The road to take...

**2013 Boy Band Bonanza**

August 2, 2013 - August 4, 2013

Chicago, IL - Clarkston, MI - Indianapolis, IN

If there was a prize for the weekend that could have been the death of me in 2013, the winner would be my Boy Band Bonanza Weekend.  During this particular weekend I traveled to three cities in three different states to see four different boy bands (five if you count Boyz II Men as a boy band).  Sounds like a complete blast right?  Oh, IT WAS!  It was so much fun that I only got a total of six hours of sleep in the whole 72 hour period.  I guess travelling about 1,000 miles in that one weekend was probably not the best idea on that little sleep....but at least I wasn't driving for some of it.  So let's get started on one of my best weekends in 2013.

Friday, August 2, 2013 - Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This tour - Chicago, IL

Late in the evening before the Backstreet Boys were supposed to be in Chicago, I discovered that they would be making a performance with a local TV station early in the morning.  It was already pretty late and by the time I found out, I would have only gotten about two or three hours of sleep.  So, I did what any rational person would do, I just decided to stay awake.  I won't go into many specifics because I will be writing a blog post on this specific day.  I was front row for the event and stood my ground as the rain came pouring down and soaked those that had disregarded the announcement to go to our cars when the storm came through.  There was no way I was giving up my spot.  It served as a first for me - the first time I stood in the rain waiting for the Backstreet Boys.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The Boys sang a few songs and I was able to snatch a photo with AJ (which also just so happened to be caught on TV by a high school classmate of mine).

Photo with AJ that makes the morning news

Chicago and Lake Michigan

Brian and I had one of our moments where he noticed me and did one of his signals to let me know that he had seen me.  Kevin saw my Kentucky shirt and gave me a "Go Big Blue."  After the event, it was time to head to the venue for sound check.

I had a little time to kill so I went for a walk along the lake front (Lake Michigan) and then found a nice shady spot to rest for awhile.  Remember, I had yet to be sleep since about 8am the previous morning.  The Chicago show was the first stop of this leg of the tour and there were SO many people for VIP, plus they were running behind (imagine that!).

We got a few songs for sound check, as well as a few songs that they would be doing during the actual show.  Brian once again saw me and signaled to me.  He surely knows how to make me happy.  By the time we got done with sound check, they had already started letting people into the venue but holding them behind a barrier.

Me, Samantha, Susan, and Amanda

The show was beyond amazing!  There was of course the small incident where the venue cut the show off right at 11 (more on that in a later post), even though they still had five songs that they had to sing.  The guys were livid.  I must have caught Brian's eye when the guys were trying to get the venue to let them continue and we mouthed an entire conversation with one another with him on stage and me in the audience.  It seemed like it went on forever but I'm sure it was only a minute or so.

Me and Kevin at the Chicago After Party

After the show, I had decided to attend the after party.  It was really the first after party I attended that was set up in the format of having the party on the venue site.  Nobody really knew what to expect since this was the first like this.  Kevin and Howie made their way into the audience while Nick did some deejaying and I was able to get a nice conversation in with Kevin.  He told me he had spotted me in my Kentucky shirt during the show and had just been about to say something when they had cut off the Boys mics when trying to shut them down.  We also discussed Kentucky football and how we felt about what kind of 2013 season we were going to have with it being Coach Stoops' first year.

I had decided to go with the package that got me a photo but I have NO idea who the other girls were in my photo.

Official Chicago After Party Photo

The after party did not end until 1am and I did not get home until much after that.  I think that by the time I finally went to bed, I had been up for 44 straight hours.  I was looking forward to some sleep but knew I wasn't going to get much because I had to drive to Detroit the next day for a Big Time Rush concert.


Saturday, August 3, 2013 - Big Time Rush - Summer Break Tour - Clarkston, MI
After a short five hours of sleep, I woke up the next morning ready for the next part of my Boy Band Bonanza Weekend.  Before leaving, I had gotten a phone call from a local newspaper to discuss the events of the previous evening at the Backstreet Boys concert and their early shut down.  I thought that was kind of cool and you can read the article HERE.

