My First Bowl Game: 2011 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL

My husband had said he wanted to go to the Citrus Bowl game this year and support the Big Ten since they were playing in Orlando where we live. Even though he went to the University of Michigan which was playing in Jacksonville, he thought Michigan State would have a chance.

I don't remember the last time I actually attended a football game. Hawaii doesn't have professional sports and only one football team, my alma mater, the UH Warriors. I wasn't into football although I understand the gist of the game. Attending this bowl game was a family outing that my husband wanted us to experience as the ticket prices came down a week before the game; which wasn't a sellout.

Problem: Buying Tickets to Sit Together

What's interesting is that when we bought the tickets on StubHub we couldn't buy three tickets; they were only sold in sets of two. My husband figured if we bought the two tickets and kept waiting on the prices we could buy two more for less and give one away. I found another site that sold individual tickets for about the same price. We paid about $50-$52 per ticket and $15 or so for shipping, that was the least expensive even though we had more than a week and priority mail would have been perfectly fine.

We received the tickets with no problem; it took 48 hours for the ticket dealers to confirm the sale from whoever was selling the tickets. Since I had never been to a football game, all I know is the University of Hawaii games back home were big on tail gate parties. Since neither team was a home team, the closest being Alabama, I would guess that more fans were going to be for Alabama and tailgating at the stadium of which we didn't want to get in the mess of that traffic.

Parking for the Citrus Bowl

Fortunately we got there about an hour before the game and parked at the new Orlando Magic, Amway Stadium parking for $15. I was shocked! But then again I'm new to this. It was nice to have a safe, new, covered garage for my little car and off we went down the street to catch a free shuttle to the Citrus bowl which was about a mile away.

They have a nice working system on moving all of the people quickly and efficiently in downtown Orlando. I'm glad we parked there as we drove through a less then nice neighborhood with a lot of homeless people on the streets and broken down buildings; which some people were offering parking with hand-made signs for $10 parking "secured". I'm glad we paid the extra five bucks to know my car would most likely be intact when we got back and we didn't have to walk all the way to the arena.

Entering the Stadium Wearing the Wrong Colors

Next we entered the arena in a sea of red shirts (Alabama), passing food booths to the entrance of the stadium and my husband wearing his Michigan blue jersey; it was a little frightening to wonder what they or even Michigan State would do to this lone blue guy.

My step-daughter and I sat in the middle of red shirts; we weren't wearing any colors to distinguish who we were cheering for. It was very cramped, I didn't know seats could be that way as Aloha Stadium is very comfortable, although old; you're not sitting in the knees and backs of other fans.

When my husband arrived some guys yelled, "Go Big Ten" - I then left to my seat which was way on the other side (Michigan State) and was very happy to do so. As I got to my seat my husband texted me that he wanted to come where I was because the Alabama people were drunk and he was uncomfortable there with our 8 year old.
There were a few extra seats, so they made it over and some people started booing my husband because he was wearing a University of Michigan jersey, I guess they don't have the same thinking that you can cheer for your Big Ten if it's not against your own team.

My Thoughts

The sights and sounds of my experience were rewarding. I'll write a review on the food I saw at the stadium. Although Michigan State didn't win, I enjoyed the experience and look forward for a few more firsts for myself coming up in the next two months.

Future Sport Firsts - Pro Basketball & Ice Hockey

I plan to see my first professional basketball game at the Amway Arena with the Orlando Magic and we'll also see the Detroit Red Wings play ice hockey against the Tampa Lightning early February. I'm a little perplexed as to who I want to cheer for since I live in Orlando, FL I want to cheer for the Florida teams, however if my husband is with me, he will be cheering for his home teams.

Interest: Slideshow of photos from the Citrus Bowl game

Sources: Personal Experience