Go Red Team!

Although Connor has watched hundreds of football games in his short lifetime, he had never actually seen a game live. So we took the kids to Rhodes to see some hard-hitting Division III action on what was a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
I have to say, a football game at Rhodes is a perfect situation for taking your kid to a game. First of all, it's free, so if your kid gives out after 30 minutes or so, you haven't wasted any money. Also, there are plenty of grassy areas around the field to put down a blanket and have a little picnic while your kids run/crawl around. I know Connor wouldn't have made it long sitting in the stands, but he lasted three quarters (and well past nap time).
What Connor liked best about the actual game was all of the yelling- he could hear the quarterback calling the plays, the defense making noise to try to mess with the play-calling, both sidelines hollering and chanting, etc. He thought it was fascinating. He also liked being able to cheer loudly himself, although he felt that each play was a "win" for us and he never quite wrapped his head around the words "Rhodes Lynx."
The other great part of the day was all the other kids who were there. We sat with Jenna and Burke, and Jay, Aggie and Army also showed up (the Eckles clan even gave Chip a tour of the new library!), as well as many other children of varying ages. There were plenty of balls thrown, Doritos eaten, and rolls in the grass taken. Burke made an especially big impression on my kids: Chloe traded toys with him all afternoon, and Connor was surprisingly patient with him. I found out the reason why later: "Mommy, that boy's name is almost Burp!"
Connor made us promise we could come to another game sometime before he would let us leave. He summed up the afternoon for all of us. "I'm glad we went to the football game. I had fun!"