A family divided

I was stuck. There was no other option available. It had to be done.

It's not like I had to deal with this conflict in the past. It had always been very cut and dry and the answer very clear. Let me explain:

My parents met and married there. Heck, I was even born there!

(Did I mention that my Dad's parents went there also?)

It's where not only I went to school...

...but all five of my siblings.

My sister even played for their lacrosse team.

 The answer should have been easy, but it wasn't. 

It was easy in 2000...

But in 2008, things changed. 

I found my loyalties in other places as well. 

In my defense, it makes sense. 

George received his Bachelors in Bio-mechanical Engineering here.

His brother graduated from the same place.

George attended Medical School here...

...and became a doctor!

 

And now he practices as a Resident here.

So, when we found out BYU was playing UVA in the opening football game on August 31st, I did the only thing possible in this situation:

I cheered for both sides!

We had a great time! Amy drove down and spent the night with us and helped me make my shirt. Lance was staying with his Dad for the weekend and got to hang out with Abby and her family and friends that came into town for the game. 

It was super hot and muggy, but when the game was about to start we donned our game attire and trekked about a mile and a half to the stadium from our apartments. Tyler was already there with his family and Mom and Glenn drove down to meet us there as well.

Aunt Amy is the best!

She piggy-backed Jude the whole way. I have no idea how she did that in the heat and sweat. She's amazing!

 Family picture! The kids of course had to cheer for UVa. :) Lance was with his dad and was decked out in his BYU attire. At least I had one child on my half-side.

 We got there a bit before the game started, so we sat around on the grass enjoying some kettle corn.

These boys were such good sports! They could tell they were somewhere fun, but it was just so darn hot.

Watching the Marching Band

I love that UVa's mascot gets to ride a horse onto the field.

Our tickets were in the UVa cheering section. Amy, Tyler, Mom and Glenn sat in the opposite corner with fellow BYU fans. It was funny to listen to the people around us commenting on the game and on the "opposing" team. :)

Right at the end of the first quarter, the announcer came on and instructed us all to vacate the stadium due to lightening on the horizon. Since we had to leave our seats and find shelter from the approaching storm, we decided to just walk home.

 Empty stadium. Crazy how it was just completely full of rowdy fans.

 About halfway home, the storm hit and we were left walking about half a mile in heavy rain, lightening and thunder. Jude and Cole thought it was fabulous and laughed as they got wet. 

The game started back up about two hours later, but since we were settled at home we didn't go back. Lance got bored with the wait and was dropped off at our house by Scott before the game resumed. Mom, Tyler, Amy and Glenn stuck it out like champs and cheered BYU all the way through a very intense game.

Look at all that orange!

In the end, UVa pulled through with a 19-16 win. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. George was fairly triumphant, especially since I made him come cheer for BYU back in 2000 when they played against each other and BYU spanked UVA.

After the game, everyone came to the house for dinner before heading home. Amy spent the night again (yay!) which was awesome.

 

It was a fun day! I wish it hadn't rained so we could have stayed longer. Maybe next time!