Me, Ash, Cort, Tiela, and Kat

Three and half hours on the road later, I met with the group I would attend the Big Time Rush show with.  I had actually seen a few of the girls the previous month when I met with them while on my Baseball Bonanza adventures.  However, this was the first time I was attending a show with some of the others.

I really liked the venue this show was held at and it was SO loud that night.  While we were way off to the side, we were only about three rows back.  I got a few more videos than I had at the Mohegan Sun show but the sound on some is not high quality because we were so close to the speakers.  The show was just as good as the last time I had seen them...and did I mention how incredibly LOUD it was?

While the other girls were staying there that evening and driving to the Big Time Rush show in Chicago the next day, I had to head back home right after the show, as I was going to be leaving the next morning to head to Indianapolis for The Package Tour. 

I had a tough time on the way home and had to stop often.  After all, I had only gotten five hours of sleep after having been up for 44 straight hours.  Luckily, I wasn't going to be the one driving to Indianapolis the next morning.

Sunday, August 4, 2013 - New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men - The Package Tour - Indianapolis, IN
Instead of sleeping when I arrived home from Michigan, I decided to post photos and videos instead.  An hour before I needed to start getting ready was when I finally decided to rest my eyes for a bit.  This means I had only gotten 6 total hours of sleep between my three days of boy band adventures.  You could just tell by listening to me that I was not at 100%, as my voice kept going in and out.  That's what happens after two nights of screaming at concerts and little sleep.  And I was about to head to my third.

Me and Danny Wood during my
meet and greet

I was actually going to get to meet Danny Wood from the New Kids on the Block because of some fundraising I had done for his charity organization, Remember Betty.  I was taking a Facebook friend of mine that I had never actually met in person (she was a fellow New Kids fan also living in Northwest Indiana and had donated to my fundraising).  She was a huge Danny Wood fan and I couldn't think of anyone better to take than her.  She was also going with several of her friends so I met a lot of cool girls for the first time that day.

Diane and me

While my meeting with Danny was very quick, it was pretty awesome.  He is a very nice guy.  However, the best part of it was seeing my guest's response to meeting him.  As her tears of joy fell after he was long out of site, I could not help but be reminded of the reaction I had the first time I had met Brian Littrell.  I knew exactly how she felt at that moment and I felt a great sense of pride knowing I could give her that moment.

Abbie and me

Once again, I was able to witness a fabulous show.  They were doing it slight different then when the New Kids and Backstreet had toured together (first was Boyz II Men, then 98 Degrees, and the New Kids as the main act, whereas during NKOTBSB both acts had been the feature).  This also happened to actually be the last stop of The Package Tour so we got a few extra songs that normally were not a part of the show.  Much like with last shows that the Backstreet Boys hold, there were some shenanigans when both 98 degrees and Boyz II Men attacked the New Kids with water guns.  It was the perfect ended to an awesome weekend.

That night when I got back home (with no sleep in the car on the two and a half hour ride back), I recorded the following video just to show what my experience this week had done to me:

You would think that I would have slept all of the next day away, especially since I didn't have to work.  That was NOT the case.  I was pretty dumbfounded when just four short hours after my head hitting the pillow, I was awake.  It actually took several days for me to regain full use of my voice.  I even had a job interview while my voice was not at 100% but I got the job so it must not have been too much of a hindrance.

This weekend will also be such a memorable one for me.  I traveled about 1,000 miles to three different concerts in three different states to see four different boy bands with three different groups of wonderful ladies.  The pure exhaustion I felt after those three days was well worth it!

Michigan City -> Chicago -> Michigan City -> Detroit -> Michigan City -> Indianapolis -> Michigan City
approx. 1,000 miles

I think this also gave me a tiny glimpse into what Mega Tour might be like.  It was the first time I had done three concert nights in a row and it was not easy.  Would I be able to handle a whole tour on the road?  The fact that I went back home after each show, rather than just going city to city, made it a little more difficult I think.  However, I see that Mega Tour will be extremely difficult to do if I ever got the chance.

