Well, Mississippi State managed to squeeze into a GREAT bowl this year!  We were super excited about traveling to Nashvegas and watching our Dawgs play in the Music City Bowl!  Jamie and Charlie wanted to join us, so we ordered a few extra tickets.  I think there were around 10 of us this trip.  You may remember the fun we had at the Gator Bowl last year.

We arrived early on the 29th to check in early.  The alumni party was at Wildhorse Saloon.  It opened at 4:00 only allowing 1500 people before it was a "one in, one out" system.  We freshened up and walked a few blocks from our hotel to the Wildhorse.

Jamie and me

There was already a line down the street, which we stood in.  Once we were seated in fabulous seats by the dance floor, we ordered our supper as we watched the dancing and listened to the band. 

Lee and Kristin

Russ and Mama

Me and the hubs

We knew Dustin and Daddy would arrive a few hours later, so we made sure we had seats for them and made good use of our time until they arrived for our second serving of a full dinner and dessert!  Ha!  Kristin and I joined in on a few dances, catching on as we went.  And, of course, hopped on out there for "Cupid Shuffle" and "Cha Cha Slide!"

Shakin' it!

We had a ball visiting, playing, laughing, and dancing with friends all night!

Charlie, Russ, Jamie, and me

Mama and Karen

Dustin and Jase

I guess it wasn't just friends we enjoyed playing with!  Ha!  The brother-in-laws seemed to have a great time too!  I'm never quite sure what they will do next, but I never tire of finding out!

Lee and Russ

Russ can solve any problem with a pitcher of water!  My favorite part is Dustin's face!

Let's see...I think our group was there about 5 hours before Dustin and Daddy showed up.  We continued our party until around 2 am.  I hung pretty well!  There were a couple who made the walk home after midnight, but the Smiths kept going.  We moved our party from Wildhorse to Big Bang, and closed the place down.  I think it's pretty safe to say that we are no ordinary "preacher's family."  Haha!  I wish I had realized how cool we were when I was in school.  I'm sure I would have invited my parents along more often!

Me and my baby brother

Daddy and Mama

Party of Two

Kristin, Daddy, me, Jamie, and Dustin

The next morning, we all slept in.  We decided to eat lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory downtown to catch a glimpse of the pep rally.  Well, the pep rally didn't work out because of our late start (Imagine that!) but our lunch was delicious!

Game Day!

We made it to the stadium in time to visit with some other friends who made the trek to Nashville for the game.  We got our seats, took a few pictures, geared up with our paraphernalia, and were ready for some FOOTBALL!!

Music City Bowl 2011

Kristin and Mama in their pom pom gloves

Russ and I game ready!  It was a little chilly, and Russ had no qualms about wearing his fur hat!  Haha!

The game was NOT what we had hoped for.  It was not pretty.  It was, however, a win.  A win is a win, I suppose.  We topped the night off with a night in the room playing a fun game of Headbanz.  We ordered room service and enjoyed our time together.  Well, most of us did.  Mama and Kristin were snoring before the game even started!

What a great way to end 2011!  I still have "visions of bowl games dancing in my head" for next year.  So, I'll be in Starkville cheering on my Dawgs this season!  Will you?

Egg Bowl 2011

Well, we did it.  We faced the bad weather forecast full on last Saturday for the annual Egg Bowl!  One day every year, Mississippians come together in one stadium...this year it was Davis Wade Stadium...to cheer on their team!  Of course, we were there for our Bulldogs!

Loyal fans to the end.  In the stands rain, sun, sleet, or snow!  After much debate and going back and forth, we ended up putting up one tent and one small table of snacks with chairs to tailgate a little before the game.  This was after a yummy lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings in Starkvegas.

We made a small stop by The Lodge to stock up on our last gameday goods.  One of those purchases included Daddy's "doorbell."  Yes, it's a cowbell that hangs on the wall...or, in our case, our tent.  Every time Daddy walked by, he rang the doorbell.

We are glad Daddy decided to give in and put up a tent for two reasons.  #1 - Russ looked pretty silly sitting out with all the random chairs.  #2 - It started raining just after we set up!

As always, we enjoyed our visitors and passersby.  Jimbo and Rachael never fail to stop by and visit.  They win the "great friends of the football season award" this year, because I never made it by their tent.  Yet, they rarely missed a week to visit us! 

Jimbo and Russ

Dustin had a few friends in town to play.  Ha!  Most of them included Ole Miss fans I think.  I was thankful for their willingness to not dress in bright red and blue.  For the most part, they remained neutral.  However, there was some debate on whether Dustin was sporting red or maroon.  Hmmmm...I'm still going with red.  He swears it's maroon!  What do you think?

Dustin and Sheila

Mama, Ben, and his friend (or girlfriend...I can't remember!)

Daddy and Carson solving the world's problems

Like I said, it began to rain soon after we got settled.  That didn't stop Mama and me from greeting our Dawgs at the Dawg Walk!  It was just as loud and fun as always.  I forgot my camera, so I had one free hand while the other was ringing my cowbell.  What did I do with my free hand?  Oh, well, I gave the following "fives": Coach Mullen, Tyler Russell, and Chris Relf...among others. 

Me and Mama in our cute ponchos

We had a surprise visit from Russ's cousin and my great friend, Season!  She had her sweet little Hunter in October.  She let Stacee keep the baby so she could enjoy one football game this season.  I'm not sure if she made it through the entire rainy game, but I'm sure her pregame festivities made up for it!  Ha!

