HOME AGAIN,
HOME AGAIN
As we prepared for Week Three of the NFL regular season, the excitement
was almost too much to bear. We were returning home to Miami. Ready to walk into a sea of aqua and orange and to fix
our broken friendship after the Manning Bowl. Short Michelle and I were once again going to be cheering for the
same team, amongst our own, clapping and yelling for our beloved Dolphins!
Our flights to Miami were booked. After three hours on the plane, and no
sleep we finally arrived. Short Michelle's dad picked us up and that's when it all came back to me. I remembered this
car. We had tailgated at the Dolphins/Jets game last season in this exact car. The only thing missing was our buddy Tino El
Dorado! You all know him or someone like him. He's that guy. The friend you know will always be there to
cheer with you no matter how bad the season is. And last year he was with us in Miami keeping the tradition going. Since his
name isn't Michelle, he hasn't been able to join us on our journey, but we know he's keeping our seats at The Monk warm for
when we return!
ROCKIN' KINKOS
My adrenaline was pumping. I wanted it to be Sunday....not Saturday! I
couldn't believe I had to wait another 24 hours. So close, yet it seemed like a lifetime away. We spent the day working and
getting our game plan in order. That included a late night trip to Kinkos to print up flyers to advertise our website. Imagine....Saturday
night, 11:30 pm, in Miami, at KINKOS? Of all the things I imagined doing while vacationing in Miami, this never came to mind. Short
Michelle and I looked at each other as we pulled into the parking lot and not hiding our sarcasm, said , "How cool are we?!"
Kinko's wasn't as boring as I anticipated though. There was a group of young girls in tight black dresses and four inch heels
laminating fake ID's. I almost wanted to turn them in out of jealousy, but instead decided to live vicariously through them
for the night. I hope you girls had a great night wherever you ended up!!
RAH RAH
- GIVE ME AN M!
Going to bed that night I had visions of Culpepper, Brown, Chambers, Taylor,
Thomas, Welker, Mare, and....Cheerleaders!! Get your minds out of the gutter....it's not what you think! Throughout our travels
thus far, I have become aware of the fact that there are several teams in the NFL without cheerleaders. Seven, in fact, and
we have seen two of those seven so far this season. As a little girl I remember every Sunday watching the Dolphins and the
Cowboys and being fascinated by the cheerleaders. If I couldn't play in the NFL , maybe I could be a cheerleader......or a
Rockette. I do realize that they have nothing to do with each other, but a dream's a dream, right? By the way, in case you're
curious, the seven teams without cheerleaders are: Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, New
York Giants, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
DRESS FOR
SUCCESS
We woke up Sunday morning at 7:30am. Tailgating began at 9:00am and we
had a lot to do before then. If you read last weeks story you know that Short Michelle and I are extremely superstitious.
Our uniform on game day is always the same. Me wearing jeans, Ronnie Brown's #23 jersey, my autographed Fins hat and cowboy
boots. Short Michelle wearing jeans, Zach Thomas' #54 jersey and black Converse sneakers. This week we decided to shake
it up a bit, change the uniform, and hopefully change the outcome of the game. I decided to wear a jeans skirt, my jersey,
flip flops, and of course my famous hat. Short Michelle wore black cropped pants, her jersey, flip flops, and amazingly
enough, she bought a hat AND wore it! Guess it worked. You saw the outcome of the game, didn't you? We take partial credit.
WE HAVE
ARRIVED!
After everything was packed into the car, we headed out. I sat in the car
and was suddenly woken from my excited daze by someone shouting "You think we're gonna beat the Titans today?!?!" Wait a minute,
where did that just come from? Turning to my right was a man, driving next to us, window rolled down, waiting for The Michelles
to respond. Before we had a chance to say something he yelled again, "We better, cause The Titans suck!" Gotta love football
Sundays! You pick your team, you pick your jersey, and instantly you have a million or so new friends! What an incredible
feeling. My adrenaline was again pumping and we were ready to rock and roll. I love this game!!
Arriving at the stadium I wanted to jump out of the moving car and immediately
join the tailgating going on around me. But first thing's first, we had to find our parking spot. We were assigned to
the 4 Runner parking lot right next to the Media parking, which in a way seemed appropriate. We are media to some degree,
right? I mean, we are the 2Michelles!