Backstreet Boys - WGN Back to School Fair Photos
Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This - Chicago - Sound check and After Party Photos
Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This - Chicago - Concert Photos
Big Time Rush - Summer Break Tour - Detroit - Concert Photos
The Package Tour - Indianapolis - Concert Photos

View all of my videos from this weekend by visiting my YouTube Channel.



**Title Credits - "Back To Your Heart" - Backstreet Boys - Millennium**

But I should have known that I would be, another victim of your sexuality...

**New Boy Band Adventures with Old Friends**

Big Time Rush - Summer Break Tour

July 20, 2013 - Mohegan Sun - Uncasville, CT

It had been seven months since I'd seen all my Backstreet girls. We had brought the New Year in together with the Backstreet Boys in Pennsylvania but a lack of Backstreet events had prevented us from seeing one another since then. The last time I had seen the girls they had made it their personal mission to introduce a new group to me. While Big Time Rush (BTR for those of you who might not know the abbreviation) is intended for a much younger audience, a boy band is a boy band. Soon after I had retired from my trip on the east coast back in January, my Big Time Training began. E-mails with episodes of the show, interviews, and music soon began to inundate my inbox. The last thing I really needed was another boy band with which to fall in love. The last thing my husband wanted was for me to develop another obsession. I could have easily deleted all of those e-mails as they came in, but I was curious.

After the first TV episode of Big Time Rush, I noticed the similarities between it and The Monkees. While The Monkees were a bit before my time, I had fallen in love with their show growing up as I watched reruns on Nick at Nite's Block Party Summer. Monkee Mondays had been my favorite day growing up during the summer. Both shows featured a music group getting into crazy and wacky situations and featured music of the group. Why wouldn't I fall in love with something that reminded me so much of another strong love of mine?

While I was no where near the fan status of my friends, I decided that I really wanted to see one of their shows during their Summer Break Tour. While their show in Chicago was the closest, it just so happened to be the same day as the New Kids on the Block concert I would be attending in Indianapolis. Big Time Rush would be in Detroit the day before that. I just had to find someone with which to attend. My niece had gone to a show of their's the previous tour but my sister said she didn't want to go to another show. I'm going to have to teach that girl a thing or two about what being a fan girl is all about, as I was informed recently that Big Time Rush was "so yesterday" and One Direction has her heart now.  I just have to shake my head at that one.  None of my friends in the area even knew who BTR was, unless they maybe had kids who happened to watch the show. While I am more than willing to attend a Backstreet Boys show solo, BTR was a whole different story. I was either going to have to skip satisfying this new desire or I was going to have to travel to the east coast to party it up with my girls.

Scheming.....er, planning....is one thing that any fan girl should know how to do. Somehow, we were able to work it out that every single one of the girls was going to be able to make a trip, even Kristen, who would be coming all the way from what I like to call "middle of nowhere Canada."  The Mohegan Sun show in Connecticut was going to be the ultimate destination. While many of the girls used the entire week to feed their addiction, I was only going for one show during the weekend. While I would have loved to stay for a few days to just visit, I had to move my work schedule around quite a bit in the month of July for some other trips and didn't want to push my luck at work.

Working the day you are leaving for a trip is always extremely difficult, especially when you are looking so forward to it. This is what I did for this trip and the day could not have gone by any slower while at work even though I had been somewhat busy.  When I finally did get off work, I started my journey out east by heading to the bus that would take me to the airport since my husband always refuses to drive in Chicago.  I would be flying into Newark the Friday night before the show and then we would head out to Connecticut the next morning for our soundcheck and concert.

When I arrived into Newark, most of the girls were actually at a BTR show.  Ash's mom picked me up and we had some interesting conversations about my husband and my's current house buying experiences.  Things actually got a little heated at times as she was trying to give advice that went completely against our financial ideas (there is a reason we are completely debt free).  I guess I fit right in with the family as we began to argue about it.  The girls finally got home pretty late but it was so great to see them again.  After a bit of catching up it was time for bed.  We would be having some new adventures and making new memories together the next morning, as soon as the final person in our party joined us the next morning.

