Labour Day Classic (and not so classic) moments...

The long weekend has come and gone, and I can't help but think of “back to school” today. It is still somewhat surreal that I won't be teaching full time this year... I hope all of my colleagues are over the first day nerves, and are settling into the routine that quickly takes over. Wishing you all the best and will miss you!

Yesterday, I had the distinct honor (along with about 30 000 others) of attending the Labour Day Classic game at McMahon stadium. Every year on Labour Day Monday, the Calgary Stampeders play the Edmonton Eskimos for bragging rights. It turned out to be a gorgeous and also hilariously funny and interesting day!

Beth, Cherie and I set out around noon. I had a plan (of course)! We headed out to the most southerly stop on the C-train route, parked the car and excitedly boarded the train.

After about 6 stops, a booming voice came over the speaker... no, not God, just the driver letting us know that regular C-train service was disrupted this weekend, and we would have to board connecting buses at the next stop. Huh?! There had been no signs warning us of this before we got on the train, no information on the website, and now there was a full train of Stampeders fans ready to Stampede!

We crammed into the buses like sardines and tried to be optimistic... however it was smelly, cramped, and generally unfun... We finally reached the next stop, where we again boarded the C train to take us to the stadium. Those of you who know me, know that I tend to plan and I had planned our route to get us to the stadium with time for food, beer, washroom breaks and breathing room. Ha! We were now 45 minutes behind... a lesson that even the best laid plans don't always work out! In the end, it was quite an adventure, and the energy along the trip was infectious... only magnified when we finally reached the stadium. A sea of red and white awaited us...

All was well again once we had food, beer and a washroom break! I was like a little kid, especially when I got my free Stampeders cardboard helmet!!

We found our seats, made ourselves comfortable and settled in to watch the game... (which we didn't end up doing much of!!) Fireworks erupted on the Stampeders first touchdown, and I am really glad I caught it on camera, because there were no more fireworks after that. The Stampeders luck ended there, as they were demolished by the Eskimos!

Now on to some hilarious happenings throughout the game... We decided to head outside at half time, and planted ourselves on the grass in the sun. We were soon approached by some young men, in various stages of intoxication. They turned out to be very nice though and part flattery/part good fun prompted us to play along!! One proceeded to inform us that it was his twenty first birthday. They stuck around to chat for a bit and Cherie, being the oldest, decided to play the part of our mother (which is ridiculous, as she isn't much older than me). This led to the youngest kid trying to hook her up with his dad!  We figured we'd never see them again, and we pried ourselves loose, said goodbye and headed back to the game.

As “luck” would have it, they were seated behind us in the stadium, and approached us again as they were headed to their seats. One was excited to inform us that they had smuggled beer into the stadium and would we like to join them?! A polite “no thank you” had them on their way again! A few minutes later, a big commotion behind us erupted, and people scattered everywhere as the police ran up into the stands. It turns out one of the guys had fallen down numerous levels of seats, and a fight of some sort had ensued. He was promptly handcuffed and taken out of the stadium by police! (which of course I caught on camera :P). 

An interesting afternoon to say the least...

As the game wound down, we headed home amongst the defeated and dejected Stampeders fans... back to the train, bus, train, car and home for supper that Beth had cooking in the crock pot all day! Yum! A great day and a perfect end to the weekend – days like this always make for great stories, and they give me something to write about in my blog! Here's to more hilarious happenings to come!

Happy Labour Day Weekend everyone and good luck to all my fellow teachers headed back to school!