I wasn’t sure if I would make it to work at all Wednesday morning as I drove through a blinding rainstorm crossing Mobile Bay.  But I had no choice but to get there, pick up Rob and make a flight to Arizona.  I’ve been looking forward to the trip to the national championship game and had spent the last two days packing to go.

Six and a half hours later and after an expensive, less than filling airline lunch, we made our final approach into Phoenix.

“We’re definitely not in Alabama anymore.”

Everything at the airport moved pretty quickly and before long we had our bags and cameras.  We boarded the shuttle to get our rental car and ran into one lucky Auburn fan.

“Yes, I’m a lucky man.”

Brandon Koonce lives in Alexandria, LA but was born in Mobile.  He’s a senior at Auburn, majoring in Electrical Engineering.  What makes him so lucky is he’s one of only 1,000 students that won a lottery drawing for a BCS Championship ticket.  He does have to pay the $200 dollar face value for it, but he doesn’t mind.  (I guess not)  Brandon not only won this lottery, but also won a lottery ticket to the SEC Championship.  His dad told him he needs to go to Las Vegas while he’s out west.

After getting our rental car, Rob and I set out to find our hotel and make sure all of our gear arrived ahead of us.  On the drive, Rob informed me that the GPS had no idea where it was going.

“Don’t ever ride in a car with Rob if you value your life.”

We did see some incredible scenery along the way.  The rock formations and mountain peaks surrounding the city looked very foreign to a southerner like me, but I found it a pleasant change from the sea of green back home.  But I know I’ll be ready to get back home to the piney deer woods of south Alabama by the time next week rolls around.

Drive to hotel

Drive to hotel

Tomorrow, it’s into the city to find some football fans.  Something tells me they won’t be too hard to find.

Auburn flag proudly displayed