We tried a few months ago going to a live show and it was a heartbreaking bust. Handsome and I loaded the kiddos into the car and drove an hour and a half to the venue. We told the kiddos where we were headed as we exited the freeway and turned onto the road leading to the stadium. Big Red squealed with delight and went through his full repertoire of Yes's, Get Some's and Awesomes! We found a parking spot within walking distance and followed the crowd of mullets to the stadium. As we approached the ticket booth, the person in front of us was turned away and I felt a horrid twang of disappointment.
They had sold out! Never, in a million years, would I suspect that a monster truck show could sell out!
Handsome and I felt horrible as we tried to gently explain to Big Red that we couldn't go inside. They were out of tickets. The worst part came as we walked right past the lot where the trailers of each truck were parked. All of them illustrated in striking color with the team name, sponsors and respective huge truck and their damned giant tires. Big Red stopped and tearfully listened as the announcer began welcoming the crowd and to the roar of the trucks as they fired up. It took about 10 minutes of tears and having to carry him back to the car before he calmed down. Lil' Bit was thankfully oblivious to what was going on and sweetly consoled his brother with hugs, saying "K." (his way of asking if you're OK, or telling you that things will be OK).
Once we were all buckled into the car, we decided to go out for dinner. We ended up at Outback and had a very nice time together. The boys were extremely well behaved, even after waiting for 20 minutes for a table and were thrilled with being allowed to get dessert. We promised them we would buy tickets ahead of time for the next show that came to town.
Flash forward to January, and the commercials for Monster Jam start showing up on the television. As soon as payday rolls around, Handsome and I jump online to purchase tickets. As I'm reading through some information, we find out there is a pit party before the Saturday show. Tickets to the pit party get you down on the track with the trucks and drivers for autographs and pictures. WE MUST HAVE PIT PASSES! I search and search for a method to acquire the pit passes with no luck for several days. Then, magically, as if being led by the "Force" I click a link that takes me to a list of SuperCuts hair salons that will be giving out pit passes for FREE, while supplies last. These holy grails of monster truckdom are not available yet, but they will be.... on Monday, only 3 days away.
When Monday rolls around, we decide to call our closest SuperCuts to ensure they have the passes and we can come get 4. They do not. The passes have not yet arrived. I call every other location within 50 miles only to find out that NONE of them have received the passes. A day later, Handsome calls the local store and the manager agrees to set 4 aside and call us when they come in. The following Monday, the house phone rings and I answer it, expecting to hear my mom on the line. It's not my mom but instead, an ANGEL that informs me she has 4 Monster Jam Party in the Pit Passes waiting for us. I thank her profusely and told her I would come straight over as soon as I got my son off the bus. I had Lil' Bit already buckled in the car waiting on the bus. When Big Red got off, I told him to jump in and we sped to SuperCuts. I debated for several seconds before getting out of the car whether or not I was obligated to get haircuts if I went in for the passes. Lucky for me, they looked pretty busy so I just asked for the passes and we bolted out of there.
Big Red is starting to read and he KNOWS what the Monster Jam logo looks like so it took all of about 3 seconds for him to know what those tickets were for. We had to write Monster Jam on the family calendar and mark off a day at time so that he wouldn't make me crazy asking if tomorrow was the day for Monster Jam.
The day of the show finally arrives and we get up early, get dressed and head to IHOP for breakfast. We eat a big meal and make our way to the stadium. We get a great parking spot and only wait in the lobby for a few minutes before the doors are opened and we make our way down the stairs onto the dirt track. There are Monster Trucks, Monster Truck drivers, Remote Controlled Monster Truck replicas and surprisingly, not as many mullets as I expected. We spend the next hour moving from truck to truck taking photos and getting autographs.
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| All the trucks on the track |
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| Big Red holding up a monster truck |
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| Autograph from a driver |
Once the pit party is over, we head up to our seats and get settled in for the show. We spend $10 for a poster and $15 on a bag of cotton candy with a foam truck on top. (That stupid foam truck was ripped before the intermission - RIP OFF!) $30 for popcorn, sodas and a soft pretzel left me feeling thoroughly redeemed for the disaster that was the last show.
The boys had a great time cheering for the trucks and watching the wheelies, jumps, donuts and roll overs. Lil' Bit was scared of the loud noise the trucks made when they started up and revved their engines. He watched most of the show through his hands as he covered his eyes. As long as his ear plugs didn't fall out, he was happy and excited by the action. Big Red was mad that the people with the t-shirt cannon didn't shoot him a t-shirt but overall he was thrilled with the way the day happened. I had the most fun watching them get so fired up. They both knocked out in the truck on the way home.
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| Peeking through his hands |
Moral of the story: BUY MONSTER TRUCK SHOW TICKETS IN ADVANCE!
I was realllllly hoping to see some good Mullet evidence. BooOOooo000ooo!
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