When I wrote my last post, there was no way I could've known everything that awaited us just hours later. Philip came to pick me up that Saturday morning, we drove to Atlanta, easily found parking and the counter where we needed to go...
and that is where our luck ended. Our flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia was delayed and we missed our connecting flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix.
So we spent the night in a really nasty hotel in Philly and flew out at 6:55 the next morning (which is 4:55 am Phoenix time). We finally got to Arizona and after a lot lot LOT of trouble, we picked up Liz and FINALLY made it to our hotel!
After changing and getting a much needed shower (well, that was just me) we all headed to the pep rally in Scottsdale. Due to the insane amount of traffic, we didn't get to go in to the actual pep rally, but we watched to from the parking deck and got to go in afterwards where we found the best invention EVER: a P.F. Chang's concession stand. Later that night we went to the Upper Deck, a sports bar where they were having an Auburn party, but since we had been up since 3 am, we didn't stay very long. On the way back to our hotel we stopped at a place called Water 'N Ice Cream. Yep, you can't make this stuff up.
Monday, our luck turned around! It might have been the best day of my life thus far. We got a FREE parking pass from some rando for a lot that was really close to the stadium. We couldn't use it until 12:30 pm though so after dropping Liz off to wait in line for her student ticket, Philip and I went to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then to Cabela's (like Bass Pro Shop) to kill some time.
We met back up with Liz after we parked and walked around for a little bit before heading to Tiger Walk. After that is when the best moments of our life occurred:
WE GOT TO GO ON THE FIELD.. FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!
I have almost never been so excited.
A guy that works for BCS was looking for people to hold the flag during the National Anthem and be under the flag pushing it up to make it look like it was waving. Yep, we did the latter. So that flag you saw on TV before the game, blowing in the wind, yeah that was us.
And then the actual game started. We ended up in one of the (few) all Oregon sections, but I didn't even care. It really just made me want to cheer more for my team. And then....
WE WON.
There are no words to describe the feeling of being there when my team won the National Championship. It was the best season anyone could've ever asked for and I'm so blessed that I got to experience all of it. I know it's something that I will (probably) not ever get to experience again and I tried not to take it for granted. I'm about to cry writing this. That probably means I care way too much about football, but you know what? Oh well!
Tuesday, our luck went back to being bad. We were supposed to fly home that day, but because of the terrible snow and ice in Atlanta, we were stuck in Philly AGAIN, but this time we decided to not waste money on another bad hotel and to just spend the night in the airport.
This is all I will say about it: it was the WORST night of sleep I've ever gotten in my ENTIRE life. It was worse than when I went camping in 30 degree weather.
But, we eventually made it home after many tribulations such as a 30 minute walk on pure ice through the parking lot.
But even though we experienced all of that trouble and hardship, I would do it again in a minute to see Auburn win the National Championship. And I have to thank Philip for being exactly what I needed, when I needed it on that trip. He really was my rock. I wouldn't have made it through all of that without him to make me laugh and smile when it got bad and to just hold me when all I could do was cry. Thank you Philip, and I love you. I also just have to give all the glory to God here. There is no way we would have made it home when we did if it had not been for Him answering all of our prayers. We were so close to being stuck for several more days in Philly. I also just want to praise Him for getting us through the hard times because there were times when we just didn't even know what to do, but He is faithful and He saw us through.
And then this past Saturday, we got to celebrate again, but this time in Jordan-Hare!
And if you still want to keep reading after that novel, here are some pictures.
If you look closely you can see Cam at Tiger Walk at the Championship Celebration Saturday
Gene!
Philip and I rolling Toomer's after the Championship Celebration
Philip and Paul
This is at Tiger Walk in Glendale. The players came in on buses instead of walking, but we welcomed them just the same!
ON THE FIELD!!!!
SO glad I got to meet up with the famjam at the game
Room 417 after we won!
Our sleeping place that Philip made for us in the Philadelphia airport
Killing time at Cabela's
Philip found a cat outside Cabela's. Doesn't even like cats, but there was a mutual connection here.
Liz and I "kiting" the Heisman trophy haha
Room 417 outside the stadium before the game
Waiting for Tiger Walk to start
....And, that 's it.
If you would like the full story of everything that happened to us, I will gladly tell it to you over the phone. It'll only take about 2 hours. Just ask my friend, Jeanie, she can tell you from first hand experience haha.
I hope you're having a blessed day!
-Rachel
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