I got to enjoy an early birthday present tonight and go watch the Lady Vols play at MTSU. It was the first time in school history for MTSU to have a sold out crowd for their women's basketball team. 11,802 in attendance to be exact. Surprisingly the crowd was made up mostly of Blue Raiders fans. I say surprisingly because I am such a huge Lady Vols fan I cannot imagine pulling for any other team.

Of course they were the underdogs, but MTSU did well. They hung in their with a young Lady Vols team even though the score didn't show that.

We had a great time - Gabbie did amazing as always! You can see how happy she was to be at the game. It was packed so we had plenty of noises to contend with - she didn't even budge over the crazy noises.

We started out in seats pretty much at the top of the gym. We didn't realize when we bought them that they were literally bleachers = no backs. Not a fun situation when you have an 11 pound baby strapped to your front. Not to mention Brent and I are not sure the last time we had to sit on bleachers with someone's knees pressing into my back. Oh so fun!...not

So....Brent to the rescue: he politely asked a security guard if we could sit in these folding chairs on the platform. Gotta love playing the baby card! We scored better seats: not on in location but in comfort.

So hopefully you can tell by the shots we got just how much better our seats were.

Here are the girls warming up with a not-so-welcoming crowd. They booed pretty much the entire time they were being introduced. I was a little surprised there was so much animosity and not more respect for such greatness.

Couple of fun facts about this lady: 1. My Aunt was recruited in the mid-1970's to play

for the University of TN at Knoxville by the one and only Pat Summit. At the time, Pat was only in her mid-twenties and coaching at a school that was not known for their women's basketball. My grandfather says he actually spoke with Pat about my aunt playing for UT, but my aunt chose to go to TN Tech instead - mainly because they were the powerhouse in women's basketball at the time. Second fun fact: when Pat first started coaching, she herself had to arrive early to her games so she could put out all the chairs for the fans that might possibly show. Who would have EVER imagined she would become what she is today. Final fun fact, when I was about to start my junior year of high school, several of my closest friends at the time (and we just happened to play every sport together - including basketball) spent a week in Knoxville at the best basketball camp I've ever been to. We got to meet Pat as well as the 1998 National Championship team that included Michelle Marcineak, Chamique Holdsclaw and others. It was a really special time that I will never forget! (oh and we learned a little about basketball too :))