Cardinal game

I won't deny that this job has some perks. Spencer and I had an opportunity to attend a Friday night Louisville game vs. UConn from the field. Spencer and I were on the field before the game meeting cheerleaders and the dance team (I had to bribe Spencer with ice cream to get that picture with the dancers...next time he can take MY picture with the dancers...) and watching the players warm up. As the game began, we watched the entire first quarter and part of the 2nd from the sideline which was awesome. We took seats near the goal line for the 2nd and half time, then made our way down to the field again for the 3rd quarter as this was when the AT&T event (the reason we were there in the first place) was to take place. This is when the funniest moment of the evening occurred.
Spencer did NOT like the Cardinal mascot. He doesn't mind his image on his hats or shirts, but he wants nothing to do with the real guy. I think he looks a little too menacing, especially compared to the benign Big AL. When we came down to the field in the third, I saw the cardinal coming down the wall giving five to everyone in reach. When I pointed him out to Spencer, Spence immediately started looking for a place to hide, but those are few and far between on a football field. As the bird got closer, Spencer started to panic. In order to save him, I picked him up and he and I made a wide arc around the cardinal so Spencer was never closer than about 10 yards and the mascot never spotted Spence.
Having survived that incident, Spencer and I went back to watching the game. Spencer was standing around the 15 yard line while I was around the 20. After watching a play, I looked back at Spencer and noticed that the Cardinal had spotted Spenc and was making a Bee Line toward him. Spencer hadn't seen him, but I thought it best NOT to have an incident of panic or a pants wetting in front of 40,000 people, so I ran to get to him first and save him. The bird still came up, but he didn't get too close and Spencer refused to have anything to do with him and the Card left disappointed. The result of the moment, though, was that Spencer never let down his guard again for the remainder of the game. Every few minutes, he would run to me and grab my legs as cover and look every which way to insure that the bird wasn't sneaking up on him again. It was classic.
All in all, we had a good time and Spencer enjoyed the game. What a childhood and he's only 4...