Disappointment

Our day at the Super Bowl was a lot different from our expectations. To start with, the day in general was much longer than we anticipated, and we worked a total of 16.5 hours, arriving back home at almost 1 AM this morning.

The way the day started should have been an omen for us. We checked in at the Coliseum in Phoenix, received our uniforms, got on the bus for the ride to the stadium, went through security at the stadium and arrived at our kiosk at around 9 AM. We waited for somebody from Aramark to come by and unlock our station while we admired our location. It was, what we thought, the start to a very pleasant and happy experience. Our kiosk was finally opened and we set everything up for the big day. This is what our kiosk looked like with Josie in her uniform:

and this was the view we had from either side of the stand:

It wasn't going to be a very happy experience for us.

A group of three men showed up just prior to our setting up the kiosk and told us that they were scheduled to work our station. They were from another subcontractor and not part of Aramark. At first, we thought they were only going to sell game programs from in front of our location. Wrong. A huge argument ensued between the managers of this contractor and Aramark over who was responsible for operating the kiosk. To make a long story short, the kiosk was double booked and we ended up being booted out of the kiosk and directed to work in the Team Store. Needless to say, we were totally bummed, and this became a sign that the day would not go as expected.

During the entire day and throughout the 16.5 hours we worked, we only had one half hour break for lunch. We did not get to see the game at all except for what we could see on the small TV monitors within the store, and we never had a chance to see any live action during the entire day. Josie and I both assisted customers on the floor in finding the right piece of clothing in the right size.

The bus ride back to the coliseum and our vehicle was not an easy task. The lines for contract workers was so long it took an hour from the time we arrived at the rear of the line for bus boarding until we finally got on one of the buses. This is a view - both in front, and in back of us - while waiting for the buses:

It was a terrific game that we worked and everything about the game was great except the outcome. One bad (and stupid) play with less than a minute to play cost the Seahawks their second consecutive Super Bowl title and it is a tough pill to swallow. We are both dragging this morning and Josie has to go to work at the shop and work her normal hours today. The entire experience was one we will never forget and I will probably reflect some more on the day after I recover from the disappointment...