The next morning, once our group was complete, we couldn't help but enjoy the breakfast of champions....ice cream cake!  Anne Marie's birthday had been the week before so we had decided to surprise her with a little celebration by getting her the cake and decorating it with our favorite guys.  She seemed very surprised and it was great to be able to celebrate such a great occasion with friends.  Only people who watch Big Time Rush would know why the saying on the cake is very much hilarious.

It was finally time for the seven of us to start the almost three hour drive to Connecticut!  Everyone I was with had already seen the show at least once and had met the guys.  This was going to be a first for me.  At this point, I hadn't even picked a favorite member of the group...although I did have it narrowed down to two at least.  We spent the road trip making our song request signs for soundcheck and catching up with one another.  While the shows we see with one another are always fantastic, sometimes it is just these moments that I appreciate the most.

When we got to Mohegan Sun, we got into line to check in for our soundcheck.  Ash and Cort ran into some fellow Rushers they knew and we all got into line together.  We got our VIP passes and then waited some more to get into the venue for soundcheck.  While waiting in line we chatted with a really cool mom and dad that were there with their daughter.  The group had met them before and I all I could think about was how I wish my parents would have done something like that for me for BSB when I was young like that.  Now, I'm having to play catch up from all of the opportunities I missed!  We could hear the guys doing some soundcheck from where we were waiting in line and at some point Ash started to do one of her dances to one of the songs.  Cort noticed that there were some fellow fans that happened to be taking photos/video of her while she was doing it.  Ash is always super fun to be around because she does crazy things like that.

When we were finally seated for soundcheck we were in the very front row.  Unlike BSB VIP's we were allowed to take no photos or video.  In a way, I like this so that I could just watch.  However, I really like taking photos and video!  The signs we had made said "Cover Girl" on one side and "Stuck" on the other.  We knew signs had worked when we had gone to see BSB for New Year's so we hoped that they would work for BTR, as well.  Sure enough, it actually got some interaction going.  When the guys had seen our "Cover Girl" side, they had seemed a bit hesitant.  We quickly turned the signs over to "Stuck."  That was when the guys started asking the audience which they would prefer to hear.  The guys ended up singing "Cover Girl" but had a few spots where you could tell that they were having problems remembering the words.  As Backstreet fans, we are totally used to that!  The second song they sang was "Windows Down," which they always sing during their soundchecks.  Big Time Rush does their soundcheck acoustically, which I really liked.  At some point, Kendall started singing "Give Me One More Night (Una Noche)" by 98 degrees and Ash and I were the only ones that were belting out the words with him.  I guess their typical audience might be a little too young to know the boy bands with which we were raised.

While we weren't picked to ask any questions, there were some funny moments during the Q&A portion.  One negative thing about their Q&A is that the audience does not get a microphone to use like BSB's does.  It was extremely hard to hear the questions and I am not really sure how the guys heard anyone up there on stage.  Because video was not allowed and the show happened a month ago (update:  I started writing this post in July but am not finishing it until March of the next year....I'm so behind!), I don't remember the questions exactly but some of the responses are hard to forget!  I believe Carlos was asked something about a dream and he went into the fact that his girlfriend (now wife) had actually had a dream the night before about Kendall.  The embarrassment on Kendall's face was priceless!  He turned so red and started covering up his face with his hands.  Carlos tried to save it and say the dream wasn't like that but  Kendall's reaction said otherwise.  Logan was asked what his favorite song off the new album was and he totally missed on the title. 


It was then time for our VIP photo.  Per a special request, I had borrowed one of the girl's "I <3 CP" shirt (her boyfriend isn't such a big fan of her having it) so that I could be in the photo next to Carlos, while the three others with their own shirts stood next to their favorites.  At the time, I still wasn't sure if Carlos or Logan was my ultimate favorite but there was already a Logan girl in the group so I happily took Carlos.  This was going to be my first time meeting them and I was pretty nervous.  I walked right up to Carlos and gave him a hug (another difference between BSB and BTR's meet and greets).  He immediately put his arm around me as the group got situated (Kendall had disappeared off to who knows where).  After the photo, Carlos playfully grabbed my side and told me it was nice to meet me.  I'm thinking from that moment on, I was a Carlos girl.  I always say I've now met Big Time Rush, but really I have only met Carlos because I don't even think I said "hi" to any of the other guys.  Oops.  Afterwards, Ash insisted, like she does every time, that Kendall hates her....oh that silly girl.