FINS FRAT
PARTY
I couldn't wait any longer, I really needed a beer. Sound familiar? We
got out of the car, opened two beers, and just stood there for a moment taking it all in. What a beautiful sight, all our
friends, gathered in one place, for one common goal.......TO SEE MIAMI WIN!! We decided to leave the car and venture out to
see what fans we could meet, and in our case, what kind of trouble we could get into. Believe me, trouble wasn't
that far away.
Walking through the parking lot we heard , " Drink, Drink, Drink! " We
looked over and saw....Beer funnels?!?! We haven't done those since college!!! The pressure was on me, because Short Michelle
was the designated driver and beer funnels and cars just don't mix.
All eyes were on me. You want to guess what I did? Take this quiz to see
how well you know me:
Did I drink the beer?
Did I not drink the beer?
If you choose drank the beer, you guessed correctly. Congratulations......
you have been paying attention! Check out the video below for actual footage of this event.
And here's something to ponder....We did Jello shots at the NY Giants tailgate, beer funnels at the
Miami Dolphins tailgate...what's next?? Keg stands?? We'll be in Philly for the Monday Night Game this week. Can't wait
to see what kind of unique drinking activities they have there...
IT'S ALL
ABOUT THE FANS
Despite the fact that it was the Dolphins/Titans game, there were some other
jerseys we encountered. Giants, Lions, Broncos, Jets, Panthers and Patriots to name a few. Had they gotten confused? Were
they in the wrong stadium? Or were they just huge fans supporting their teams the way we support ours? Turns out, they were
just being true fans, and I have to say, their pride for their teams made me feel really good, and honored to also be a fan
of the greatest game on earth!
We met another huge fan, this time for the Dolphins, a man named Chris.
He told us his story about having season tickets passed down to him after his fathers death, and how he had been attending
games with his dad since 1966. Hearing his story made Short Michelle and I remember watching Dolphins games with our fathers
while growing up. We love you Dads! Thanks for introducing us to this awesome Sunday tradition!
We decided it was time to head into the stadium and find our seats, and
what incredible seats they were. (25 rows from the field!!) Sitting behind us were Mickey and Joey. They started out
by making fun of us for being two women who love football, but after talking for a few minutes they realized we
knew what we were talking about and that we were a force to be reckoned with. Maybe next time you guys will delay your snap
judgements. Only kidding guys, you both rock! Thanks for helping us promote our website during halftime.
THE END
OF THE QUEST
After the game, which was close, but we came out on top in the end, we
decided to repeat an adventure from last season and go to where the players exit the stadium. This time though was a little
different. Instead of trying to meet as many players as possible, we were on a mission to meet one - Zach Thomas! If you have
read Short Michelle's blog, you know she has been on a mission to get his autograph, and I decided I would help her out. If
we joined forces we could accomplish anything. After waiting for what seemed like hours, I decided to go over to
the security guards and find out if he had left already and what kind of car we should be looking for. Short Michelle kept
our spot in line while I went out to investigate. There was still hope, Zach was still inside! Security told us to move over
to the front of the exit, which is where he typically stops. So off we went. And then, we saw it, Zach Thomas' car, headed
straight for us! But wait, where was he going? STOP ZACH, STOP!! He did stop eventually, but not where we were told to stand,
but back where we originally were. We sprinted to the other side. I threw Short Michelle my hat, grabbed the video camera,
and started filming.
Back in the beginning of this story I told you about my dream of being
a cheerleader, well that's exactly what I became. "Come on Michelle, you can do it!! Get in there, let's go....GO!" While
I was busy cheering her on, she morphed into a linebacker, pushing her way into the crowd! What a duo we became. Short Michelle
got her autograph, she met Zach Thomas, and I got to be a cheerleader. It was a perfect day, a day where dreams came true,
and walking back to the car we smiled at each other, no words exchanged, knowing this day would go down in the 2Michelles
history, never to be forgotten. Could it get any better? Guess you'll have to keep checking back to find out! We can't wait
for our next adventure. See you in Philly for Monday Night Football!
Check out the video of our adventure in Miami. Scroll down further for photos!
