THUMPED !!

The big day finally arrived. We have been looking forward to this day since Austin was recruited and signed to play at Western Michigan University on his full scholarship back in his Senior year in high school. The fact that it was also our anniversary (42nd) paled in comparison to the excitement we felt in anticipation of visiting and watching Austin play for the first time. The team they were playing - Buffalo - was (supposedly) not one of the better teams and we anticipated a victory in this Homecoming game at the University.

We left on time at 8 AM for the almost 3 hour drive from Naperville to Kalamazoo, MI. The weather was perfect, and the drive was nice as we saw some Fall colors that were along the freeway.

It was close to 11:30 EST when we arrived at the campus:

Our schedule called for a stop at the Will Call office to pick up our game tickets before heading to the tailgate party at one of the lots near the stadium. The Will Call office was in part of the stadium where the Hall of Fame is located and I got a shot of the area where some big names in football - all WMU Alumni - were honored:

The next stop was the catered tailgate party and the homecoming festivities were "on":

It wasn't too far from where the party was that we walked to the stadium. We arrived in plenty of time before the start of the game and entered the stadium while the teams were still working out in their pre-game warm-ups:

As family of one of the players, we had front row seats on the 50 yard line for the game. What a great location to watch a game and take pictures. We all took many shots of the game and of Austin, and below are just a sample of some of the photos taken during the game:

Austin was in on most of the special team plays and he will get his chance on the offense when the time is right. That may be sooner than later, as the team sputtered and generally looked awful as they lost the game, 33-0:

We thought there was a good chance that they would turn the corner is this game during the first period when they trailed by 6-0 and were driving deep into Buffalo territory. Then there were 3 penalties on consecutive plays that killed the drive, and basically ended their momentum. They never really threatened again during the game. Austin is used to winning, and playing a huge role in winning, so this is a difficult and frustrating time for him, but he knows he is paying his dues and his time will come.

We waited outside the locker room at the stadium for Austin to shower and dress so that we could take him to dinner and visit for awhile:

The whole town of Kalamazoo was filled with hungry football fans, so we drove around a short while to locate a place to have dinner where we wouldn't have to wait an hour for service. We stopped at the Wayside West restaurant which is more of a sports bar, and had a nice visit with Austin:

It was a generally forgettable meal, but a great visit with Austin.

We ended the day by taking Austin back to his dorm and we spent a short time visiting in his room before leaving at around 7 PM. It was a terrific day and we only wish the game outcome could have been different.