We had some time to kill after our VIP and the show so we decided to grab some pizza, where we were trying to pressure each other into just having "one more piece" so that we wouldn't have any leftovers.


Then it was time for the show!  I believe we were about the 6th row (it's been like eight months since the show and I've done a lot since then) so we had pretty good seats.  BTR had a lot to live up to, after all my boy band concert expectations were high from years of attending BSB shows.  I have to say, they delivered.  The show was excellent and very much full of energy.  I didn't get any videos from the show, which you know is very much unlike me.  However, in true Chrissy fashion, I did get a lot of great photos, which you can see HERE.

We may have stuck around the casino for a bit afterwards to see if we could catch a glimpse of the guys.  After all, we are some of the very few fans that could have actually run into them in the casino.  There were no sightings by us but we later heard of a few fans that ran into some of guys in the casino.  The ride back to Jersey was filled with a lot of comparing and contrasting between Big Time Rush and the Backstreet Boys....well, when we weren't worried about Ash killing us because her eyes kept giving her issues as she was driving.

It was also the ride home that I began to scheme a new adventure.  I had only planned on seeing BTR once.  Then two of the girls mentioned that they might go to Detroit to see BTR in August.  I happened to have tickets to see the Backstreet Boys in Chicago the day before that show and New Kids on the Block in Indianapolis the day after that show.  Could I really see three boy bands in the span of three days in three different cities and states?  I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to see if that, in fact, did happen....

I had to head back home the day after the show and the trip was pretty uneventful.  I was missing my girls already but knew that I would be able to see them again just a few short months later when we got together in Vegas to see the Backstreet Boys for my birthday.

**Title Credit - "Don't Want You Back" - Backstreet Boys - Millennium

Where you can run to make it alright....

**Big Blue Weekend**
April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
Lexington, KY

When I tell people how much I absolutely love the city of Lexington, it never fails that I get a strange look from the Northerners that I am surrounded by on a daily basis.  I may have been born and raised in Northwest Indiana, but my heart truly does belong in Lexington, Kentucky.  Before you follow suit of those around me and start asking "why don't you just live there?", know that my husband has had to relocate us twice for work (once from Muncie, IN to New Albany, IN and once from New Albany to back up north where we were raised).  Both relocations ended in a layoff.  Now, he refuses to relocate ever again.  It truly does sadden my heart.  Northwest Indiana was a great place to grow up, but everyday I live here I am not entirely happy.  People begin to question why I travel so much and I hope that this gives you some insight into that query.  Whenever I can get away from this place, I take advantage of it - especially if my destination is my favorite city.

It is no secret how much I love University of Kentucky baseball (well, unless you are a new reader and just joining in all of my crazy adventures).  After seeing the team during Regionals in Gary in 2012, I knew I had to actually make it down to Lexington to see them play, it was just a matter of choosing which weekend to make the six hour trip.

Hudson Valley Renegades jersey that Michael Williams
wore during his first and only MiLB season

After contemplating the schedule, I saw that the Wildcats would be playing Tennessee at home.  I knew that former Wildcat, Michael Williams, had a brother that pitched for UT and that Michael had been attending a good amount of his brother's games.  If you recall, Michael is one of the WIldcats that I had traveled to New York to see play with his minor league team after he had been drafted.  Additionally, when the team auctioned off the game worn jerseys, I became the proud owner of the #35 Hudson Valley Renegades Away Jersey (I had seen them play in an away series because a friend of mine worked for the opposing team) - AKA, the jersey Michael had worn during the three games I had attended in New York.  I knew that if Michael happened to be going to the UK v. UT series, I could bring it with me and get it signed by him.  And even though he is no longer playing (that's a different story for a different day), the jersey would always bring back the memories of my trip to New York and my conversations with this former Bat Cat.  To some, it may seem silly to choose a series to attend based on the attendance of a person who could possibly not even be there.  However, I knew that if I was ever going to get that jersey autographed, that would be one of the sparse moments that it could happen.

