CATlanta, Baby!

Channeling Dickie V, I couldn’t resist adding the “baby” to this post title.

When our beloved University of Kentucky made it to the Sweet Sixteeen, Ryan and I immediately got on Stubhub to see what tickets were going for at the Georgia Dome.  We waited until that Sunday (big mistake) to finally make a decision and loosen the purse strings to buy 2 tickets.

We got the last 2 (somewhat reasonably priced)  lower level seats at the time, section 130 row 36.  They didn’t appear too bad from the diagram.  The next day we both requested vacation time, then patiently waited for our tickets to arrive.  Last Thursday we packed up both pups and headed to Atlanta after work.  We arrived around 1230am to the northern ‘burbs of Atlanta to my parents home.  Mom and dad are still ‘wintering’ in Florida so we had a pretty sweet 3,500 square foot ‘hotel suite’ (as we referred to it) for the weekend all to ourselves…best of all, the price tag equaled FREE!

The ticket package we purchased included the Friday night Sweet Sixteen games: 715pm Baylor vs. Xavier and 945pm UK vs. Indiana as well as the Elite Eight game on Sunday.   We were able to meet up with two of my best friends and sorority sisters on Friday afternoon to get in a little pre-game action.

To beat the traffic and avoid drinking and driving, we hopped on the MARTA train to the Georgia Dome.  Not surprising at all, the trains were completely filled with UK kin folk, all chanting C-A-T-S, CATS, CATS, CATS!!!

At the 715pm Baylor vs. Xavier game we rooted for the underdog, Xavier.  To no avail Baylor (in their god-awful neon yellow) beat Xavier 75-70, sending the Bears to the Elite Eight hopefully against Kentucky.

At 1015pm, when Kentucky finally took the floor, the entire arena erupted in massive chants for the Cats as well as Indiana.  Unfortunately we were sort of near the Indiana section so the  “Whoah oh oh oh ah” cheering coming from the Hoosiers was more than slightly annoying.

Luckily UK beat the Hoosiers 102 to 90…and on to the Elite Eight we went!!!  We had all day Saturday to cruise around Atlanta in mom’s convertible so we stopped by our favorite pizza joint (as seen on Man vs. Food) Big Pie in the Sky.  Click on this link for a short clip of Adam Richmond and the Carnivore Challenge from the Travel Channel:  Big Pie in the Sky

And a longer clip from the episode:

On Sunday morning, we packed up the pups and headed to my friend Beth’s house again to pre-game before the Elite Eight.  Her 130 pound Great Dane, Otis quickly became great friends with my two 20 pound Frenchie-Pug mixes.

Otis seriously thinks he is 30lbs, not 130lbs.  He is the most adorable over-sized lapdog I have ever met.  Otis is so tall that comes up to Ryan’s hip.   He and Ryan became quick friends, hugs and kisses and all.

Our goal on Sunday was to spend a little extra time taking in the Big Blue Nation atmosphere in downtown Catlanta.  We hit up Centennial Park where a bunch of Lexington vendors had tents set up, selling all kinds of UK paraphernalia.

At The Dome, a sea of blue was all you could see looking both right and left.  It was awesome.  We found an empty wall to sit on and sipped some adult pre-game beverages.

The Cats went on to whoop some Baylor butt: 82 to 70.  It was a intense and cheerful game to watch!  We had such a great time seeing our Cats make their way to the Final Four!

It is tradition at the University of Kentucky to put the Wildcat at the top of the cheerleaders’ pyramid in the last timeout of the game.  They turn a 360 degree circle while the pep band plays and the crowd screams at the top of their lungs.

To get the full effect you have to watch this video.  This is from a home game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.

Needless to say, we had a awesome, once in a lifetime experience in Catlanta for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.   I will totally admit it was well worth the money!

What about you, were you cheering on my Cats this past weekend?!  Did you spend way too much time on SportsCenter like we did?  Root for the Cats this Saturday when we play our arch rival Louisville!!!