Vikings vs. Packers - Monday Night

Oh ya! We were THERE in the flesh to see my Packers get beat up on My FIL drew the Packers/Vikings Monday Night game when he and his partners drew games this year . . . and he was sooooo kind to offer 2 of the tickets to his Green Bay Packer loving Daughter-In-Law. WOOT WOOT! We were so excited that we flew to MN for the weekend so we could go to the game. The trip worked out extra great because we got to celebrate my MIL’s 49th (wink wink)  birthday that weekend with the family as well.

But on to the game . . . Dude and I were the lucky winners who got to go with Grandpa and Cousin A. Hubby and Princess flew back to COS on Monday so she could miss one less day of school. Dude and I hung out at the Mall of America on Monday, taking in a few rides, tasting some cheese, and shopping endlessly for the perfect Legos After a quick dip in the hot tub, we got all ready to go!

Yes, we are a family divided . . . I am the lone Packer fan in a sea of purple. We met Grandpa in the hotel lobby and got a ride to the Mall of America with Cousin A and his Mom to grab some dinner before catching the train to the Metrodome. Here’s the line to get on the train in the parking garage of the MOA…

Ya, I know, crappy picture - but it’s dark in the parking garage The line was like this on BOTH sides. Needless to say, we did NOT make it on the first train that came. So we hung out for a while and made our own entertainment. Not too tough to do with a 9 and 10 year old!

Here are the two Dudes waiting for the train. You’d never know from their sizes that they’re only a year apart in age! One other thing Dude and I did at the MOA during the day was shop for magic tricks. Here he is testing one out on Cousin A.

Yes, it’s the time-tested classic snapping piece of gum. Obviously Dude thought it was hilarious after it snapped Cousin A!

Here are the Dudes with the guy who made it all possible . . . my FIL How awesome that they got to go to one of the hugest games with Grandpa (and I got to tag along - woo hoo!!!).

We finally got packed onto the train - we were some of the lucky few who got to sit in actual seats. The train was PACKED! All those people further down the line were totally bummed when the doors would open at a stop and they couldn’t possibly get on. So they’d stand there under their umbrellas all dejected and wait for the next train. The ride took a little while, so the boys entertained themselves some more

Grandpa Mike was awesome enough to bring each of them a pair of binoculars, too! So of course those got taken out on the train so they could see how far away they could make me look sitting right in front of them.

We finally made it to the Dome . . . it’s been a few years since I’ve been here, and it was so exciting!!! The entire train was bouncing from the loud music that was playing outside.

I wish it would have been nicer out so we could have experienced all that was going on, but it was cold and rainy and the boys wanted to head inside to see what it was like. Our trek into the Dome was fun anyway with all the fans around! Grandpa Mike and Cousin A lead the way through the crowd.

I had to giggle at a couple of the jerseys that I saw. It’s tough to be a Packer Fan in Vikings Land!

We finally made it inside and to our seats . . . Dude was AMAZED at all the people! I told him he was one lucky person out of 64,898 I seriously couldn’t believe how loud it was in there . . . it was so much fun! We had wonderful seats . . . on the aisle, 12 rows up, in the corner of the end zone.

About 5 minutes after sat in our seats, the guy behind us spilled his entire beer on Dude . . . I had to giggle - he’d been annointed! The guy was really nice - he and his buddy (one a Vikings fan and one a Packer fan) had flewn in from LA for the game! For the rest of the game, every time a vendor walked up the aisle, he would tap Dude on the shoulder and ask him if he wanted whatever it was the vendor was selling Turns out, Dude and Cousin A are cheap dates! The entire game I only bought them each a bag of Cracker Jacks, a Sprite, and 1 bag of Twizzlers to share between them. I couldn’t believe it! I had planned on losing a good 5 pounds running up and down the stadium stairs to the concession stand!

Dude thought pregame was pretty cool and took some fun pictures. He especially thought the real live Viking was very lucky to get to ride that Harley indoors! The drumline was pretty cool, too.

Fire is always cool, especially indoors. And I have to ask - whatever did we as a society do before the age of giant blow up thingies? Seriously - would it kill them to run through a big piece of paper with cheerleaders around instead of having to have fire and fireworks and a monster Viking ship?

I only took one picture during the game . . .

Tthe rest of the time I was too busy scaring the crap out of Dude when I was yelling and cheering like a maniac the few times my Packers did score or too busy wondering how the hell the Packers would ever have a chance if they gave Favre all friggin’ day to throw the ball - 7 seconds standing in the pocket - 7 SECONDS - really? No wonder he got to throw the ball exactly where he wanted to! Yay to him for being the only quarterback to beat every other NFL team . . . even if he did totally stab the very people/city/state that gave him a home for the past gazillion years in the back.  But I’m not bitter

We ended up standing almost the entire game because apparently that’s what everyone else wanted to do. It was a BLAST and a great experience. Here is one of the few chances the guys had to sit during the game.

Thanks for taking us to the game, Grandpa!

After the game, we got smart and took the train north to the Target Center to get picked up by Cousin A’s Dad. Everyone else on the planet was going south back to the MOA and it would have taken us FOREVER to get on the train. It worked out great - Dude and I were back in the hotel by midnight, ready to get a few hours of sleep before getting up to head home on Tuesday.

I absolutely loved the game. I’m not so sure Dude thought it was the greatest thing on the planet - even though he had a good time and enjoyed it, I do think he was quite overwhelmed. But we had a great time together and will remember it for a loooonngggg time!