After determining this particular series as the best weekend for me to attend, I made a great realization.  The 2013 Spring Football Game would be happening that very same weekend and it was going to be BIG with a lot of excitement for the football program drawn from the fact that UK has gotten new football coach, Mark Stoops.  This was just the annual Blue v. White scrimmage but the interest to see what Stoops was going to do with this team was high.  Ticket sales were through the roof compared to the previous year (more on that later).  This scrimmage meant that I would not only get to see one UK team play this particular weekend, but two!  You see, I am a true fan that bleeds blue for ALL Kentucky athletics, not just their ever so popular basketball team.

I began to make my plans for the weekend by buying my tickets and getting my hotel.  I would be meeting a friend, Beth, from Huntington, WV who is not only a Kentucky fan, but a Backstreet Boys fan as well!  I had invited Tammy, my usual Kentucky travel mate, to join me for the weekend, but she had been unable to make the trip.

When a workshop was offered to me the Friday I was supposed to head down to Lexington, I decided to take advantage of attending.  The workshop would allow me to rearrange my schedule to get off work earlier than if I worked a regular day AND it was about 45 minutes closer to Lexington.  Why wouldn't I take advantage of those two things?  The workshop itself was also good so there were no regrets going.

As usual when I head anywhere south, I stayed with a friend in the Louisville area on Friday night so that I could continue my trip to Lexington the next morning.  And as always - Indiana was as boring as ever to drive through.

Beth and I had made plans to grab lunch at Tolly Ho for some amazing burgers before heading to the ballpark so that we could catch batting and fielding practice....well, after a small detour to the Wildcat Wearhouse to browse their University of Kentucky gear.  We got to the ballpark shortly after the gates opened and Kentucky was taking their batting practice.  Unfortunately, my streak of sitting right behind the dugout was ended, as there is no seating in that area at Cliff Hagan Stadium and we had general admission tickets which is seating further up in the stands.  I realized I was going to have to deal with another stupid net in my photography (I had this same problem the previous weekend when I had gone to a minor league game to see a former Wildcat).  The camera likes to focus on the net in the foreground, rather than the subject in the background.  When it does work properly, there is a stupid net in all the photos!  Oh well, I guess there is nothing I can do about that.

Beth and me at the UK v. UT baseball game

While waiting for the game to start, we started a nice conversation with an older couple sitting behind us.  After telling them that I had come from Indiana and Beth had come from West Virginia and discussing our love for all UK teams, we were asked if Mitch Barnhart (the athletic director at Kentucky) knew we existed.  I agree with the guy that Mitch should totally give us jobs...I don't know what we would do but he wouldn't even have to pay me as long as lodging, food, and access to all games were provided.  I'm just saying, that would be awesome.

I was on constant look out for Michael, as well as the mom of Kentucky player, Austin Cousino.  We had been talking since Regionals on Facebook when she contacted me to thank me for the photos I had taken.  I eventually spotted Michael talking to some of the players by the dugout so I wanted to wait until he was done catching up with everyone that he knew....and there were a lot of them as he made his way around the park talking to fans, family members of the players, and friends.  I eventually saw an opening to grab my jersey and go talk to him.  He signed my Renegades jersey and my photo with him from my New York trip.  We then had what I thought was a very nice discussion.  We talked about  Luke and the Hot Rods since I had just seen the team play the previous weekend (many of the Hot Rods were on the Renegades with Michael).  We also talked about some things that made me feel a little less bitter that he had been released from the Renegades.  However, knowing that I might not get to see Michael play baseball in the future still makes me a bit sad.  He was a great ball player.  After our nice conversation, we got another photo together.  It is always truly a pleasure seeing and talking to Michael and I am grateful that he is just a genuine good guy.