Season and me

We had a last minute change to our stadium seating arrangement.  Kristin and Lee found out they couldn't make it to the game, so I immediately texted Jeff to see if he wanted to bring Seth.  Seth and I share a mutual obsession with anything MSU.  Thankfully, Jeff was willing to brave the rain and bring Seth.  I think, or I hope, they had a blast!

Jeff, Seth, and Russ

Sitting on "Smith row"....section C row 6!

The rain may have dampened the ground, but it didn't dampen True Maroon spirit!  Our team came out wearing their new Egg Bowl uniforms complete with gold shoes, gold numbers, and "Hail State" written on their backs!  We cheered on our senior players and got ready to play ball against TSUN (that school up north).

It was wet, cool, and rainy!  It was fun, exciting, and a little sloppy too.  Worth every soaked bone and every chill bump!  We scored one right after the other up front.  We took it slow after halftime much to our dismay.  However, our Dawgs held those Rebels to only one field goal.  No touchdowns!

Me and Russ

Dustin keeping the rain out!

As expected, the Rebel fans began to trickle out.  Ben texted Dustin to tell him he thought it was about to hale .  He wondered if they were ready to leave.  Likely story!  Ha!  Dustin simply texted back...."Yeah, it's gonna hale alright....HAIL STATE!"  Just for the record, State fans have been there MANY times before, so we try not to enjoy the misery of "the other team" too much.  We know it hurts.

But in the end, it was fireworks, cowbells, cheers, yells, and running around with the Golden Egg!  Bulldogs wrapped it in maroon and white!

We are bowl bound!  Our tickets are preordered, our hotel rooms are reserved, and we are patiently waiting until Sunday's announcement.  Will it be Nashville or Memphis?  I'm crossing my fingers for a fun Music City Bowl on December 30.  We'll see.

Until then, we'll enjoy this win and the next 365 days of bragging rights.

MSU vs. Bama

For those of you who don't know...last week, the Smith family made a historical decision.  Russ traveled to our hometown so that we could join up with the family for the Homecoming game against UT Martin.  I was in Jackson with Mama and Kristin for Mistletoe.  However, after much arduous debate, we opted to stay at home so that we could watch the LSU-Alabama game.  Yes.  We did.  No, it wasn't the second coming.  No, no one died.  It was just a decision that had to be made.  Whoever decided to play our dinky little game at the same time as the "biggest" game on television had lost their mind.  And we weren't happy about it.  So, we set up two television sets in the living room...the big screen was showing the big game, while the smaller one allowed us to keep up with our Bulldogs.

Now, we are back on track with our tailgating festivities! 

Saturday, my beloved Dawgs hosted the Crimson Tide in a little game of SEC football.  It was a gorgeous day!  Cool, windy, and completely sunny!  We set up around lunchtime with a minimal spread of food for the day.  It was all we needed.  Daddy and Dustin walked over to the Hump to watch State's basketball game.  The rest of us relaxed, visited, and watched some football on our TV.

Sherra and Mama

Russ and I took a stroll to the bookstore before the big crowd made its way there.  We finished up a little Christmas shopping and picked up a few necessities for the day.

Me and Russ

A full day of relaxation in the fresh air was a little unfamiliar!  We didn't know what to do! Ha!  There were many laughs, a good bit of silliness, visitors, and yummy snacking.

Sisters

Lee and Kristin

Smithites

This family never travels unprepared!  We brought entertainment as well!  So, there were constant games of cornhole played throughout the day.  I lost quite badly during my one game.  But, it appears that Kristin and Daddy are quite the match.

Me....losing

Daddy...battling

Kristin....trying to defend her title

No Smith tailgate is ever complete without a slew of visitors...regulars and new ones!  We love visiting with friends, especially those we haven't seen in a while.  It brings Russ and I back to our "college days."  It's hard to believe it's been six years since I graduated college!  Craziness!

Zach, Seth, and Russ

Lee, Matt, and Russ

Kendall, sweet Ella Kate, and me

Jordan and Dustin

The pregame activities incited quite the excitement!  A speech by Coach Mullen, cheering from the team, and an explosive defensive game plan brought the fans to their feet!  Our defense played one fantastic game!  Our offense struggled...as usual.  But, the possibilities of actually pulling ahead were too much to keep me in my seat.  Well...that and the fact that the girl behind us threw up on Dustin and Jordan.  I just wasn't feeling it.  I'd rather stand to make sure I cheered the team on and steered clear of any grossness.  Ha!  Don't worry.  I told you we never went anywhere unprepared.  Daddy whipped out his garbage bags after we covered everything with paper towels.  All was well.  But, I sure hope the guys washed their clothes several times that night!

We loved catching up with two more sweet friends we haven't seen in a while.  Jennifer and Jaysen had tickets just below us and joined us for halftime.  We sure do miss all our college peeps!  We must get together soon!  Before all their kids get too old and busy!

Jaysen, Jennifer, me, and Russ

Well, I'm sure you know by now that we didn't pull of a win.  In fact, the final score looks even worse than it actually was.  Bama scored twice pretty close to each other in the fourth quarter, and we lost our edge defensively.  Exhausted, I'm sure!  We were cheering for our defense to force a turnover and try to score for us.  It seemed to be the better plan, since our offense was taking it easy.  Oh well.  Another Saturday, another gameday!  Next week...Arkansas!

I still believe!