Battle of Bristol

The Battle of Bristol (Hokie vs. Smokey) was announced several years ago, and Terry's Dad (Papa to all my kids) realized it would be on or near his 80th birthday (9/21/2016).  So he bought tickets years ago - enough for everybody in the family including all his grandkids (even the ones who don't like football!).  We spent the weekend together in a cabin in the mountains and then drove to Bristol for the game (largest college football crowd in history!).  Here are some pics from the cabin:

All the tickets:

All the chips:

Arriving in style:

We stopped at the Skieras (friends of ours who live just a mile from the track)for sandwiches before the game, and Mark and Sally came to the game with us.

We did lots of walking!

And took lots of photos:

The pregame was awesome!  Such a spectacle!

And yes, the field was that far away.  Even watching the jumbo screen was a struggle.  But we had lots of fun.  And after a rough start, Tennessee won 45-24.  All in all, it was an awesome memory that we got to share with the whole family!

I must point out that the Battle of Bristol did not occur on Papa's actual 80th birthday, but on Sept. 10th.  Papa's 80th and Noah's 17th were on the same day - September 21st.  Noah celebrated his 17th in anti-climactic fashion here at the house: