Iron Bowl 2014: AKA, Longest Post Ever

Warning: Absurdly long post with tons of pics ahead!

We had an EPIC weekend, and to top it off, Bama won the Iron Bowl and they're headed to the SEC Championship! Roll Tide!

A few weeks back, Joseph was contacted by AT&T from a tweet he posted. They randomly reward fans with awesome swag and sometimes even pick them for a huge VIP weekend to see their favorite team. They call it #BetterSaturday. We just so happened to be selected for the Iron Bowl weekend and it was truly the experience of a lifetime. We were able to take our friends, Chad & Erica, along and it was amazing. We're still in shock that it happened, and that it went down the way it did.
We pretty much just walked around all weekend with our jaws dropped, like "Is this really happening???"

Here's a little recap:

**sorry in advance for all the pictures. 

Friday, we were picked up by a stretch Excursion and were driven down to Tuscaloosa. Our driver, Big Ed, was super hospitable and friendly. 

Waiting for us were some great goodies, including crimson & white Jawbone Big Jambox bluetooth speakers. 

I've tested it out and the sound is awesome!

Once we arrived at our game day condo, we were greeted by even more swag.

Beats headphones (again, awesome sound!)

iPad mini

Soon after arriving, we headed to the stadium for a private tour. 

Little did we know who was joining us on the tour......

In case you don't know...that's Gene Stallings, former(legendary) coach of the Crimson Tide. 

I was a little starstruck. We all were.

Excuse me while I just follow Coach Gene Stallings everywhere. No big deal.

And if I wasn't starstruck enough....up walks Mr. Chris Fowler.

He's even cuter in person. ;-) And taller. They were both taller than I thought they'd be, for some reason.

And my husband was that fan.

A down in front photo bomb.

Us girls were just standing over here trying to play it cool.

And that sneaky Amari Cooper photobombed us!!

Coach was kind enough to sign some jerseys, footballs, and helmets for us.

We took a look around the locker room, press room, and tunnel. I felt like I was part of the team, making my entrance onto the field. (minus all the gear, the extra 100 lbs & 6-10 inches of height, and the general athletic ability)

Yes, that's a locker room!! Nicer than my house, but whatevs.

Little tidbit: you're not allowed to walk on that medallion in the middle. Even the players walk AROUND it. The white parts are immaculately clean and WHITE!!!

Coach has so many awesome stories to tell. He'd just hop from one to another. It was like talking to an old (not old....longtime...sorry, Coach) friend. He's so genuinely kind, humble, and personable. And seriously, this guy walked all around this huge stadium and I'm pretty sure he's in better shape than me.

We bumped into Brent Musburger in the tunnel. Yes, the one who thinks Katherine Webb is hot. 

I mean, he was just stating the obvious.

A look at the field from the press box.

I tried to be a stowaway in the stadium and sleep in the locker room, but it didn't work. 

Such an amazing experience getting to see where it all happens.

Friday night, we had dinner at Kozy's, which used to be our favorite restaurant there. It's a little on the pricey side, so we college students(and current 30 year olds) saved it for special occasions such as anniversaries, Christmas parties, etc.

We got to run into some friends who were also there to celebrate our friend, Forrest's, birthday. We couldn't go to the dinner because of our dinner, but it turned out that both dinners were at the same place. I need to say dinner one more time. Dinner. 

Joseph, Chad, Jay, and Forrest (birthday boy..he's 30 today)

His sweet wife, Catherine, is to the left of me. She's due in March with their baby girl!!!

Claire, Catherine, me (duh), and Erica

After a delicious dinner, we called it a night and hit the sack. We are all 30, or almost 30, with kids, after all.

Saturday, we took our time getting up and ready and headed out to walk around campus for a bit. ESPN Gameday was there, but sleeping in is more fun at this stage in our lives. HA!

Our awesome AT&T team had the tailgate set up and it was incredible.

These guys were so good to us all weekend and worked hard to get everything ready.

We ate some tasty BBQ, and a few too many cookies, from Full Moon, watched some football on the TV (that we get to keep!), and tried out some corn-hole (which we also get to keep!). Turns out we get to keep everything at the tailgate. What????? Insane. 

Next stop...meeting Eli Gold, the voice of the Crimson Tide!! 

Another super nice guy. He was busy and had so much he needed to do, considering he was beginning his broadcast in less than an hour, but he was so kind to spend several minutes talking to us and showing us what happens behind the scenes.

We got a VIP view of the Walk of Champions from The Zone balcony. It was so much fun!

We even ran into a movie star...Lucas Black!(NCIS NOLA, Friday Night Lights, a couple Fast & Furious movies, just to name a few), He's a huge Bama fan, born in Decatur, grew up in Speake.

Erica took a pic with him. I just stood there awkwardly.

Before the game, we got to go onto the field for some warmups.

Caught Blake Sims in action....

Joseph, once again, pulled the down in front photo bomb on Blake.

And we met Yankees manager, Joe Girardi.

Oh, and then there was the actual game!!

We had pretty sweet seats and the game was amazing!

We didn't play our best in the first half, and I was pretty nervous for a while, but we hung in there and beat Auburn 55-44 for a sweet Iron Bowl victory. I have NEVER been to such an amazing game before. The crowd was pumped the ENTIRE game and the atmosphere was electric! 

As much fun as we had this weekend (and believe me, it was a TON!!), there's still nothing better than this.

Thank you so much to AT&T for providing this unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience!! 

If you don't use Twitter, now you see that sometimes it pays to use it. Get yourself on there right now!! HA!

Now, onto the SEC Championship. That one's not free, though. ;-)