Brooklyn’s First Bama Game

Although technically Brooklyn went to an Alabama football game or two before she was born (during the fall of 2012), we are counting the Alabama/West Virginia game this year as her actual first. Mom and Dad got tickets to the game and then decided that they didn’t want to go, so we were the lucky recipients! The game was in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome, so we knew we had to be prepared if we wanted to take Brooklyn and be able to have a good time too. So, without further ado, here are my tips for taking an 18 month old to a football game 3.5 hours away from home and doing it all in one day:

1. Do your research ahead of time. We looked on the Georgia Dome’s website and found out there that you can take a “baby” who is 33 inches or less and can sit in your lap into the Dome without a ticket. Hooray! We also found out on their website that you can bring a stroller inside the Dome and take it to the Dome Service Center where they will tag it and hold it for you during the game. Double hooray! Travis called a few days before the game just to make sure that the info on their website was correct, and luckily it was. It would have been terrible to take Brooklyn and drive all the way to Atlanta only to find out that we had to buy her a separate ticket.

2. Pack lots of books and toys for the road. We spent a lot of time in the car that day, so in order for it to be a pleasant ride, we made sure to bring lots of stuff to keep Brooklyn entertained. Luckily, she is a great car rider anyway, so we weren’t too worried about the trip. On the way home, I didn’t hear hardly any noise from the back seat, so I think she must have slept most of the way.

3. Stop for a quick lunch and stretch your legs on the way there. We stopped at Roly Poly (on Travis’s request) on the way to the Dome, and it worked out well because we didn’t have too much further to drive after we got back in the car. Brooklyn appreciated the change of scenery too!

4. Use your stroller! We parked in a parking deck about half a mile from the stadium, so it was really nice to have that stroller! It was a hot afternoon, and we were glad we could just push Brooklyn in her stroller instead of carrying her the whole way. The only hiccup we weren’t prepared for: We should have folded up the stroller before we got up to the front of the line. We weren’t thinking about having to go through a turnstile, so we quickly had to grab Brooklyn out of the stroller and lift it up over. Hopefully, we didn’t make anyone behind us too mad! Once we got in the Dome, it was really easy to “check” our stroller and pick it back up after the game. We will definitely have to remember that if we ever go back with young kid(s)!

5. Have lots of things to keep your toddler entertained during the game. We ended up with great seats! We were on the first row of the upper deck, so there was a concrete wall right in front of us and more walking room than in the rows above us. Brooklyn stayed right at our feet or in our laps the entire game. She did great! She was entertained with my shaker, stickers, lots of snacks, and people watching. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem bothered at all by the noise, and it was pretty loud the whole time. We were so impressed by how well she did the entire afternoon. We were actually able to pay attention to the game too, which we weren’t sure would really happen much. It was perfect!

6. At halftime, go burn off some energy. We found a spot that wasn’t too crowded and let Brooklyn run around for a few minutes. Then we let her walk up and down the ramp. I could tell she was tired after all that running around…

…so it wasn’t a big shock when she fell asleep midway through the 3rd quarter…haha!

7. Enjoy the victory after the game. She looks like a proud Bama fan, doesn’t she? :)

We had a great trip!! Roll Tide!!