We decided to sign up for the 5k Saturday morning. We were at the water station about half way through the race. We arrived, set up the table and got some cups filled. Then, we waited. And waited. Then we decided to wait in the car where it was warmer. The race started at 8 AM so we got ready around then for the sprinters. Sure enough there were a couple true runners sprinting down the street. Of course they didn't need any water, they would finish the race so fast, no need. Then the mob came and we got busy. It was a fun experience.
Our second time slot was around lunch time when the Fan Fest began. We were walking towards the Dr. Pepper stage when we heard a band doing their sound check. I recognized the song and got super excited. It was Little Big Town playing "Good As Gone." I just recently had heard of the group and listened to them on the radio. It was fun to see them for a bit.
Check out their song "Pontoon." It's a catchy song and the words will get stuck in your head. Consider yourself warned.
The game took place at the Bank of America stadium where the Carolina Panthers play. Joe and I went to a game here against the Bronco's in November (did I forget to blog about that game??) We got to watch Peyton Manning play. That was the main reason we chose that game to attend. Plus it was Veterans Day so there was a nice fly over before the game.
We were assigned to the UNC mascot, Ramses.He was considerably calm compared to most of the other mascots. We waited outside the tent for them to get changed and some of them (the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket in particular) came flying out with so much energy... it was amazing.
We were also assigned to the Virginia Tech mascot... but he had a stomache virus and didn't make it out of the tent right away. We figured we'd give him some extra time and check in on him later. Well we did see him later wandering around the Fan Fest. I guess he made his best effort to at least be seen.
We basically just followed Ramses around and made sure he was keeping on schedule. That lasted all of maybe 30 minutes before we just let him roam with the UNC cheerleader and other mascots. So many people stopped him and just wanted a picture. Even people wearing Florida State or Georgia Teach shirts. What is the allure of a team mascot that doesn't belong to your team? I'm not sure, but Joe and I fell into that category as well.
Ramses jumped into a car with the Yellow Jacket and was filmed for I think the ACC Road Show or something like that. We later saw the Clemson Tiger and Duke Blue Devil in the car. I think they actually let the Blue Devil drive too. Not so safe.
Then he taunted some kids at the Dr. Pepper field.
Ramses was really good with little kids. I mentioned he was stopped constantly with people wanting to take his picture. This wasn't only kids, it was adults too. This little guy had a UNC sweatshirt on and was a bit shy at first. He warmed up quickly though and gave Ramses a hug and his mom took a great picture. Gotta love it!
We happened to walk by during a mascot dance off. I wish we would have seen more, it was too darn hilarious to watch these adults basically act crazy for attention. Not bad attention, fun attention. Did I mention how much energy these guys had? It was incredible.
Oh yea, I almost forgot this picture. There was a practice field set up for drills where kids would run through and get timed. The Virginia Tech Hoakie must have been feeling a bit better because he joined us here and was actually trying to tackle Ramses. It was pretty funny!
Joe wanted to make sure he got his picture with the Maryland mascot. Joe told him "welcome to the Big Ten." The mascots response was funny... he acted like he was throwing money in the air. Which is appropriate since the main reason Maryland would consider joining the Big Ten is due to revenue dollars they would receive!
I wanted my picture with the Clemson tiger.We already visited Clemson for a game and we decided to become fans of the "local" team. Like I said lots of adults were taking pictures with the mascots. We were not shy about it.
We had a great day volunteering for the ACC Championship weekend. Although I will also say it was great to head home early to relax and watch some football on TV. We didn't end up staying for the game, but we were just fine with that.
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