The Start of Football Weather

The title of tonight's post could be considered one of those “before and after” clues that they used to have on Wheel of Fortune. Maybe they still do have them on Wheel of Fortune--I guess I really don’t know because I haven’t seen the show in years. Anyway, the post is really about two different things--the start of KU football over the weekend and the beautiful fall football weather that we had today.

Today’s weather was actually quite rainy (Gustav finally reached the Midwest), but the cool 60 degree temperatures still got me so excited for fall! I actually wore a long sleeved shirt today AND had to put on a light jacket. It was a little blustery outside, and we weren't able to take the dogs for a walk because of all the rain, but I have to say I’m really enjoying it! The long walks on the weekends are going to be much more enjoyable if the weather stays this cool!

Today's weather is a far cry from the weather we had for Saturday evening's football game. We actually headed over to the stadium around 4:30, parked in our "secret" cul-de-sac (which has unfortunately become not-so-secret and was almost completely full almost two hours before kickoff) and walked about a mile to a tailgate gathering with some of Chad's coworkers. It was so hot we were pouring down sweat by the time we arrived! The alleys and yards and makeshift "parking lots" in the blocks surrounding the stadium were absolutely packed with people. I've never seen so many tailgaters for a KU football game! There were so many people everywhere it was difficult to find a shady place to sit down, which would have been nice since the sun was pretty brutal--not that it should be otherwise at the end of August in Kansas.

After stopping by one more tailgate party we headed to the stadium, where there were LINES of people waiting to get into the stadium--a definite first for opening day at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence! It was crazy to see so many people excited to watch us play a non-conference game.

Thankfully, our seats are on the press box side of the stadium where there was plenty of shade (which we won't be so thankful for once it gets cold this fall), so we cooled down a little once we got in and sat down. The game was a success in the sense that the Jayhawks dominated, but they obviously didn't look as sharp as last year. There were some definite highlights, like the long punt return by true freshman Daymond Patterson in which he hurdled a defender and went on to score a touchdown. Overall though, since the game wasn't really that close, I did a lot more socializing towards the end of the game and not so much paying attention! Oh, and I took some pictures. I know you're shocked. Keep in mind that these weren't taken with my good camera--just the pocket sized point and shoot.

A very full stadium--supposedly a record crowd.

I love this action shot--if you look closely the ball is in the air.

I think the horizon behind the scoreboard is really pretty!

Check out the new practice fields--which apparently aren't being used at all since they're so wide out in the open.

While we're on the subject of the renovations around the stadium, can I just say that those ridiculous looking seats in the end zone are the cheesiest, tackiest, most absurd looking gimmicks to get more money that I have ever seen. As you can see, they weren't filled to capacity, which hopefully means that they'll be a complete failure and will be removed from the stadium next year! What an eyesore!