Travel, Hike, Eat. Repeat.: itty bitty RGIII (my first NFL game)

In comparison to the Redskins defensive line... and a good majority of the offensive line, RGIII (also known as Robert Griffin III - by his mother) is itty bitty! He looks so small out there. I mean, comparatively. He's, what? 6'2" and 220 pounds - not small by anything other than caveman standards, but certainly lean! He plays huge. It's incredible to see him in action. The team galvanizes around him. He's patient. He has men coming at him from three sides, and he calmly steps back, takes a second, finds his man, and throws - when he's well and ready. He is fearless.

Zan, his dad, and his brother Ben have sat in the same seats in the Redskins stadium for years (5th row! End zone!). A couple of years back, when Zan's parents retired and moved out to Rehoboth, his dad sadly gave up his seat. Since then, Ben and Zan have carried on the tradition. They get to the stadium close to when it opens on game days (EARLY!) and tailgate until it's time to fight the crowds to get to their seats. It's pretty cool, right? I'm a sap and it makes me all fluttery and happy that they carry this on - brothers and all being all brotherly.

Two weekends ago, Ben went up to Philadelphia for the weekend, leaving his seat open, and Zan invited me to take it. I hadn't been to a football game since college in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Ohhh, the sweet memories of lifting a shoe for kickoff, yelling into the chorus of the sea of red surrounding me, and pizza during halftime! I love football, and there's nothing like experiencing it spitting distance from the field!

I've become a Redskins fan this season. You know those girls in high school and college who took on the musical taste of every man they dated? ("What do you mean when did I start liking heavy metal? I've always loved heavy metal!") I'm totally that girl with Redskins football now. My man is a native Washingtonian, and I'm 100% positive I'd be dumped on the side of the road if I did anything less than sport the colors and yell, "HAIL!" ;) I kid! Sorta! In my kindasorta defense, I've wanted to get into pro-ball since graduating from college, and dating Zan has been my gateway. Plus, I still root for the Dirty Birds (Falcons), including when they played the Redskins (that was an identity crisis waiting to happen!).

I wasn't quite as fun as Ben, I'm sure (read: I stuck to mimosas and hot cider and skipped the beer!), but I held my own - working the grill and cheering in the stadium. Their tradition is to cook up something representative of the other team. We played the Philadelphia Eagles, so naturally, there were cheesesteaks. We also made pork belly egg sandwiches (SMOKE THE BIRDS). Luck was on my side during the game, and two huge plays happened in our end zone - in the Redskins favor. We froze our digits and piggies off and guiltily left with about 8 minutes left in the fourth.

If Ben ever wants to run away again for a weekend, I'll happily take his spot!