The one thing I know about myself is this: I'm loyal to a fault. Whether you are friend or family, I'll nearly defend and support you to the death. Good or bad. Here or abroad. So, when our friends, Ben & Amy Hartsock, were released from the Falcons and picked up by the Jets, a Jets fan I became. Really, I'll cheer for any team that has a friend playing on it. For now, its the Jets.
(Which, incidentally, confuses the mess out of those here in Georgia ... we like to keep them guessin'.)
The bummer about the whole Jets thing, however, is that (a.) they are rarely on TV here and (b.) they rarely play games anywhere near here. So when Bowdie and the other guys found out that Ben had a preseason game in Charlotte, they immediately went to planning a road trip.
The day trip was planned, but for us, had a unexpected turn. My Uncle Joe unexpectantly died in a very random incident by his church. The funeral was in North Carolina, so what began as a 1 day trip, turned into 2, with an overnight stay in Charlotte. We were even able to squeeze in a dinner visit with our friends, Jade & Jessica Costen and their 3 sweet kids. Needless to say, our emotions ran the spectrum over the weekend.
Now to some fun pics ...
As we were killing time after lunch, who should pass us on the streets of Charlotte but the Jets head coach, Rex Ryan. Matt, not afraid to ask, yells, 'Hey Coach ... can I get a picture?' Once they crossed the street, he obliged. I think Matt could've gone home right then a happy man. Notice his sweet wife Alisa is strangely absent ... she was standing with me, mouth gaping at the whole incident!
Of course, Rob jumped in for his pic too.
The road trip crew ... Barry Mock, Rob Drake, and Matt & Alisa Pognant
Notice we are on the sidelines ... Ben's friend (who works for the Panthers) got us passes for pregame warmups ... what a treat!
I believe these are the 2 owners of the teams ... exactly how much money is sitting on that
golf cart?
Just one little sampling of a Jets fan ... this little girl was so cute! We saw a bit of it all ... and I mean ALL ... I should've snapped some shots of the lobby of the hotel where the Jets were staying ...
Ben in warmups (he's facing the camera) ... this is his job as a 'blocking' tight end ...
I'm learning ... slowly ...
The magic pass that got us on the field ...
Another shot of Ben ... I seriously felt like he was my kid, I was so excited to see him play!
Braylon Edwards ... took this pic because just that morning I had watched on a sports show how he won't cut his beard ... yuck! But the crowd went crazy for him ...
Down on the field ... in neutral colors (since we were down there on Panther passes!) ...
Team huddle ...
Stretching ... missed the shot of Ben, bent over touching the ground and waving through his legs at us on the sidelines ... crazy man! Oh - and that's Coach Ryan patting/hitting him on the shoulder pad ...
Just taking it all in ...
Now THAT'S a mac-daddy camera ... wow ...
Just some fun sideline stuff ... look at all the phones ... and to the left is the printer (behind the gent in the suit) ... technology technology technology ...
Medical supplies ... pretty much have it all covered here ...
Right before we had to exit the field ...
One of the guys from the HBO show 'Hard Knocks' ... they've been highlighting the Jets training camp. Let's just say they are showing it all - the good, the bad & the ugly.
Jets QB Mark Sanchez ... Bowdie was saying, "Take a picture ... take a picture!"
A shot of Ben from our seats ... amazing what zoom on a camera can do ...
Here's a no zoom shot ... we were h-i-g-h ... the stadium was pretty full ... but the view of the field was still good ...
Here we are ... notice the concrete wall above us ... that would be the top of the stadium. Remember I said we were high up!
Thought this was funny ... where else but at a Carolina game would they give you Nascar updates? Matt was a happy camper ... :)
Looking forward to a great season ... go Ben and go Jets!
how cool. really-the whole thing.
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