I have a soft spot for the Gamecocks. It's fun to watch Spurrier's act, and we cheered for them at the SECCG last year.

I have to admit that we did not get to experience much of Columbia, other than the stadium and the Courtyard Marriot (for about 6 hours). We were just exhausetd at the end of the game and could not get up the energy to check out the nightlife. You can also imagine that we got to the stadium without a whole lot of time to spare.

Every trip is a little bit different. One of the compromises to this trip is that we didn't get to get completely immersed in any of the locations since we were hustling from place to place so much. I would not do that every trip, but it was fun this time around. It was like being in the amazing race. Plus, the drives were relatively short and a good time to shoot the breeze with the fellas.

As far as the WB stadium goes - it had good noise and I like that sand storm routine. We were right beside the band and I enjoyed that. Not crazy about how close the seats are together - wow get to know your neighbour.

The game was close, which made it interesting. I really enjoyed watching Latimore (Garcia not so much). Clowney is not normal.

The biggest dissappointment of the whole trip is that we missed the 2001 deal, by about 30 seconds. We made it to the stadium with plenty of time, only to get into a people jam at our gate and miss it. We came into the stadium just when the flag bearers ran onto the field. A real bummer considering the effort we made, but overall it was a big accomplishment to get there on time for kickoff.

I am headed back to South Carolina in the spring with my family (Kiawah Island). I have to figure out the distances, but I am considering taking in a Gamecocks baseball game during that trip. That that will give me another chance to see Columbia soon.