TCU Football Game 2012

 We had our first of many (we hope) annual trips to the TCU v. Texas Tech football game.  Greg and I are TCU grads and my dad, sister and brother-in-law are Tech grads.  The schools used to play every year, but it has only happened a couple of times since I was in school.  But now that both schools are in the same conference, they will play every year again.  This year's game was in Fort Worth, so the four of us left after school on Thursday to drive half way to Fort Worth - we met everyone else on Friday and had a great family weekend.  The 4 kids had a blast playing together, and the adults enjoyed a great game.  Unfortunately, TCU lost in triple overtime - but it was a good game and we have a really young team who played beyond their years.  Next year's game in Lubbock should be a win and we plan on being there to watch it.

 I was so excited for the boys to get their picture with Super Frog - we've been able to do that the last 2 years, so I was thrilled to get their picture for the 3rd year in a row.

 Tech fans, overall, are well-known to be very obnoxious.  I grew up a Tech fan, so I'm not just saying that.  When I was in high school, Tech made it to the Cotton Bowl for the first time in like 50 years (and my dad was so excited that we all went to the game) - they ended up losing by like 50 points to USC.  The highlight of the game was when the Tech fans threw thousands of tortillas onto the football field, and Raider Red (the mascot) got kicked out of the game for getting into a fight with a USC band member.
  I say all that to say that our companions to the game were a lot of fun.  My mom and dad, and Conny, Todd and kids made it a fun experience despite the loss.  Jacob even went up to Ryan after the game and gave him a hug and said he was sorry that our team lost.  In reality, Ryan didn't really care - but it was a sweet gesture.

 One of the biggest appeals of a TCU game is how family-friendly the whole thing is.  This is due to the fact that 10+ years ago, TCU was awful and no one went to the games.  In order to boost attendance, the school started a Bleacher Creature program where kids get to run across the football field with the football team before the game.  I love that even though TCU is now an annual powerhouse, they still have this great tradition.  Greg took the 4 kids down to the field and ran across with them, while the rest of us watched from the stands.  I think they loved it.

The kids are all lined up on the left and the team (with Coach Patterson) are in the center.

They all take off at the same time.  Tech ended up coming out at about the same time, so it was funny to see all of the Tech players dodge the kids as the raced across the field.

We walked across campus after the game and stopped by the Horned Frog for a quick family picture.  Across the street from this, is the Chapel where Greg and I got married.  Luke asked if he has to get married there, too.

Another great thing about our visit to Fort Worth was eating great food.  We went to Joe T. Garcia's after the game for Mexican and the night before we went to a German restaurant where the kids (and my dad and sister) danced the Chicken Dance with the German band.

Overall, it was a great trip and the boys did a wonderful job in the car.  We broke the trip up over 4 days of driving, which really only gave us 1 full day in Fort Worth - but it was all well worth it.

Go Frogs!