Former Wildcat, Michael Williams, and his autographed jersey and photo

After months of waiting to see these Wildcats play in person, the game finally began.  They had a nice crowd since the Spring Football game was later that day.  Many fans actually left early from the baseball game to head to the football game and boy did they miss out on the end of a great game, even though Kentucky lost.  With one out left in the bottom of the ninth, Kentucky was trailing by five runs and bases loaded for the second time in the inning.  A grand slam by AJ Reed brought us within one but we fell short in our 9th inning rally.

Not only did I get to see the grand slam by AJ Reed, who is a fellow Hoosier from Terre Haute, but Max Kuhn who is also from the state of Indiana, had a home run of his own.  As much as I hate living in the state of Indiana, it feels good when those raised in the same state are successful wherever they go.

After the baseball game, we still had plenty of time to do the short walk from Cliff Hagan Stadium to Commonwealth Stadium for the Spring Football game.  When we got there, the gates weren't even open yet so we did some exploring and found the UK Alumni Association tent.  Beth is an alumni association member, but for a mere $10 I received enterance and access to the food, music, and prizes (I won a UK waterbottle which I was quite excited about).

Beth and me at the 2013 UK Spring Football Game

I hadn't been to a football game in a couple of years so I was so excited to be back at Commonwealth Stadium to see the Wildcats play, even if they were just playing against themselves since it was a scrimmage.  There was a lot of excitement surrounding this Spring Game because of the new football coach, Mark Stoops, and the promise of a much better season than those the team has had recenetly because of hiring him.  This was my first Spring Game and I could not believe how many people were there!  I actually think there were more people at this Spring Game than at the last regular game I attended.  In fact, they completely blew 2012's attendance out of the water!

If the above photo isn't enough to convince you about how excited the Big Blue Nation was for this Mark Stoops era, let me give you another perspective on this attendance.  The estimated crowd for this game was about 7,600 more than the largest crowd at a regular season game in 2012.  So, there were more fans at a SCRIMMAGE than an actual GAME from the previous year.  The attendance at this game also completely annihilated the previous attendance record of 20,325, set in 1987.  Of the 14 teams in the SEC, UK beat out nine of them in attendance.  The previous year, Kentucky came in dead last in attendance for the spring game.  What is even more impressive was that of the 14 teams, Kentucky had the greatest increase in attendance from the previous year - by almost 6,000 people ahead of Auburn (who had the greatest attendance of all SEC schools).  Hopefully, I have now gotten my point across at just how electrified this stadium was.

It was nice to see what the season was going to have in store for us as we watched the two sides scrimmage.  Hearing the air raid sirens go off each time a team scored brought an excitement back to Commonwealth Stadium that had not been heard and felt in years.  It was an excitement that had been growing since the following commercial had aired earlier in the year...

As can be expected, there were some mistakes out on the field.  Overall, fans got great insight into what the upcoming football season will hold.  After going into the half tied at 10, the Blue team came out the victors 24-23 when the White team's two-point conversion pass attempt failed.

2013 UK Spring Football Game

Four members of the 2012-2013 UK Men's Basketball Team

Not only did I get UK Baseball AND UK football in one day, but some of the UK basketball team was seen cheering along the sideline, as well.

Plus, there was plenty of spirit in the stands.  As a matter of fact, one of my favorite moments was when The Wave graced Commonwealth Stadium and just kept going and going and going.  After a disappointing football season the previous year and an even more disappointing 2012-2013 basketball season, it was great to see the Big Blue Nation excited about something again!

After an amazing day of Kentucky athletics, Beth and I weren't quite ready to leave the campus that we both love so much.  We made our way over to the Wildcat Coal Lodge, which houses the men's basketball team and thought for a moment that we might get to see some Wildcats in the middle of a pickup game as we passed by a basketball court and saw that it was in use.  We were kind of disappointed when those players turned out to be nobody special.  After some pictures with the legendary Coach Joe B. Hall, we made our way over to the student center.

Statue of Coach Joe B. Hall outside of the Coal Lodge

Beth, Coach Hall, and me

 On the way to the student center, I showed some love for my Bat Cats...

