Getting beat down but loving every minute of it!

Missing a couple of the boys but a nice picture anyway.  Front Row L to R:  Kim and Eric  Back Row L to R:  John, Me, Steve and Scott

This weekend had been circled on all of us "Gatorboys" calendars for several years.  Our beloved Gators playing the Michigan Wolverines at Cowboys Stadium.  What a perfect setup for our annual get together.  Seven of the eight amigos were planning to attend, however Hurricane Harvey caused a couple of last minute cancellations for Steve M. and Drew.  They, along with Jay were sorely missed.  In spite of the void created by their absence we carried on as best as possible.
We were fortunate enough to have two first time guests with us this year.  Steve L's wife Melissa and Eric Holleyman.
Steve and Melissa are currently on a journey similar to ours and are heading out west for a few months of exploring.  Eric is from Mulberry and is a proud graduate of that great institution of  learning called Mulberry High School.  He and his wife Clara have lived in Waco for a number of years.  He was kind enough to drive up and join us for dinner Friday night as well as the game on Saturday.  Also, I would never forget that Ben was with us once again.  This was easy for him this time since he still lives here.  A special thank you to Kim, John, Steve and Melissa for taking a few minutes to come by his house.  He was proud to show off his amazing sports memorabilia collections as well as his "Sweet Allie Girl"!

Allie doing what she does best!

The stories are the same every year although they do tend to get exaggerated slightly every time they are retold.  One thing I will say is we are getting more efficient in telling them.  We used to stay up until 1:00-2:00 in the morning.  Now we're crashed out by 10:00 PM.  Surely this is because of efficiency and not because we're getting older?
The Gator football team took the field with a lot of swagger.  Unfortunately it didn't take long for the Michigan boys to beat the swagger out of us.  The final score was 33-17 but it wasn't even that close.
Our friendship motto is similar to the words of one of our Gator songs......... "In all kinds of weather we all stick together".
I didn't fall asleep last night thinking about the whipping we took on the field, only about the value of friendship with this special group.  It was a darn good nights sleep!

Shared a lot of great times with this fella!

At least the band spelled "Gators" correctly.  Things went downhill shortly after their pre-game show!