Friday morning I awoke in the new condo to 32 degree temps and a dusting of snow on my car. So, what better place for this 18 year Alaskan transplant to Colorado (moved to Alaska in 1975, moved to Seattle in 1984, moved back to Alaska in 2003, moved to Arvada in 2012) to spend a Friday night but the football stadium up the road. I can tell you, there are a lot more places I would have rather been. 32 degrees in Alaska is cold. It is jacket, hat, and glove weather, but I have shot soccer, football, and track with snow on the ground with just jeans and a long sleeve shirt on. So, now that I am unpacked (sort of) I put on one of my MaxPreps shirts, and grabbed my linerless MaxPreps jacket and headed for the stadium. What I found was a cold pit in the ground. A slight wind blowing into the stadium, a freezing mist in the air, and 32 degree temps. After 3 months of 90 degrees, I guess my interior thermometer has officially changed to Colorado because it was dang cold. I made it through the first two quarters, but after it was apparent that Arvada West was going to be blown out, I decided to call it a night.
When I got to the stadium, things looked good. I was hoping that if anything, it would snow. I got down on the field, set my exposure, and started chatting with a couple of the team moms with cameras for Fairview. With it being A-Wests homecoming game, I wanted to have packed stands as a background.
It actually looked like it was going to be a good game. Both A-West and Fairview would end the first quarter tied 7-7. Fairview had a good pass game going, and Arvada West was getting some good runs and their kick returns were netting some good yardage.
In the second quarter, Arvada West could only muster a field goal, and Fairview added a touchdown to lead 14-10 at halftime. Thankfully, with numb fingers and soaked to the bone, Fairview had a portable propane heater going by their benches, giving me a nice warm place to stand during halftime.
When the second half started, A-West was able to score a touchdown, but Fairview added 13 points, taking a commanding 10 point lead into the 4th quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Arvada West was able to score a touchdown and get a 2-point conversion, but it was not enough as Fairview would add 13 more points, winning the game 40-25.
By this time, I was at home, getting out of a hot shower and into some warm comfy clothes to edit the first half of the game. I was freezing and the mist that had been falling was horrible to shoot in. I really need to upgrade my camera rain jacket to a ThinkTank Hydrophobia, and upgrade my lens to a 400 so I could shoot from under cover. But, that will take people buying photos from MaxPreps. So head over to the MaxPreps Gallery for this game, and to view other Jeffco school athletic event photos, take a look at my profile on MaxPreps and click the View My MaxPreps Galleries link.
