My boys grew up in an area of Birmingham nicknamed: "The Tiny Kingdom".

Located away from the actual city, it is a community nestled amongst the beauty of the trees and rolling hills. It is aptly named "Mountain Brook" and is really an incredibly lovely area.

The local high school is known more for its brains than its brawn and boasts of its high percentage of students who go on to succeed at very good colleges....as opposed to those who got athletic scholarships from excelling in sports....especially football.

So, you can imagine the excitement in the "Kingdom" as the football team is ranked number one in its division with an undefeated season so far!

Hoover, Alabama, is another area of Birmingham with many of the same attributes...however, they are also known as a football powerhouse and have ended many a season with a championship trophy in their case. They were even the subject of an MTV series last year called: "Two A-Days" which focused on their incredible football team and all of the "drama" surrounding it.

The two teams played each other last night...and, Dave and I thought that it would be fun to go and see this great rivalry play. It has been a long 24 years since Mt. Brook defeated the Hoover team in football.

It was a lovely night, with a touch of coolness in the air. The sounds of the beating drums, blaring bands and excited kids greeted us as we found our seats in the huge stadium. This was an away game for "my" team so we were a bit outnumbered as far as fans went. Because it was such a big game, it was being held at a larger venue than the high school field.

Dave and I ended up sitting at the end zone very close to the field. In fact, we were so close that the football came flying into our area every time that the extra point was kicked. Unfortunately you had to throw it back down to the field if you caught it...but, it still generated a lot of excitement and anticipation. One ball was so close to us that the gentleman in front of us actually caught it, much to Dave's disappointment. Men are such little boys, aren't they? : )

Looking around me I couldn't help but notice how very YOUNG all of the high school kids seemed. Boy, am I getting old. Part of the fun was watching these teenagers flirt and tease the boys sitting around them. It is such a wonderfully awkward time, isn't it?

Well, I wish that I could tell you that for the first time in 24 years, our little team beat the mighty Hoover team...

But, we didn't.

It was a valiant effort though as the game ended 28-21. Hopefully, it won't be another 24 years before we can be victorious again.

: )