Match Day

What a crazy experience! We knew that Match Day was going to be a nerve-wracking day, but we didn't know what we were in for. This was insane! But, it was a wonderful day...

We arrived at Busch Stadium and waiting in the FREEZING cold for 30 minutes. Someone was worried about getting good seats, and boy, did that pay off, when we got the best seats there! You're welcome, Tom. :) We were able to sit next to the wall of windows looking into the stadium, and less than 20 feet from the podium, directly in front of it. PERFECT!

We got our picture taken, walked around in the stadium to see the gorgeous sun coming up over the stadium and the St. Louis Arch, got some drinks and chocolate fondue, and listened to announcements. 

Then, it was 10:59am. At 11:00am on the dot they began calling names. What was amazingly fun was that each student got to choose a song, which played while they walked up to get their letter. This made it more upbeat and fun. Tom's song was Jason Aldean's Take a Little Ride. Then, the student took their letter and went back to the seat to open it. You can imagine, then, that  there is a lot going on: students getting their name called, songs played, students opening letters, people reacting. And that right there is where I began to get a little. bit. stressed. A girl to the left of us is screaming with joy. Another girl at her table is crying because she got her #4 spot. A group to the right is cheering when someone got into UNC. The guy at our table received his letter, crumpled it into a ball and walked out. He never came back. My eyes were wide and my heart was pumping. At one point they called a "Thomas" and I nearly had a heart attack. It wasn't Tom. I had the video camera ready and wanted to get it all on film, but I also wanted to survive. It literally felt like a survival situation. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun atmosphere, but there was this intensity that just hung like a cloud in the room until 12:00 when all names had been called. Whew.

Anyway, back to Tom. At 11:20 they called "Thomas Ganz" and Tom headed up to the podium. He looked fabulous and was all smiles. He came back to the table and opened the letter. I saw his reaction first: priceless. He was BEAMING, called out "YES!" and looked at me. Me? I was worried that he had read the letter wrong. Are you sure? Did it really say SLU? So, I desperately tried to read the size 8 font, and when I did, I may have given the rest of the table a show. I practically jumped onto Tom, gave him a huge hug and then a even bigger kiss. Oops! Who knew that's what my reaction would be!?  I was excited and thrilled and oh so proud of Tom! I'm so glad he was called at 11:20 because I am not sure I could not survived until noon. After that Tom just smiled and we were both so excited! And then, Tom got another drink, it was well deserved!

What does it say!? SLU!

After the Match, we had a wonderful lunch in the Redbird Club and we started to really relax. We talked about how this was the perfect venue, because people could get some space if they wanted to call relatives, and there was also something else to do after the Match. It was one of those events where you didn't want to stick around, but your adrenaline was too high not to do something else. Now it was time for fun! What fun tradition is for everyone to add their name to a map, to show where they are going for residency, which was neat. Tom added his name to St. Louis, mingled a bit, and then we headed to a tour of Busch Stadium.

We loved the tour! Here are some highlights:

The Press Box

We're on the field!

Making a call to the bull pen

In the dug out

They made a huge deal about NOT touching the grass. But, these guys were removing the sod and replacing it, so my 28 year old husband HAD to touch the "ruined" sod in the back of the gator cart just because they had said not to. Good work, Dr.!

After we left Busch Stadium, we headed to The Scottish Arms to continue celebrating. We texted friends and family to let them know we were staying in St. Louis. BUT, we kept it a surprise what program Tom got into. We wanted to reveal that at dinner with our parents. At 6:00 we met both sets of parents at Brio, where Tom gave a speech about wanting to be at SLU, but most importantly, be in St. Louis. Then, he announced he got his #1 choice: SLU OBGYN! Yea!

Dinner was delicious and then we continued the celebration once more at my parents house for a wonderful dessert and coffee. By the time we left at 10:30 we were EXHAUSTED! What an emotional roller coaster day.

We are so blessed to be able to stay in St. Louis, not have to sell our Nantucket home, and for Tom to be able to go to his top choice program in the field he wanted to be in. Praise God, He is so faithful! It is because of God's grace, and Tom's hard work and dedication that we have come so far, and we are SO thankful. It was also so neat to see our families and friends' reactions and encouragement as we went through this experience.

We are so blessed!