rays today. My son woke up in the middle of the night broke out in hives last night. Therefore, not much sleep was had in this house overnight. I'm dragging today because of it and just need some vitamin-D to jump start my energy. Hope all of you have an incredible week and that you remember to "smile." ;)
xoxo, Angie
Oh and PS...Peyton and the Blue Crew...
We still love ya buddy. Still love ya. Thanks for another incredible season and for making Indiana (and Florida) proud!
As my Mom put it, "it was a night to be remembered." There are no words to describe the excitement, the anticipation, the comeback, the win, the loss, the game in general. You would've just had to have been there - and many of you were. The announcers came over the speakers during the game and stated that the attendance that came through the stadium this weekend for those games topped an all time record high with over 56,000 people. Now that is saying something when you are just talking about high school football. WOWZERS!
The stadium was gorgeous - even more than I ever could have anticipated. I apologize in advance for the grainy pictures. As you can imagine, I am going nutso over them but I really worked "Razzi" and our glass last night to the core. My lenses, even my 70-300mm lens, was no match for this stadium. It was just too big - too massive. I did the best I could with what equipment I had but I really needed to be down on the floor with the "big boys" in order to capture the shots I wanted. However, that would have required a press pass which I didn't have. No fun! Ha ha! I did manage to capture a good roof shot though of our Indianapolis Colts winning banner from the Superbowl two years ago.
These shots were of both teams - Carmel above - and Center Grove below - running out onto the field at the start of the game.
Then you have the fans...
Carmel (our new school) in blue and yellow, CG (my Alma mater) in red and white...
I just couldn't get over the incredible crowd that turned out for this game. Even back when I was in high school 15 years ago, there was a HUGE rivalry amongst Carmel and CG. It's never changed and in fact it has probably gotten worse since the years that I've been gone and out of school. The coin toss shown below...love how these boys hold hands now days. Look closely...you'll see it.
The kick off. Carmel won the coin toss...
Center Grove fans dawning all of their red...
My camera almost acted as a pair of binoculars when I had my telephoto lens attached. It was cool to see people thru my camera from such a far distance away. I even found people I know in the pictures I captured whom I couldn't see when there in the stadium. Too funny.
Carmel pretty much came out and whooped CG for the entire game. As I watched in horror, but yet tried to be excited for Carmel, I silently prayed for a brutal CG comeback. I'm sorry new Carmel friends. They are my homies. My peeps. My life until 3 months ago. Some of my best friends were donned in red and I felt the pain when they were loosing. Each time they made a good play (CG), I'd clap and get excited. Beings that we were sitting in the end zone, we had a few people look at me from Carmel and give me this glare like..."What are you doing?" Problem was...Brent talked Brennen & I into wearing our Carmel gear to the game. So here I am sporting my Carmel sweatshirt but rooting for CG. Most were confused. I'm sure of it. Heck...I was even confused. Ha ha! Tamara said that the fans around us probably thought I had split personalities. :) Truth is...I did during that game. I wanted both teams to win.
Part of the Carmel Band...
Carmel running out onto the field after half time - still whooping CG at that point.
I was coveting the big guys and their glass (their lenses) down on the field. Man...that is just so not fair to own one of those big, bad, boys. And to have a press pass too? Come on now...share the love, will ya?
Brennen and Derek enjoying the view from the stairs...
Loved Brennen's body expression here. You could tell he was just as confused as I was on who he wanted to win. He was back and forth all night long.
The big win...
Center Grove came back to score three touchdowns in the last 6 minutes of the game. It was unbelievable. I was elated. The man upstairs answered my silent prayers for a Center Grove win last night. When it looked impossible for CG to come back, I think Carmel got complacent. They thought that they had it in the bag. Most people did. However, God does miraculous things when he feels the need. In the end, CG took home the title and made the biggest orchestrated comeback in state finals history rallying from a 19 point deficit to beat Carmel 36-33. You can read all about it HERE (our local newspaper). Watching Center Grove soak up that win made my heart happy. As I said, I'm a very loyal person. Brent calls it my "Mafia Mentality." It is what it is. I am who I am. Mafia mentality or not, CG is my school. My hometown, my world as I've always known it.
Look at the two players (above) in the top right hand corner of this image. The one player is overwhelmed with emotion as he hugs his teammate. I cry just looking at it. Really - I do! As the local paper put it, this championship was basically nine years in the making. Most of these senior boys had played since the 4th grade together. As you can imagine, one WOULD be filled with a ton of emotion after a comeback and a win like this...
