It's Low Tide!

Who's afraid of the big bad elephant? :)

I'm not going to tell stories, I was just as skeptical about pulling out a win over Alabama as Lee Corso was, but at the end of the day, Carolina fans are the ones smiling over our biggest win in school history and the 1st time we've ever beaten a #1 ranked opponent.

As Justin and I headed down to Columbia from Augusta yesterday, it seemed as if we were passed by more Alabama fans than USC.  I guess seeing the opposing fans inspired several quotes by Justin that were similar to this one: "Now Casie, they are a #1 team, I don't want to see that same temper I saw after the Auburn game..."

After sitting in traffic for an hour and only traveling 6 miles, we finally made it to our tailgating spot! :) My long lost bridesmaid, Hillary, met us for a little while to talk about hopes, expectations, and how badly we were going to get beat. Well, to be honest, I was the pessimist and Hillary predicted the biggest upset of the season. We laughed at her prediction and moved on.

Oh...did I mention it was GAMEDAY in Columbia? Gameday! Oh my, it made my day to know that ESPN was covering this game on our turf!

It was a sold-out crowd at Williams Brice! We used my grandma's season tickets and sat in the lower deck around others who have had their tickets as long as my grandma (44 consecutive years)! When I sit in these seats I am used to being the only one standing, cheering, and otherwise being a football fan. It was a completely different experience last night. Old men were dancing, twirling rags, jumping. Oh it was a sight.

The enthusiasm stayed the entire game. The only time it was quiet was on the snap. Carolina seemed to just do everything right (except for the play made by Garcia when we gave Alabama a safety.)

Justin kept telling me not to take a picture of the scoreboard until it was 0:00. He mentioned after the game that at half time (when we were up 21-9) he thought, "Casie's really going to be upset now when Alabama makes a come back!" :) I guess he knows me!

 When the game ended a roar sounded throughout the stadium. The loudest I have ever heard it. Everyone around us (except for the lone Alabama fan three seats down) was laughing, cheering, dancing, excited.

This picture was taken at least 15 minutes after the game. It was apparent no one wanted to leave. There were a lot of happy people in Columbia and we just weren't ready to stop celebrating!  

Final Score: 35-21. Good day!