Morgan and I had a ton of fun last night at the United Indoor Football (UIF) All-Star game at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum here in Bloomington. While the stadium seats 6700 people, according to the paper yesterday only 4000 tickets were sold. So there was a nice turnout but it wasn't too busy.
I didn't know anything about the league other than what I've read in the Pantagraph. This is the second season for the league and this was the first all-star game. The Bloomington Extreme call this their home turf. Apparently some kind of minor league hockey also play here, the Bloomington Prairie Thunder. Morgan just wanted to go to get out of the house. I think she's gone stir crazy this summer. But she had a lot of fun and I think was actually enjoying the game. I kept telling her how hard the game actually is, with grown men bigger than me tackling each other and hitting each other full speed.
They had all sorts of cool games for the fans. At one point, there were people in human hamster balls and sumo outfits. At other times, there were races and pass games. I think, if anything, they highlighted how hard it actually is for the casual person.
These are the tickets that I won through the Pantagraph contest. The street cost was $40 per ticket! I honestly don't know if it was worth $40 a ticket, but it was a lot of fun. I think I would have paid out of my own pocket about $20 a ticket. It was a lot better than an NFL game would be, simply to be that close to the action. We heard every hit.
Above are some cool photos I snapped during the game. I am so glad I caught that one with the fireworks. The action shot shows two of the leaders of the league: Burk is the quarterback for the Extreme and he won Most Valuable Player last night. Askew, as I read in the paper, has scored more touchdowns than anyone, and in comparison he has scored more than Jerry Rice's NFL career. Maybe we will see them in a bigger setting one day.
And the picture of Morgan is at halftime when I brought back a soda and nachos ($7.75!) that really brightened her up. We had so much fun sitting there, talking, explaining the rules, listening to the music that Morgan is getting better at guessing who sings it. She impressed me when she knew "Sweet Home Alabama" after only the opening riff. What a good time.
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