XLV

I am spoiled. After the Packers won the NFC championship game I received a telephone call from Tom inquiring if I'd be in on a trip to Dallas for the Super Bowl. A couple of phone calls later, I was granted leave (which I didn't think would be allowed, thanks Sgt.) and the plan was set in motion for Tom, Tony, and I to meet in Dallas for the biggest Packer game in 14 years.

Have I mentioned yet that I'm spoiled. Lets be honest here, this wouldn't have happened w/o Tom being overly generous. I'll take it. Sweet.

The trip kicked off with a Friday afternoon flight from Sitka, AK. I happened to find Tony at SEATAC and we quickly enjoyed a Sam Adams. Cool. Sometimes life is more than fair. An hour later Tony and I were on the plane for Dallas which arrived just before midnight. Tom scooped us up and we settled into the hotel with good conversation and some choice beverages. The clock seemed to get away from us, but that was just fine, it's Super Bowl weekend. I found it funny that as the clock nears 0400 my brother decided it was a good idea to drink a Mountain Dew, eat cheese curds, and squeeze in just one more beef stick. G2 is awesome.

On Saturday we scoped out the route to the Stadium, stopped at the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame, and walked around downtown Dallas. I guess the city had a bit of a Super Bowl XLV vibe going on as evidenced by the more than life size murals.

When the evening arrived we indulged in an unbelievable steak dinner. I of course went with an overly large ribeye and a pint of Guiness. Perfect. According to our waitress, Aaron Rodgers (Packers QB) ate at the same restaurant on Friday evening. Thanks again Tom.

Sunday morning the excitement level really hit. I just didn't understand how cool it was going to be watching a Packer's Super Bowl.....live, at the stadium. But before we could make ourselves head into the Stadium we needed to fuel ourselves with a Bloody Mary, chased by a cold one, while watching Wisconsin Badger basketball (victorious). This really was going to be a good day, it just couldn't have started any better.

After drumming up a quick game involving drawing random team names from a hat, throwing a large bill into the hat to keep it interesting, and hoping for the best, the three of us walked into the Stadium, minus some cash in our pocket.

The stadium is huge, new, and very nice. The Texas Ranger's stadium is just to our right out of the picture.

Tom really outdid himself when getting our seats. Very cool. We were 16 rows up from the corner of the Pittsburgh end zone.

For some reason I was really interested in what food and beverage would cost at the SuperBowl so I photographed one of two menus for a good laugh. I was surprised to see that a 16 oz beer was $10 and not more. If you are wondering, yes, I ate too many hot dogs. These dogs were tasty, but dogs at the Brewer game are better, you just can't beat Stadium Sauce.

Before we knew it the game had started and we were cheering on the Pack. As we all know, the game was more than fantastic. Our vantage point was great and this picture does not do our view justice. The Packer win was great, but time with Tom and Tony was worth more to me.

If you are wondering, I did take home the money from the hat. Luck was on my side on Super Bowl Sunday.