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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Packer Game: Part Two (1/2/11)

Fortunate enough to have season tickets in my family, I was off to my second Packer game in two weeks. This one was a big deal. We had to beat the Bears. I couldn't return to Chicago in days knowing we had lost to their team. That would have been torturous. This time, I brought along a good friend of mine, Emily. We loaded up my Volvo after skipping out of church a bit early. Off on an adventure to Lambeau, and Emily's first NFL game.

Adventures are fun with friends, aren't they? We were all made to experience them. And not alone, for anyone that has read Lord of the Rings (or seen it for that matter) knows every Frodo must have his Sam. Life is certainly not meant to be spent alone.

Dressed in our finest, Carhart bibs and blazing red pants; wool socks and hand warmers, we sat in the crowd of 70,000, two friends. Two small people in a big stadium. Two girls sipping cocoa and laughing at the poor, unfortunate souls around us who happened to be wearing orange and blue that day.

It mattered that the Packers won that day. But, it really didn't matter so much, too. Instead of rushing out of the stadium with ten seconds to go, hollering and high-fiving everyone we passed, we would have exited more somberly, to be sure. Sacrilege thought it is to say that it doesn't really matter if the Packers won or not, being there with Emily mattered much more.

The five hours of quiet conversation we had on the trip to and from Green Bay, the laughter, tension and chill we felt together in the stadium, the arrival home to tell our stories to the boys; the memories are what mattered. Experiencing adventure together is how we grow closer to other people, I have realized.

I think that is why childhood friends stay close for so long, everything you experience together is an adventure of sorts - many things you try, you are doing for the first time, with each other. Riding bikes. Going to camp. Noticing the opposite sex. Playing sports. Bond, bond, and more bonding takes place.

Emily and me had not bonded in too long. Our adventure gave us a new memory - and sparked old ones. And, the Packers are still in the playoffs. So life is good.

3 comments:

Mrs4444 said...

From one fan to another, GO PACK!!

Claire said...

"Every Frodo must have his Sam" That is just plain beautiful!
(I'm Di Wheeler's daughter, Claire. I met you in SanFrancisco last summer)

Emma Franklin said...

Hi Claire! Glad you are a fellow LOTR fan (:

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