Are You Ready For Some Football?

On Sunday we took Clarita to her first professional football game (because our weekend wasn't busy enough). By extremely random coincidence Dada and Tio Robert both declare that their favorite football team is the Buffalo Bills. It's probably the football team the farthest away from us and neither of them had ever been to a game. Luckily for them the Bills just happened to be in Oakland playing the Raiders so we made a day out of it.

We left at 6:15 and picked up los Tios. We stopped for breakfast along the way where the nice Quiznos worker gave Clarita a cookie. There was no way she was giving it up without a fight so I figured, what the heck Tia Laurie already ruined her by giving her a cookie, and it sounds like a very nutritional breakfast and I ate half and gave her the other half! Clara was great on the trip up playing with Tia Erika and I.

Cookies for breakfast!

We got to the stadium around 10:00 and set up to tailgate. Now Raiders fans are  known for being rude and rowdy (and you know starting fights with opposing teams) so we weren't sure how well our Bills gear would go over. Turns out the fans have gotten better (they do make announcements throughout the game about proper fan conduct) and who can be mean to people with a baby? Clarita was decked out in her Bills outfit that Dada bought her on Etsy (I have never even shopped there) and she was adored by both sets of fans! One Raiders fan even told Kevin that he couldn't heckle him with a cute little girl!

Tailgating was a success and we even got Clara to take an hour nap in her carseat while we ate! Although her nap wasn't nearly long enough, she woke up refreshed and ready for the game! At Dada's request, Tia Erika made a sign to hold up so Clarita could be famous that said Clara's 1st Bills game Score! (get it CBS since that was the station broadcasting the game). Clara loved holding her sign but there were really no options to hold it up since there were so many people all standing.

We had pretty good seats and Clara thought it was really fun to run around and sit on the stairs (until a drunk Raiders fan stepped on her) and in the seat. She wasn't heavy enough to hold the seat down so we took turns holding it down for her. Clara made friends with everyone around us and thought it was fun to poke fingers ET style with the lady sitting next to us. When we walked into our section she stuck her hand out and shook the usher's hand. He thought it was great and liked to talk to her throughout the game.

The many faces of Clarita...

Unfortunately the game was a terrible one for a non-Raiders fan (and let's be honest most people are not Raiders fans). Both teams played poorly, but the Raiders played a little better than the Bills. I was sure that the Bills would have no trouble beating the Raiders who had only won two games, boy was I wrong. With a little over two minutes left the Bills threw an interception and we decided it was time to leave and try to beat the rush because the game was over. Apparently the Bills ended up scoring another touchdown and lost by two.

Clara was good on the ride home playing with us and Tia Erika read to her. We stopped for dinner and Clara fell asleep for the last hour of the drive. She half woke up when I took her inside the house. I set her down so I could take off my shoes and she bent down, grabbed her stuffed animals, and then laid on top of them like she was going back to sleep! It was a long day, but I think her first professional football game was a success even if the Raiders won.

It's really funny to eat my feet!