Heart Attack Pack

(WARNING: SUPER LONG!)

The original Heart Attack Pack was the 1982-1983 NC State Men's Basketball team.  They earned that nickname because over and over again they pulled from behind at the last possible second in games that it looked like they'd lose, all the way to the NCAA championship where they won as a #6 seed at the very end 54-52 against a #1 Houston.  They also beat #1 Virginia in the West region finals 63-62.  According to my mom, the list of games from that season and the following tournament that weren't "heart attacks" is shorter than the list of games that were.  (She, being Ms. Cute Popular Rock Band Singer, actually partied with the team fairly frequently.  Sidney Lowe, one of the stars of that team, later became the team's head coach.)

Well, uh, I dub the team that played today Heart Attack Pack 2.0.  Don't worry, I'll explain why, but first I'm going to tell you about the day.  I won't be offended if you skip a lot of the text.  It's gonna be long, but I want to remember this game in as much detail as I can remember.  The pictures and videos are nice, though. :)

We left at 8:06, which is only 6 minutes behind the time Mom wanted to leave, which is frankly pretty good for us.  I rode with Mommom, and Chelsea, Shane, and Blake rode with Mom.  Mommom and I stopped to pick up her friend Hilda, who was coming with us because Mom bought an extra ticket.  We all went by Bojangles for breakfast, and then headed out.  I put my iPod in, but surprisingly didn't fall asleep till after we stopped for gas about halfway there.  We then went to Holly's.  We brought in all of the Thanksgiving leftovers we brought her, and she and Michael got in Mommom's car.  Thankfully, I got to ride in front because Ms. Hilda is tiny and the three of them could fit in the backseat pretty nicely.

We got into the handicap parking lot at a nearby high school about 11:00, and got a shuttle to the stadium.  Thank you God for this service, because I wouldn't be able to come to these games without it.  This is a picture I snapped on the bumpy ride there. :)

When we got there, I decided I had to memorialize Blake's first football game, so Ms. Hilda took a family photo.  This is what happens when you try to get seven adults and a toddler to look at a camera.  Oh, and Michael isn't wearing State clothes because he's actually a Carolina fan. Boo. :p

Here are just some pics I got while we were standing around eating and stuff before we climbed up the cramped bleachers to our seats.

I really like those last two. :)

Then, the fun began.  We got to see a bit of the marching band's pregame show and the celebration of the seniors on the football team, who were playing their last game in Carter-Finley Stadium, possibly their last game for NC State if we didn't win today.  The marching band is called The Power Sound of the South.  The announcer also titled them "the most dangerous marching band in the south."  :D

I even took a video of the team running onto the field.

Well, actually the fun didn't really start till the second half.  The first half was PAINFUL.  We had three fumbles in the first eight minutes, and suffice it to say, the score was 34-14 at halftime.  The halftime show was really good, though.  The videos I got aren't great because the family's too loud, but the music is still fun! :)  The first video is Frank Sinatra, and the second video is the Alma Mater and the Fight Song to celebrate the seniors in the marching band.

Mom was cracking jokes about how she didn't know how the team was gonna play without butt cheeks because Tom O'Brien was most certainly chewing their asses out for playing such a pathetic first half.  The beginning of the third quarter wasn't much more promising.  At the 10:50 mark, Maryland scored again, making the score 41-14, a horrendous deficit, and that was when at least 10% of the started clearing out.  Mom's rule is after spending the money on the tickets, you stay until the end, win or lose.  God bless her for that. :D  After that final touchdown, it was as if a firecracker was lit under every member of our team, and we just took off.  Not to mention, I don't know if the Maryland team just got cocky or what, but they made several stupid fumbles and mistakes that helped our defense to hold them back.

At the end of the third quarter, the score was 41-28.  Mom said, "Two touchdowns in a quarter is very doable."  I replied, "True, but getting two touchdowns while also keeping the other team from scoring at all may not be."  Because really, our team has been very touch-and-go in getting the offense and defense to both be at the top of their game, so what I said wasn't farfetched.  Heh.  Little did I know...

Fourth quarter, we played like I've never seen us play before.  I think everyone in the stadium was on their feet for the entire 15 minutes. In only fifteen minutes, we went from down 41-28 to this:

We turned a 27-point deficit four minutes and ten seconds into the third quarter to a 15-point win at the end.  Those last seven points came off an interception that spanned almost the entire length of the field.  We had 42 unanswered points in one half!!  That is the biggest comeback in NC State history, and the 2nd biggest comeback in ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) history!  What a way to end the season for all of our seniors, two of whom are TJ Graham, easily our best offensive player, and Audie Cole, one of the best on our defense.  AND NOW WE GET A BOWL BID!!!  (It was total luck that I took this pic the exact second VICTORY popped up on the jumbotron, but I think it adds to the effect. :D)

I seriously may not be able to talk tomorrow because I screamed almost constantly as loud as I could for the second half of the third quarter and all of the fourth.  Mom and I were having a blast celebrating with both the couple behind us and the family in front of us. 

Of course, this day was far from perfect.  There were fights throughout because, well, Chelsea's Chelsea, Shane's apparently as disrespectful and ignorant as she is, and my grandma just likes to complain about everything.  But that seriously didn't even bother me once that gorgeous, miracle-upon-miracles game was over.  What did bother me was when we got to the front of the line for the shuttles to take us back to our cars, the one there was full so it drove off, and FOUR shuttles got stuck in traffic for twenty minutes, and I stood there for so long that from my back all the way down to my feet was tthrobbing so badly that I started crying.  I have no idea why the pain got so bad, but it did, and it sucked.  Thankfully Mommom had Tylenol, and Chelsea had Ibuprofen, and Shane found a short wall I could sit on for a few minutes while we waited.  I was still limping by the time we got to our cars, but it was a lot better once I could sit down.

Mom, Chelsea, Shane, and Blake headed on to a Wendy's in Fuquay, and the rest of us drove Holly and Michael back to her house before we went there, too.  It was nice to actually sit down and eat in there and not have to eat in the car.  Mommom and Ms. Hilda drove me back to Campbell, so I made sure to get a picture with Blake before we separated.

Chelsea didn't like the face he made in this one, so Mom told her to take another.

I LOVE this one.  He's not looking straight at the camera, but you can still see his cute smile.

When I got back, all I did was unpack and my laundry.  Now, I've got to fold and put away my laundry, make my bed, and shave before I can go to bed.  I've got to get up EARLY tomorrow because I'm gonna be spending all day on my project report.  I totally didn't work on that over the break.  Oops! :p  Oh well, it'll get done.  As Holly said, I'm now a "real" college student for finally majorly procrastinating on something.  Haha!

If you made it this far, you're awesome.