My wife and I decided to leave for Gophers football opener early and have a sandwich before the game. The traffic from Bloomington on Interstate 35W was quite light — but then we reached I-94.
One and a quarter hours after leaving home, we arrived at our prepaid parking spot on Oak Street — but the lot was full because not enough people had left from the afternoon. We were told to follow the car ahead of us to the 4th Street ramp.
We did so, wondering if our "guides" really knew where to go. A few spots were open on the fifth floor. We were already wondering how long it would take to vacate the building when the game was over.
Now the long walk to the stadium — we could hear the announcer; the game had begun. Rather than getting something to eat, we went to our seats. The Gophers were already behind.
At the end of the first quarter, we headed to the concession stand. The beer lines were very long, so forget about that. We waited in the food line for some time and finally got to order … but no food was available for 15 minutes: sold out.
We returned to our seats to watch the final minutes of the first half. Then, at halftime, we went home and watched the rest of the game on TV. It was the best decision we made that night.
