Clara and I left home right around noon and met Grandpa Jack in Kirkland. We had talked about trying to park closer to the stadium, but after hearing that parking was something like $60 we chose to park for free in Grandpa's building. Since my ankle was still bugging me we decided to take the bus down. Clara was thrilled to ride "Daddy's bus." (I didn't have the heart to tell her I rarely take the bus now that I carpool.)

At the stadium we found the Blue Thunder drum band playing in the plaza. Clara loved it so much we could hardly drag her away. We got her through security, but as soon as we came around the corner and she could see the band from the ramp balcony we had to stop. With no small amount of effort we we pried her away from the balcony and she raced up the ramp and straight to the next balcony.

After Blue Thunder disappeared from view we found our way to our seats. We had underestimated the amount of time required to get to the stadium so we were really early. Clara and I went for a few walks to keep her entertained. Back at our seats the noise began to build.

The day after Clara described herself as "the 12th man" so she definitely got what was going on. Somehow she got into the spirit without the vast quantities of beer the folks in our aisle seemed to need. As the game built to blowout status she screamed and I screamed and Grandpa Jack screamed.

We left with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter because Clara was done. She had spent the last few minutes just standing between my legs with little interest in what was going on. We had finally found her threshold for fun.

She rebounded a bit as she rode on my shoulders for the walk back to the car and marveled at the roar when the victory was assured. The fireworks were a bit unexpected, but we were far enough away to only hear the dull thuds as they lit up the night sky.

Bring on the Steelers.