chick-fil-a kickoff game: part one

FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!!!!!!!

I'm not sure I can stress that enough!  My parents were taking me to college football games before I was even walking, and they remind me constantly of the time I threw my teddy bear down about eight rows of seats at Carter-Finley Stadium.  Not one of my finest moments.  But still, I don't remember a time when fall Saturdays and Sundays didn't mean football was on tv, and it's one of the things I cherish most about my childhood.  With that comes a very competitive family, but... it keeps things interesting.

When I found out my Tar Heels were going to be playing against LSU in the ACC v. SEC Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game in Atlanta this Labor Day, I knew I had to go!  So, I called David, probably my most reliable college football addict outside my family, and we made plans all the way back in March!  Needless to say, we had a blast!  Our team lost, but they played really hard considering all they've gone through in the last month or so.  Even some of the LSU fans were coming up to us and complimenting our team after the game!  Some of them were really drunk, but it was flattering anyway.  And Atlanta couldn't have been more beautiful, so we definitely took advantage of our time there!

No trip down I-85 is complete without the Gaffney Peach (butt)...

There was a lot of spilled blue paint on the road and we still don't know if it was intentional...

I love (and miss) Lawrenceville!

The crowd at College Game Day...

...and Corso put on the Tiger head.  Wish he had been wrong.

Georgia Aquarium!

This is a terrible picture, probably because the lady I handed my camera to was four feet tall and wouldn't stand in front of us.  But at least we got to see Meggie and Sebastian!  Sebastian was in band with both of us, and I had a class with him and Meggie in my last semester.  I miss them so much!

At this point, we were still convinced that we were heavily outnumbered, but the crowd in the stadium ended up proving us wrong!

The crowd waiting on the Team Walk-Through...

I found Leanna!!!!!

Mr. Fuchs conducting...

And they sounded awesome!

Butch Davis... no comment.

LSU cheerleaders...

This lady was endlessly entertaining to me!

Georgia Dome!

I was sort of hoping the guy I asked to take this picture would get more of the field, but this proves we were there!

LSU getting ready...

Marching Tar Heels!

LSU band (which David was really excited about.  I mean really, REALLY excited.)

...and then this happened, and it blew my mind!  I'm such a band dork.

We played extremely well in the first and fourth quarters, but unfortunately, struggled the rest of the game.  We ended up losing by six points, but I was so proud of our team for rallying at the end!  Hopefully, it's going to be an amazing season!

Here's the band's halftime show... come back tomorrow for the rest of my trip!