God Bless America and Go Big Orange

A couple weekends ago, I was fortunate enough to attend The Battle of Bristol with 156,000 of my closest friends 12 of those including myself. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the event, the Tennessee Volunteers took on the Virginia Tech Hokies. It was without a doubt one of the coolest experiences ever. Largely due to my "Poppy" (seen below— in the middle is my cousin, Sarah).He enjoyed it just as much as I did if not more.

The night started with the National Anthem, preformed by the lovely Jennifer Nettles. The atmosphere was what I can only describe as electric. After the National Anthem, the fans had an assignment. We had to hold up pieces of paper that were different colors on cue. These pieces of paper created a beautiful waving American flag. However, when we flipped it over, On the opposite side, it said "Go Hokies!" I assume the sign on our side said something about Tennessee football, but I obviously wasn't able to tell. Right before kick off, the owner of Bristol Motor Speedway flipped the coin with two special guests. One of which being Peyon Manning. Vol fans freaked out. I mean he really is a legend.

The football started. And man, let me tell you it was loud! Vol and Hokie fans turned up the volume, and the Hokies played off of it. They gave Vol fans a big scare and really did play there hearts out . Half time came and fans were told that there was a special guest. Lee Westwood performed " Proud To Be An American" with the Pride of the Southland of the Marching Band. You could really feel the American Pride in the stadium. This was a perfect fit, as the next day was 9/11.

I found A video that doesn't really do it justice, but you can hear the fans singing along, and it is a great video.

I am so glad that I was a part of this experience. I'm also really glad that Tennessee took home the Battle of Bristol Trophy. God Bless America and Go Big Orange!