Dear Blog:

Please excuse Melissa from her blogland absence as she was contemplating. . .
anticipating. . .
and consumed by. . .

Monday Night Football, baby!!!!

Ok, legitimate excuse or not, Sam and I celebrated our anniversary at Heinz Stadium watching a bunch of roughnecks push each other up and down the field (and into the sidelines). . . refs who really aren't too sure about the rulebooks. . . especially when it comes to seven men on the line and 10 seconds left and whether or not we're really into overtime. . .

Steelers and Ravens. . .

Monday Night Football, as Sam mused, should be on everyone's life list. Even if we did get home after 2am and had to get up at 7 to get Jack to school.

Awesome. Thundering loud. Stadium shaking. Goodness.

Celebrating the return of Monday Night's crashing helmets (in the opening promo)
right there at the field
while you're in the lion's mouth full roar.

Deafened, and screaming hoarse.

Watching the players groove to the rocken loud music as they warm up.
Feeling the chants at the stadium (so, but not quite, European Football).
Becoming part of the crashing. . . the power. . . of applause and cheering and
chaos.

And maybe you can see the faces and plays and replays at home. . . (with a much better, and cheaper, food selection). . .

but you can't feel the flow. . . the rhythm. . . the charge. . .

What an experience.

And today, Sam stayed home to be a part of the quiet, still of the day. . . so we might rest and savor last night's adventure. . . We've wandered through the late morning and afternoon in a white cottened tunnel of fog. . .

smiling. . .