Carmel fans cleared the stadium pretty quickly once the game was over. Again, I was out close to the field trying to snap shots of the CG win all while donning the blue Carmel spirit wear that Brent coerced me into wearing. Women - wives...always follow your gut. When your spouse tells you to wear one color, go with what your gut tells you to wear. Because Brennen and I listened to Brent...we got to all do the walk of shame out of the building while sporting our Carmel attire. Ha ha! At least Tamara and Derek had some CG gear on. We got to walk out with them. I was just praying that none of my other Center Grove friends saw me in my Carmel gear before I made it to the truck. I knew if they did, I'd be doomed. HA! Like my Mom told me to do, I was ready to run like H---!
No really though...as Brent said on the way to the game...the good thing for us is that no matter who won the game - our family won either way. He was right. Although I was really pulling for CG, I would have supported Carmel too. They are our new home and we are just as proud of our Greyhounds as we are our Trojans. They worked hard all season long to get to that game and played extremely well until those last 5 minutes of the game. When push comes to shove though, a win is never easy. Even when you are ahead by three touchdowns. Never get too comfortable. Life should NEVER be "comfortable." If it is, you've gotten too big for your britches and need to come down a level or two.
I snapped this shot of this gal above as she stood - looking on - in support of Carmel once the game was over. I don't know who she was but I thought she represented what a lot of people were probably feeling last night. Her body language said it all. I'm guessing she was the Mom of a Carmel player. I'm also guessing that because of the heartbreaking loss, their night was a long one last night. She seemed so little - so small - standing at the corner end of this huge stadium. Now she was helping to bare a big and painful loss as were many other Carmel parents. It broke my heart for her and the others. Again, even though CG is my stompin' ground and who I was technically rooting for, you can't help but feel bad and upset for the other team when their season ends with a loss. I ssooooo wish that both teams could have taken home the state championship title. We all know that those type endings are never an option though. Life just doesn't work that way.
So...CONGRATS to both teams. Both are awesome in my opinion. A big thanks to CG though for giving us a night to remember. It is just another moment to go down in my memory book when it comes to my Alma mater. Even though my graduation took place back in 1993 from Center Grove, last night propelled me right back to those days of elation when our school would win and win big. Seeing all of the young students there rooting on the school brought back so many memories for me. I felt like a kid again when CG ran out on that field after their big win. Funny how time really does fly by so fast. One minute you're a senior in high school soaking it all in yourself and the next minute you are propelled 15 years into the future, now called the present, standing there with your 9 year old son watching your hometown school do what they do best! This thing we call life...capturing it one image at a time...
Well, I wish I could give you a big WE WON update here on the ol' blog tonight, but I can't this time. Unfortunately, our season didn't end with a Super Bowl victory like it did last year. Our boys took a beating today and a bad one. The LSU team that played us whooped us and whooped us good. They came to play today and boy did they ever. The defeat was depressing but it was still an awesome game and a phenomenal opportunity for our Cardinals. Our boys played hard all season and got to the championship game and for that, we are so proud. They gave us a great ride this year.
We did have some highlights to the game so I thought I'd post a few of them here. Brennen, like always, had his cheering section of support. Here are a few of his die hard fans that made the hour drive North to watch him play.
These are Brennen's two cousins who are going to "marry" him someday. They adore their big cousin and are truly, madly, and deeply, in love with the B-Ster. It's the cutest sight you've ever seen when they are all together. We joke about it all the time within the family. I don't think Miss Abby (on the right) was happy at all this evening when Uncle Brent spilled the beans that Brennen has a girlfriend now. Grandma Debbie assured Abby that she will always be his best girl. I love it! :)
This is Brennen's best buddy from his old school and his Dad. These are dear sweet friends of ours. We were missing Tamara but she was on a flight to France for work today as Brennen's game was going on. We missed you Tamara. Hope you are having a great "business trip." No fair! Thanks Joe and Derek for making the trek all the way North to watch Brennen play in his championship game again this year. We loved having you last year and loved having you today too. Derek, hope you are feeling better now buddy! :(
Their coach giving them a pep talk at half time. I think I heard him say..."You guys aren't giving up on me, are ya?" They all replied with a shake of the head - "No!"
I love this other Mom from our team. I love her spirit and her vibe. You go girl!
She is always on her feet and I love that about her. Her son is a phenomenal player who has a great career in football ahead of himself should he stay with it. That child is FAST! He can run like nothing I've ever seen. Go Collier!
Brennen and his teammates coming off the field downright frustrated at this point. Brennen's the tallest one there in the middle.
