When I found out earlier this year that Indiana University (Chris’ favorite team since birth) would take on Ball State University (my alma mater) at a football game at Lucas Oil Stadium, I quickly asked Chris if we could go. It didn’t take much convincing because he was interested, too. Since my parents are BSU season ticket holders, we got really good seats for a decent price in BSU’s old fogey section. It wasn’t that bad! :o) But just before kickoff, when you’re supposed to stand up and cheer, everyone in our section sat down. Except Chris and me!
Our evening started with a quick stop to visit my friend Marena, her husband and his parents as they tailgated. Poor Marena…she had to spend the game with three IU fans. But Chris was just the opposite and suffered through the game with three BSU fans, including a taunting mother-in-law!
As we talked with Marena and her family, we saw some lightning and heard some thunder. So Marena and her gang started packing away their tailgating equipment, and Chris and I decided to head over to the stadium. It started sprinkling about halfway to the stadium, then it started raining harder. So we started to run, but we were too far away from the stadium. We stood outside a fast food restaurant where we were sheltered from the rain. Then we went inside for a few minutes when the rain shifted to a different direction and started getting us even wetter. Just 15 or 20 minutes later, the rain stopped and the sun came out again. Considering how much we need rain around here, I didn’t want to complain about the quick shower. But I’m sure I looked like a drowned rat for the first part of the game. Luckily, we stayed pretty dry compared to a lot of other fans!
This was my first time in Lucas Oil Stadium and Chris’ first time there for a football game. That building is just as impressive on the inside as it is on the outside.
As we walked in, we stepped up to the stands to take a look at the view from one of the end zones. Then we took a long walk around the whole concourse before we started looking for our seats.
We walked right past this fancy-looking suite entrance. Then Chris said that our ticket section was listed on the sign. So this was where we were supposed to enter!
Once inside, we saw lots of Cardinal fans milling around a beautiful open room. This area featured our own private concession stands, private bathrooms and even flat-screen HD TVs. There were some free light snacks, and Charlie Cardinal was wandering around the room taking pictures with fans. I’m sure that earlier in the evening there were some other activities, but this was a nice perk for season ticket holders. If I had known that we’d walk into a huge room filled with BSU fans, I would have made Chris and his IU T-shirt sneak in another entrance!
Finally, we headed to our seats where we met up with my parents.
From our awesome seats, we had a good view of the Colts championship banners (this is only half of them!)…
…and that huge window facing the downtown skyline.
We enjoyed watching the teams warm up.
Then it was finally kickoff time.
The game was very exciting since both teams were pretty even in the first half. But my Cardinals took over in the second half and dominated offensively. IU’s defense was too gassed to stop Ball State from scoring. In the end, Ball State was victorious, 27-20.
