XLV 45 Sunday 2 6 11

So, Sunday morning... Ed and I are too excited that we are going to the Super Bowl in just a few short hours. First, Coffee and a bagel down in the continental breakfast room.... Ugh, Steeler fans again. Anyway, we ignore them and have our little breakfast and head back up stairs to shower. Well, we should have showered first - No Hot Water, none, zip, zilch. We both had to take freezing cold showers, it stunk. We figure, every single person at the Ramada was getting ready at exactly the same time for exactly the same reason. Brrrrr.

Anyway, Dick B. picked us up, took a couple photo's in our Dream Foundation T-shirts, then we changed into our game gear and hit the road. I'm glad we were on the road by 11:45 a.m. - No Traffic. We parked in the Six Flags parking lot and were really close to Rangers Stadium - it's a pretty cool set up, you have Six Flags - parking - The Rangers baseball Stadium - a few random roads - Cowboy Stadium; it's very cool how all three are right in a row. So, we hop on one of the many school buses to take us over the the stadium - we probably could have walked, but didn't want to risk Ed not being able to walk that far cause we were not really sure where we would have to go. Anyway, our bus got held up to let the Referee bus through with security - too funny. So, we exit the bus and start to walk to the section we need to enter. It was crazy. So much fencing was set up around the stadium you were in line, but no where near the building. It was cool. We stood there until 1:15 and they finally opened the gates and started moving toward the security check point. Since we were in line fairly early - we had no problems and were inside the perimeter within 10-15 minutes maybe. Mind you we stood without moving prior to that for maybe 45, but compared to some of the horror stories we heard later in the day, we had it good!

So you enter the inside of the fenced area and it's just too cool to take in. This stadium is mammoth. All these outside table and chairs were set up so you could have some drinks, eat some pizza and listen to some music before entering the ginormous venue that is Cowboy stadium - O M G... Huge. We did make the mistake of not buying our shirts prior to entering the building, but what did we know?! We never did this before. We go into the stadium and proceed to go up 4 or 5 sets of escalators. We were up there! So, we walked around and then went to check out our seats - crazy man. The big screen over the field was un-be-liev-a-ble. HUGE. 70 yards long - almost the length of the field. And, surprisingly, crystal clear. So Cool. Ed and I decided to check out shirts, I mean, we had several hours before game time, however, the lines at the indoor stores were crazy. We decide, being the brainiacks we are, to go back outside. Not smart. First, none of the escalators are running down because there are 103,000 people trying to go up to their seats. We find an elevator and head back down. Well, the crowd outside the stadium is now much, much larger than the previous hour we were down there. We tried to stand in line for shirts but it was complete insanity. No lines were organized and we stood in a pushing and shoving match for 25 minutes but never moved forward. After again being harassed by Steeler fans for what we were wearing, we just got out of line. I needed a smoke! Ugh, it was crazy - so we decide to head back up again and wouldn't you know it, we run smack into the Super Bowl 5 - you know, the 5 old dudes that have been to every Super Bowl - they were surrounded by quite a few people, but it was really neat to see them walking through! They had on matching coats and one was in a wheel-chair, but they were there! Soooo Neat!

Well, we get a few pricey cocktails and head to our seats to just watch the pre-game activity on the big screen. Time went amazingly fast. Next thing you know, the players are warming up on the field - the coin toss comes - and the game begins. Well, you all know how the actual game went so no news there. Ed went shopping during the first quarter once most fans were in their seats, so we did get our shirts and what not.

Half-time; Sorry to tell you all in TV land, but live, the show was AWESOME. Sound was great - all the people on the field were incredible to watch. Again, just surreal. So Much Fun. We did miss the end of half time because we were pulled out of our seats by Marty Hendricks, a reporter from the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal. Unfortunately, you cannot read the article unless you subscribe, so I had to get a one month subscription so I could see our article on line - too funny.

After the game, it was amazing how quickly the black/yellow left the building... The majority of Steeler fans did not stay for the ceremonies... Really... You spend all that money and you leave before it is all over. Come On. Whatever... Poor Sports is what I say... I mean, your team was there - isn't that enough. Guess not. I was so cool to watch all the post-game celebrations. All the glitz and glamor that is the Super Bowl.

Leaving the stadium was quite a different experience than entering. See, everyone came at different times during the morning and mid-afternoon; however, leaving was done pretty much at the same time. We couldn't find a bus to take us back to our parking lot so we had to walk. Not too bad, a slight freezing drizzle was coming down and we just took our time. Ed had to stop and stretch every once in a while to get the pain out of his leg and back, but he was on an adrenaline high so that helped. When we finally got to the car, we were tired, damp and just still in awe of the entire experience.

Dick dropped us off at the hotel around 10:30 p.m. I guess (remember, we were 1 hour behind our own time zone)... Ed and I went upstairs and went potty, then we walked across the street to Denny's (the only thing in walking distance from our hotel) had some hot food and we were in bed before midnight!

We were tired and achy on Monday, but figured since the weather had cleared up nicely, getting home would be a piece of cake..... Bwwaahhaahhaahhhaa.... Our flight from Dallas to Houston was delayed by 10 minutes, so when we hit Houston we ran through the airport to catch our 2:35 flight to Cleveland. We got to the gate at 2:36 - plane still there, but door's shut - No Can Do, we cannot let you on. Needless to say, we sat in Houston until 6:55 p.m. when the next available flight to Cleveland would be leaving that had seats. So, we shopped in the Houston Airport, we ate and we drank! By the time we boarded that 7 p.m. flight, we were toast.

So, we can relax and sleep on the way home, right, NOPE... 4 year old boy behind me kicked my seat and coughed the entire trip. I am not exaggerating, ask Ed, this kid hacked the entire 3 1/2 hr. flight. Neither Ed or myself went into work on Tuesday like originally planned, we were exhausted from this crazy three day trip and we both slept until 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

Now, we are back in reality mode and we even watched the game over on DVR so we could see the commercials we missed and to see how bad half-time came across on TV. You all were right, it did not come over well for the television audience. That's a shame, cause like I said, LIVE - it was great!

By the way - Ed's CT Scans showed no changes in his tumor, no growth, no shrinkage - just the same. So, not bad news, not great news, but definitely good news. Ed is more determined now than ever to prove the doctors wrong and make it to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis next year. Hey, at least we could drive and make better time.

So, thanks for all the love and support leading up to and during our trip! You all made it possible.... Dream Foundation, family, friends, The Cleveland Browns.... It will never be forgotten!

Peace...... MK & Ed