Banana-Fana-Fo!

Friday, we picked M up from her camp early so we could drive to Iowa City. Because the Savannah Bananas were in Iowa and we were going.

The drive was uneventful, and we stopped at McDonald's for an early dinner. Because I had warned the kids we were not buying stadium food.

Here’s the honest truth… I wasn’t looking forward to the game much. As a first-year KClub member, I was able to buy tickets in February. And then when we got our seating assignment, to find out we were in Row 79 of 79 was disappointing. We even talked about trying to sell them, but since KClub members can only sell to KClub, we just went with it. 

Parking was very easy, and I am glad!  My very expensive parking pass was worth it. Many people were trying to get parking passes closer to the game, and they were all sold out. I have never been to Kinnick before, so I wasn't sure how it would go exactly. We didn't go to Iowa. And I have pretty much banned my children from going there as well. Not our vibe. Not our scene. 

We got to the party plaza about 4:05 and ended up in the front row for the pregame parade. M high-fived everyone. Split. Jesse Cole. Every. Single. Player on both teams. It was hot hot hot, but 25 minutes of the party was the ideal amount of time.

At about 4:30 the gates opened. We made it through the crowd to our very high seats. And they weren’t so bad. We were farther away last summer and still had a great time. We were in the shade, which was deeply appreciated! Our friends were on the other side in the full sun. True story: I had been calling the seats sh**ty for weeks. And then we got up there, and there was actual dog poo nearby. It seemed right.

And I have to tell you about the absolutely horrible stairs in the stadium. Concrete. Not deep enough. And not a handrail in sight! Horrible! 

So we were in our seats, waiting for the fun preshow antics to get rolling and... Enter the 2.5-hour soaking rain and lightning delay. But guess what? That last row tucked up against the press box was covered! We weren’t wet at all. Loads of people came to sit with us, in fact. The biggest twist of all time: the terrible seats had a pretty great perk I wasn’t anticipating needing.

They kept telling us to leave, but apparently the concourse was sardine-packed. And I am not going to lie to you... There was no way I was walking up 37 flights of stairs again. I didn't care that much. If I was going down, I was staying down.

They also apparently locked the gates and didn't let anyone else leave or come in. So staying put, even in the storm, was the best case.

The rain started and stopped a few times. And we even saw a rainbow! And did I mention we were dry? We were some of the only ones who were. Most were drenched!! Someone who had come to stand up by us took the dog poop with him on his shoe, and I was also not sad about that.

Then finally, super late, like 9:15 pm, it was time for bananaball. (The first pitch was supposed to be at 7:00.)

• We “Hey Baby-ed” with enthusiasm.
• I got my KClub pin.
• We got to participate in the wave, which was fun. (And there’s zero chance I am going back to Kinnick for football, so I am glad I got to experience it.)
• We sang “Yellow.”
• And on the way to the car, M even got herself a selfie with Princess Potassia, the one person who wasn’t in the parade.  

Now we didn't stay til the end. We called it at 11:20 in the 8th inning because we were all exhausted. We never ate stadium food because we were going to eat after the game. We all decided we were too tired to do that. We were grateful we could bring in packed snacks, and we were so glad we did. One dinner of candy, Skinny Pop, and animal crackers never hurt anyone.

The kids watched the rest of the game on YouTube in the car on the way home. It went into 3 showdowns, and the Firefighters won!

Overall... it was more fun than I imagined it would be. And how grateful am I to have been surprised that my disappointment was unwarranted?!