North Carolina State University Athletics
Andre Brown: First Day in Birmingham
12/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
We made it to Birmingham for the bowl! We left the Murphy Center at 11 a.m. on Christmas day, and got in to the hotel a bit after 1 p.m. We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed out to Birmingham Southern College for practice. The temperature was mild but it rained on and off a couple of times. We practiced on their game field, which is made of turf, and the coaches say it's the same as what will be playing on at the bowl game.
After running through a practice in full pads, we showered, changed and headed back to the hotel for a team meeting and then Christmas dinner. All of the players and support staff were at the dinner, including the coaches' wives and their kids.
With kids on Christmas day, we had to have a Santa Claus. The team voted to have Jake Vermiglio play Santa. He was great, yelling out "Ho Ho Ho" as he came in and then calling out the kid's names. Jake gave presents to all of the kids, putting smiles on all of their faces. Willie Young tried to get in on the action, taking a seat in Santa's lap, but he went away empty handed.
When Santa wrapped things up it was time to eat. Let me tell you, this was truly a Christmas feast. We had everything; fruit, salad, chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn, pasta, turkey, ham, and a table full of different desserts.
After dinner, Coach O'Brien had one more surprise for everyone. He brought all of the seniors to the front of the room and then assigned groups of tables different parts of the "12 Days Of Christmas" song. Everyone started out pretty mild, but things got crazy when a mix of mostly O-line and D-line guys started jumping to their feet and belting out "Five golden rings!". That was my favorite part, followed closely by Leroy Burgess' solo take of "Four calling birds." The performance was great and everyone in our traveling party laughed and had a great time.
It's been different being away from home for Christmas, but everyone has been having a good time, enjoying the day and taking in the experience with each other.
The players are on their own free time now and the folks at the hotel have set up a hospitality room for us to enjoy. Tomorrow morning we'll be up early for breakfast, a team banquet and meetings before practice. Tomorrow night we've got bowling and more food ... BBQ.
After running through a practice in full pads, we showered, changed and headed back to the hotel for a team meeting and then Christmas dinner. All of the players and support staff were at the dinner, including the coaches' wives and their kids.
With kids on Christmas day, we had to have a Santa Claus. The team voted to have Jake Vermiglio play Santa. He was great, yelling out "Ho Ho Ho" as he came in and then calling out the kid's names. Jake gave presents to all of the kids, putting smiles on all of their faces. Willie Young tried to get in on the action, taking a seat in Santa's lap, but he went away empty handed.
When Santa wrapped things up it was time to eat. Let me tell you, this was truly a Christmas feast. We had everything; fruit, salad, chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn, pasta, turkey, ham, and a table full of different desserts.
After dinner, Coach O'Brien had one more surprise for everyone. He brought all of the seniors to the front of the room and then assigned groups of tables different parts of the "12 Days Of Christmas" song. Everyone started out pretty mild, but things got crazy when a mix of mostly O-line and D-line guys started jumping to their feet and belting out "Five golden rings!". That was my favorite part, followed closely by Leroy Burgess' solo take of "Four calling birds." The performance was great and everyone in our traveling party laughed and had a great time.
It's been different being away from home for Christmas, but everyone has been having a good time, enjoying the day and taking in the experience with each other.
The players are on their own free time now and the folks at the hotel have set up a hospitality room for us to enjoy. Tomorrow morning we'll be up early for breakfast, a team banquet and meetings before practice. Tomorrow night we've got bowling and more food ... BBQ.
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