The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sellout Sweepstakes Grand Prize Winners
9/26/2013 | Athletics, Blog
While thereis no doubt Ole Miss's victory over the Texas Longhorns 44-23 two Saturdays agowas exciting for all of Rebel Nation, it might have been a bit more excitingfor two very special Rebel Fans.
J.C. andLinda Enlow were the proud winners of the first ever Sellout Sweepstakes Travelwith the Team, created this past year to encourage current season ticketholders to renew their commitment for the upcoming 2013 season. Their reward?The lucky duo traveled in style with the team on their journey from Oxford toAustin and witnessed firsthand what its like being an Ole Miss football playerpreparing for a big time showdown in the Lone Star State.
The Enlows,who are retired but currently run a non-profit organization that establishesschools in underserved countries, were actually in Lima, Peru when Sr.Associate AD, Michael Thompson contacted them about winning the sweepstakes.Hearing them tell the story of receiving that winning call as we loaded the busbehind the Manning Center on Friday morning to depart for the Memphis airportwas a perfect way to begin our travel.
Once on thebus , we got to know each other and shared our excitement about the trip whileenjoying a boxed lunch from Chick-fil-A. I informed the Enlows that this wouldbe my first ever road trip with the team as well, since I just came on boardwith Ole Miss in late July.
We arrived atthe airport and went through security quickly before boarding the plane, whereMrs. Enlow made the observation that Mr. Enlow and Coach Freeze share a commonappreciation for Coke. An observation she was delighted to pass along to herdaughter.
The spiritsquads, coaches, staff, and players joined us on the plane. Within moments, wewere wheels up, heading to Austin.
When wetouched down, the flight crew welcomed us over the PA system and wished CoachFreeze and his team good luck tomorrow night.
The hotelmight have been the most memorable experience for the Enlows, as they were ableto sit in the lobby for hours and meet players, coaches, and otheradministrative staff as they passed by and congregated in small groups.Personally, I think our travel party enjoyed their company as much as theyenjoyed being there with us.
The next daywas game day, but kickoff wasn't until 7 p.m. and there happened to be another"Big Time" game taking place, Alabama vs. Texas A&M. As I sat in therestaurant, next to the lobby watching the game with a room full of coaches andadministrative staff, including Athletics Director Ross Bjork, who did I seeright there in the middle of the crowd? Mr. Enlow. Enjoying the game andconversations with everyone as if he had been working for the department for 40years.
As game timeapproached, we had our bags swept and loaded the bus for Darrel K. Royal-TexasMemorial Stadium.
At thestadium, we exited the bus to an enormously loud Ole Miss welcome and quicklyentered under the stadium. The team entered the locker room and the Enlows andI took to the field to see what the 100,000 plus capacity stadium had to offer.ย
Prior tokickoff, the Enlows visited with personnel on the sideline, and even had achance to meet the famous face of Longhorn Athletics, Bevo, before getting totheir first row seats behind the Ole Miss bench.ย
As anyone whowatched would agree, the game had plenty of ups and downs culminating with aheroic comeback and a marquee win for Coach Freeze and his team. When the finalhorn sounded, the Rebels stood on top and following post-game handshakes, theRebels raced to the end of the stadium where I would estimate nearly 10,000Rebel fans draped in red were celebrating. Once again, in the middle of all thefun and excitement stood the Enlows, hanging over the front row railingslapping high-fives and shouting praises to the team that would be walking outof Texas with a "W".
It is ageneral understanding that the return trip home for any team is always betterafter a win. Being that we didn't get to the Austin airport until aftermidnight following the game ,it was probably a good thing that this was thecase this night, or should I say early morning.
You canunderstand the plane was filled with some pretty exhausted people, but I haveto say the atmosphere was anything but. As I sat in my window seat next to J.C.and Linda, we chatted the whole trip home about the last two days and what anexperience it had been. Before we exited the plane and boarded the bus for thelast leg of our journey back to Oxford, Mrs. Enlow said to her husband, "Ithink this outdid our 50th wedding anniversary." Mr. Enlow nodded inagreement and said, "I think so too."
I am certain that Mr. and Mrs. Enlow enjoyed their trip with the Rebels to Texas and all of the things they got to witness and be apart of. What I am not sure of, is if they know how truthfully enjoyable it was for me to experience my first Ole Miss Football road trip with them. It is something I will never forget! HOTTY TODDY