...and represented my love for all the Wildcats at Kentucky by giving the new Wildcat statue on campus some love...

It was finally time to end our day of fun and get some much needed rest for the next day of fun at the ballpark, where we would both get to see our favorite Wildcat, Corey Littrell, pitch.  Beth made her way back to her friends as I took the short trip to my hotel and it's incredibly hard bed.

Beth and I met the next morning at Ramsay's, where I just couldn't quite bring myself to order a Kentucky Hot Brown that early in the morning.  However, their breakfast was HUGE and I knew I wasn't going to have to eat again until dinner time.  We decided that there was one more place we needed to go together...we needed to go visit a legend.

Coach Adolph Rupp is buried in the Lexington Cemetary

It was such a perfect day for a baseball game.  I might have gone a bit overboard at the merchandise stand, where I bought three more Kentucky baseball shirts to add to my already large Wildcat wardrobe.  While walking my merchandise back out to the car, I realized I had parked in the wrong parking lot.  It just so happened that I was able to move and park right next to some of the Wildcat parents that were tailgating before the game started.  I had, of course, already met some of them between the day before and during regionals last year in Gary, but it was cool to get to meet more of them.  They made me feel right at home among them as a fellow Wildcat baseball fan.

Unfortunately, this game wasn't nearly as exciting as the previous day due to the fact that Tennessee was able to shut out the Wildcats and win 5-0.  While the game had been scoreless in the first five innings, four Tennessee batters in a row reached base in the sixth - scoring three runs.

I had been looking forward to seeing Corey Littrell pitch again since I had decided to go to Lexington for this series.  He pitched 7.1 innings, allowing eight hits and five runs.  He walked two and struck out three.  So, it wasn't his greatest outing but I was still happy to see him play.  Having a pitcher as your favorite player can be difficult since they play so rarely.  You have to stand behind them 100% during that one day a week where they do play.

Every Sunday when the Bat Cats are playing an SEC team, they have an autograph session after the game.  I think this was the part that I was looking forward to the most.  Beth had gotten me a team poster during one of her many trips to see the basketball team play that season but it had gotten a little beat up in the transition from her to me.  Luckily, they had fresh new team posters there awaiting to be autographed.  When I had seen former Wildcat, Luke Maile play just a few short days before in South Bend, he had asked me to tell everyone that he said "hello."  So, as I went down the line, I informed all of those he had played with the previous year of his message.

My signed and framed 2013 UK Baseball Poster

Corey was all the way towards the end of the line and I had the photo we had taken together at Regionals for him to sign.  He didn't appear to be in the greatest mood because when I asked him how he was doing, he had replied with, "I'm hanging in there."  I'm sure he was probably disappointed with his pitching outing that day so I wasn't going to push anything any further.  When I was finished getting all of my autographs I decided that I was going to try to wait for Corey to possibly get another photo.  Many of the families of the players were waiting outside the ball park so I waited, as well.

We waited and waited and waited.  When all of the players appeared to be out of the ball park and the gates were being closed, we headed back to the car.  Corey had never appeared.  There had been another exit that he might have taken...oh well.  As we exited the parking lot, we got a nice little surprise.  Corey was walking down the side walk, crossing right in front of us, with his dad.  I waved out the window and got a wave back.  Beth rolled down her window and I shouted out a request for a photo.  When he agreed, I quickly put the car into park right there in the entry way of the parking lot (luckily there was no one around because everyone was already gone), hopped out, and had his dad take the photo (thanks again Jack).  I absolutely love the photo and think it might be one of my favorites with the two of us.  I thanked him again for everything and went on my way.

Corey Littrell and me

After dropping Beth at her car, I started the six hour drive back to Northwest Indiana.  It had been an amazing weekend in my favorite city, filled with some of my favorite things.  I made a very important decision on my drive back north....next year I wanted to earn myself a Cliff Dweller shirt.  I was certain that I did not go another season without travelling down to Lexington to see the Bat Cats play.

You can see my entire album of photos from this weekend HERE.

**Title Credit - "The One" - Backstreet Boys - Millennium **