Christmas in Shreveport (2 of 2)

December 26th

It is Game Day!! Today we take on Tulsa. We were up and out headed for the stadium bright and early Saturday morning. Derley and I made it to the game before the gates were even opened so we went wandering to check out the area around the stadium.

Mathis and Nicki joined us about an hour or so before the game and we headed in to check out the stadium and all the souvenirs and snack options. We were able to "start jumping" one more time with each team being allowed to come in with there home entrance.

The game was exciting and pretty stressful. At half time it was Virginia Tech 45 - Tulsa 31. It was a super high scoring game and very fun to watch our offense. While the teams were in the locker room getting ready for the second half, I took the opportunity to go visit a friend that made the trip to the game from Texas.

It was so great to see Robyn and see how she was adjusting to her recent move to Texas.

The second half was STRESSFUL and low scoring compared to the first half. Tulsa pulled within 3 points towards the end of the game but our defense held strong and we walked away with the win!

With Coach Beamer retiring and most of the staff moving on to other places next year, we took a few liberties that we otherwise wouldn't. For instance, we finagled our way onto the field after the game.

There were lots of hugs, laughs and tears and we all felt the importance and finality of the game, season and era.

After the game, we all headed back to the hospitality suite where Coach Beamer was toasted and also gave a toast. I am not sure there was a dry eye in the room. I can not put into words the appreciation we felt for having the honor and privilege to be a small part of all of this. We are different people (for the better) because of our time under Coach Beamer.

When the toasting was over, it was time for all of us to cut loose. It was a very memorable night.

Christmas in Shreveport (1 of 2)

December 23 - 25th

What a fitting way for Coach Beamer to end his coaching career by coaching his last bowl game where he coached his first. It was neat to see how it had all come full circle. 23 years ago, Jed also made his first trip to a VT bowl game at Shreveport and it was great to walk down memory lane with him.

We arrived in Shreveport, the afternoon of December 23rd. The first day of most bowl weeks just a bunch of unpacking and getting the lay of the land. This year was no different.

The first night a few of us walked around and found a great little restaurant for dinner, the Blind Tiger.
On Christmas Eve, many of the wives enjoyed an outing to the Krewe of Gemini float warehouse, a cooking demo and a great local lunch.

We had the opportunity to even meet the Queen of the Gemini Krewe and try on some of the traditional costumes.

Since most things were closed on Christmas Eve, we spent time with some awesome friends that made the trip to Shreveport at the casino in the hotel.

Christmas in a hotel is starting to feel normal these days. So this year, we started the morning with a church service with the team and all the support staff. Knowing this was the end of an era, it was a very, very memorable and emotional services. This has been our family away from our family for the last 16 years. It was a sobering feeling knowing this was our last Christmas all together.

After the services, we headed over to where we had Video Christmas set up. We spent the rest of the morning laughing, White Elephant gifting and hanging out. It was a great time for all of us. It is a favorite Christmas tradition of mine.

We spent the rest of Christmas with Nicki and Mathis. We found a few casino's to walk through before we happened upon a great little dive near our hotel called Fully Staked. These guys were great! They definitely made the most out of having to work on Christmas.

Next Up: GAME DAY!!

The Only Game that Matters

November 28th

We have had a lot of big games over the years but I think this might fall pretty close to the top of big games. This year we traveled to Charlottesville for our annual rivalry game. Before the game, we have held on to the Commonwealth Cup for the last 11 years and we have been bowl eligible for the last 22 years. A win today meant continuing both streaks but more importantly was having Coach Beamer finish his final college football game as a winner. So the Hokies came out in force and I am pretty sure there were more Hokies in the stands then Wahoo's. (But that isn't different from most years.)

It was a stressful game but we were all so incredible excited to be there.

The Hokies won the game 23-20 and all the Hokies in the grass rushed the field.

After the game, we went to celebrate with friends and made a few new friends on the football team.

But the best picture of the evening when to Jed, when he sent me a shot from the locker room. Not much was better then celebrating with the Commonwealth Cup. It never gets old, even after 12 years!