Papa Ron sitting beside me - stressed out - over how the whole game played out. We just weren't "our team" today and it showed. It's amazing how these games can affect us as parents and grandparents, isn't it? I bet we are all walking around with 100 ulcers in our stomachs now.
The look of defeat. As a Mom you just want to run out there and lift them up in a chant and reassure them that it's going to be OK. You want to remind them 50 times over again that it is just a game.
Their defense coach telling them what a great job they did at the end of the game.
So...another season over. Another exciting round of winning games as well as a big one lost. In the end, it's just about whether you gave it your all and did your best. Our boys fought hard but this wasn't their moment to shine. Today wasn't their spotlight moment. God had other plans and they were for the LSU team to take home the victory. It was a victory they deserved. LSU was a great team with awesome speed and an incredible amount of power. They deserved the title today. Their parents should be real proud. They "rocked" it!
Also, thanks to all of you who sent Brennen well wishes and good luck vibes this week. He loved getting all of those notes before the game and leading up to the event today. You guys are the best!!! For now, I'm off to hit the sack. It's been a long day and we are all exhausted. Until tomorrow, keep dreaming. Keep hoping. Keep pushing. And keep smiling. :)
Brennen's football championship game starts at 2:30pm - Hoosier time. (that would be Eastern)
We have to be to the fields by 1:30pm for warm ups.
Win or lose, we are just thankful for the opportunity and ready for the gorgeous day that the good Lord above has laid in our laps this morning. There is only one bad news report for the day ahead. That would be that all "cow bells" were banned from the game. GASP! This threw some parents into a frenzy but I know we'll be able to be just as loud with our voices as we root our boys on. When I heard the news about no cow bells, I thought...boy we'd really be in trouble if we were in CG territory, right Trojans??? My fellow Center Grove people know what I mean.
Football is about being loud and full of team spirit. Has anyone seen a college or NFL game on TV recently? It's all about the noise. The louder - the better. Center Grove has it goin' on. We use all that we can to be the loudest that we possibly can. Obnoxious? Maybe. But fun?
Oh yeah baby!
So, wish us luck today. I'm just happy that I'll get to watch my son out on that big high school stadium style field even though he is only 9. "Razzi" is real happy about that too. Good times today~Good times! After the game, we are bringing my Mom back here to our house and we're having cake and ice cream for her in regard to her birthday yesterday. So, I'll report back later tonight or in the morning with the news on the game. Lastly, send some prayers up for my Dad and Cathy, will ya? They left early this morning on a cruise so I'm just praying for safe travels and fun times for them. Unfortunately they have to miss Brennen's game this afternoon but they've assured us that they'll be calling around 4:30pm from wherever they are today to find out if he won or not. Have fun guys. We miss you already!
We celebrated Brennen's end of the season football party with his coaches and his teammates and their parents the other night. The event was held at my favorite "nacho supreme" location. YUM! You know that little pizzeria I mentioned here on the blog a couple of months ago? Yeah, that place. The coaches handed out the trophies and said a few things about each player as they came up to get their award.
Brennen's coaches gave Brennen some great compliments including one huge one that stuck out for me. They said that he was a "great listener." They told the crowd that he was a great kid that always did everything asked of him and that he always did what they wanted him to. As a Mom, that moment made me proud. Brent and I wondered what his coaches would have to say as he took front and center in front of everyone. I was so honored to be his Mom at that moment. My little "ROCK STAR" made me all giddy inside.
I thought I'd take a picture of this banner/sign shown above which is out on the football field. I wanted to save it for the scrapbook. Nothing like being listed second on the list because we have an "A" for our business name. Lovin' alphabetical order when it comes to listing businesses. Ha ha!
They sent me this certificate of thanks the other day as well as Brennen's team photo with my business name proudly displayed at the bottom. (Sorry I had to blur so much out and strategically place footballs everywhere for security reasons) I plan to take Brennen's winning jersey with my logo on it as well as all of these items and a few pictures to the local frame shop to have it all framed. I want to put it in my studio/work room for the memories.
We are sure looking forward to his Superbowl/Rosebowl championship game this weekend. I can't wait to snap some fun shots while there. Win or lose, it will be another great opportunity that is sure to leave a trail of fun. Until then, I'm going to go nurse my gums back to health. My dentist played hockey with her drill on my gums this morning and I'm feeling the pain this evening because of it all. That is what I get for eating too much chocolate and having to have a loose filling re-done. Oh the things we'll endure for the love of sweets. ;) Keep em' coming.
