Read on only if you are an Obama-mama, or if you are interested in my night out at Invesco Field. Fair warning... bleeding heart liberal writing this post- you can tell by my liberal uniform below...
As I think I might have mentioned with some small amount of glee, I scored a Community Credential ticket into Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High. Go, me- 8 years of living in Denver has finally paid off! I actually got 2 tickets, and took Allyson, a coworker, with me- she had been stuck on the waiting list. My office made out well in tix- 3 other co-workers scored them! And a member of my book club snuck in with a press pass that belonged to a sick friend of a friend. I found out later that several other folks I know were there as well.
Pam, co-worker, neighbor, and bookclub pal, and Cass, neighbor and book club pal, and I headed downtown on the Light Rail. This was the one down side- the city kept saying light rail was the way to go, but truly, it was overloaded and the shuttles from various areas around town worked better. Ah, well. It was an adventure.
After we lined up for a silly amount of time, we cleared security and headed into the stadium. I've never been in a crowd even half the size of this that was so darn happy. Everyone (with the exception of an old woman, a delegate from NYC, who decided I cut in line and yelled at me and called me both a cheater AND a dumba$$) was fabulous. People were in a joyful mood, so full of hope you could nearly taste it. It was a crowd of people who want the best for their country, people who think we can be better, and we need to be better. People who are dreaming of a better future for their children...
And we hopeful people were treated to some amazing speakers. Bill Richardson! MLK III! Tim Kaine! Al Gore! Howard Dean! It was like the democratic hit parade. Bill Richardson was so fabulous, the people seated near me were all trying to figure out why Biden and not he was the VP pick. We were there for over 7 hours, plus the 4 hours or so of commute time, but it truly flew by. You'd think, after wacthing the DNC on TV all week (go Hillary! you did us proud!), I would have been all speechified out, but not so.
And did I mention the music? John Legend and will.i.am kicked us off with Yes We Can.
And Jennifer Hudson sang the National Anthem. There was also Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, and Michael McDonald- who ALWAYS makes me think of The 40 Year Old Virgin, sorry.
By the time the man himself came on, the crowd was in a fever pitch.
We were ready for the main attraction, and boy did he deliver. With
nary a falter, he spoke for about an hour, and told us what we wanted
to hear. While some say it was not his best speech ever, I think it
was exactly what he needed to say that night. He was not just rhetoric, and while he was not 100% specific on every issue, he delivered enough to satisfy. Allyson and I screamed ourselves hoarse, and it was 3 full days before my throat felt normal again. We waved our flags, we cheered, we stomped our feet, and most of all, we dared to dream- to dream about the next 8 years being years we are proud of, years where America regains her glory and stability. By the time the fireworks began, the joy was over the top. Want a taste? The footage below is a snippet from my exciting new toy- a sony cybershot that allows me to shoot some digital video!
I have been an Obama fan since the convention in 04, but even if I were recently on the bandwagon, this would have been the most amazing night of my life. I am in awe that I got to be a part of history, that, as the buttons I bought say, I WAS THERE. For the rest of forever, when they play clips of the speech, I will know that MY scream is amongst the other 84,000 you can hear!
If you'd like to enjoy all the photos I took, click here. You can see Al Gore, and everyone else you can think of, too!
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