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That's what filled the day leading up to "The Big Gig in Wonderland". My mindless questions and giddy excitement. Poor Matt was supposed to be having a man's weekend doing an Army training, but due to bad weather it was canceled and he had to come home early. To me. Who was obsessed with her childhood crush. Don't worry, I bought Matt his favorite snack as a thank-you for putting up with me.
During the silent auction that Matt and I were manning - yes, I felt the need to insert another football crush - Terry walked RIGHT BY US. I could've touched him if I wanted to. Better judgment kept me from doing it. Matt was appreciative. We also were in the scenes on the local news station - check it out if you'd like.
Moving on to our next job - the live auction. The live auction was actually what Terry, Howie and Curt were there for. They were the guest auctioneers. And guess who was assigned the table where the Longs, Bradshaws, Menafees and Londons (UVA football coach) were sitting... that's right, yours truly. I about peed my pants. So before the auction started I was able to overhear Terry telling stories about old football games and something about Oklahoma. I think I was too distracted looking at Howie to pay attention to Terry's story. I later found out he was talking about his cattle ranch in Oklahoma. Boy, am I glad I was gazing at Howie rather than listening to that!
Once the auction started the boys went on stage and the bidding began. Our job was to mark who currently held the highest bid by standing by that person and holding up our lighted pom-pom. After the person won the item we put a flashing necklace on them so that the "runners" were able to locate the winner and take down their information. Let me tell ya, the Long/Bradshaw/Menafee/London table were big spenders so I got to spend a lot of time with them... even if it was just the wives. So let's re-cap: I talked to Mrs. Bradshaw, Mrs. Long and Howie's son Chris Long who plays for the St. Louis Rams. Actually, I got to touch him because I put the necklace around his neck. He's closer to my age so it was probably more appropriate than if it had been Howie. I'm pretty sure Howie could be my father.
No, I didn't get to talk to Howie or Terry, but I didn't really expect to have the opportunity. I was just happy to be breathing the same air as them. Plus, it was fun to see them as auctioneers. They were very animated and you could tell they were having a good time. My long-awaited excitement was quickly coming to an end, but you know what, at the end of the night, I think I got to go home with the best guy there.
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