Noah's First UT Football Game

Saturday, Oct. 1 was a big day for our family. Eric and I took Noah to his very first Tennessee Football game. We left the house at 9 a.m., stopped by Hardee's to get Noah a cheese biscuit and arrived on campus at 9:30 a.m. We took Noah up to Eric's office at the Tyson House and then headed to Volunteer Village.

Noah enjoyed walking through the large inflatable helmet. After Vol Village we headed down Peyton Manning Pass to wait for the Vol Walk to start. Noah was really excited about seeing Smokey.

He even picked up this stick (in his left hand) so "Smokey wouldn't choke." Haha. You can tell he has a little brother in the house :) Thankfully, Smokey came right up to him and gave him a big high-five. When Vol Walk was over, Noah said, "That was a fun game!" Little did he know he'd be on campus for several more hours -- kickoff wasn't until noon.

After Vol Walk, we watched the Pride of the Southland Marching Band make their way down Volunteer Blvd. Noah liked "watching the girls with sticks" (the majorettes).

When the band marched its way into Neyland Stadium, we handed Noah his ticket and crossed our fingers he would be a good boy during the game :) We loaded up on snacks and drinks in the Letterman's Room. Noah had a sprite and cheetos and thought he was in heaven. We got a great family picture on the field, too. Above, you'll see Noah proudly holding up his ticket.

Noah usually naps at 1 p.m. most days, so we weren't sure how things would unfold, but he truly enjoyed himself. He loved the loudness of the team running through the "T" and sang "Rocky Top" for those around us quite a bit. He'd also say, "Tackle! Tackle!" and never complained once or asked to leave.

Of course, he crashed as soon as we got in the car and then proceeded to sleep an hour on the couch after we got home.

Brenton was very happy to see Noah again when he finally woke up. Noah's first words after his nap? "I missed you, Brenton." We can't wait to take them both to a game one day. Noah's first UT football game is one our most favorite memories yet!