Fall, football and Kenny Loggins

When I woke up last Saturday, the day loomed before me empty of plans.

It was going to be a gorgeous day and I knew that we needed to get out of the house, but what could we do?

Dan and I took off first thing in the morning for a Starbucks date.

As the caffeine began to work it's magic, ideas for how to spend the day began to surface.

But it was this one that won out.

Navy Football!!

(It's absolutely the only football that I get remotely excited about.)

But you want to know what really truly excited me?

Getting to use my new camera at a football game for the first time! 

Using my zoom lens to get closer to the action.

(although not nearly close enough in my opinion... I tell ya, there's always a bigger better lens out there!)

Anyhow... I spent some of the pre-game time messing with my settings and trying to get some interesting shots of the action and there in the middle of all this were these two guys.

Although they appear to be looking right at me, I can't imagine that they were.  

They were very far away.  

Even so... I feel a little like they caught me.

The opposing team had an eagle as a mascot... totally cool.

However, I don't think he was digging all the attention and photo taking.

I love the looks on all of the faces.

So here the game begins with the march on.

This is where the wife of a former mid and the mother of a wanna-be mid got all teary.

Could that be my kid standing there next year?

I don't know... I truly hope so... keeping my fingers crossed.

Oh, my baby....

sigh

Kind of hard not to feel all patriotic and proud when you're looking at these guys.

Aren't they cute...

(and I mean cute in a "look at all the little boys dressed up like men",

but 20 years ago I would have meant cute in a totally different way.)

Yeah, 20 years ago... dear god...

Well now... that makes me feel old.

But not as old as this lady under the yellow arrow there.  

She's wearing one of those godawful silk scarves that all the old ladies wear to the football games.

Really... I'd rather die. 

But this was a tangent and totally not my point... 

What I really meant to point out was how excited she is.

and I can't blame her.

It's hard not to get excited when they start playing this song.

And these jets fly overhead. 

Yeah, baby.... that's when I'm 15 all over again.

(and 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20... I watched Top Gun A... LOT)

Goose!

Take me to bed or lose me forever

I feel the need... the need for speed

Wha? huh?  You still there?  Oh, cuz... I just went somewhere else.

Football, football...

Yeah, that's what I was talking about.

So, anyhow... I kind of love this shot.  

Maybe it's not amazing, but I love the shadows and the fact that I caught that guy flying through the air.

Oh, yeah... I'm a sports photographer now.

Maybe not.

All this is to say that we had a pretty good time last Saturday.

I got to play with the manual settings on my camera (to varying degrees of success)

and we all got to spend a wonderful day out in the sun 

enjoying a Navy WIN!