By car, plane and even motor homes, Destin folks made the trek to Pasadena to root for their team in the Vizio BCS National Championship game between the Florida State Seminoles of Tallahassee and the Auburn Tigers of Alabama.
"As for the game it was a once in a lifetime experience," said Ernest Firth of Destin, who was at the game with his mom and dad Lisa and Ernie Firth, sister Melissa and friend Brooke Scholl.
"The game couldn't have been played in a better venue than the Rose Bowl. Saw plenty of Noles from Destin at the game. Words wouldn't do any justice for the emotions and feelings during and after the game. It's been a long time coming," he said in a text to The Log.
The Firths were at the airport Tuesday morning "with no voices" after the game, getting ready to fly home.
Capt. Gary Jarvis and wife Pam, who are die-hard Florida State fans, were also in attendance.
Jake Brashears, of For Reel Photos, was at the game with his buddies. He flew and drove part of the way, and has plans to take his time driving home across country.
Morgan Howard, who works at the Destin Community Center and a Florida State fan, traveled with family and friends to the game in a motor home.
"We left Friday around noon and arrived around 2 a.m. Sunday. It was a 36-hour drive," Howard said in a text to The Log.
However, they stopped along the way and took photos in front of every state sign they crossed.
And in every photo, "My brother’s face is on a cardboard cutout because he couldn't make the trip," she said.
Not all Destinites were wearing garnet and gold. Sporting the orange and blue of Auburn were Kathy and Ken Whidden as well as Ken Creel and Shaye Smith, to name a few.
But in a game that went down to the wire, the garnet and gold of FSU rose to the top to capture the BCS crystal with a 34-31 victory.
“Despite the outcome, it was indeed a great game,” said Kathy Whidden in an email to The Log. “After a 3-9 season last year, we're just tickled to death to make it this far. Still love my Tigers though! War Eagle from Pasadena!”