Out of the 10 contest winners of our DefLeppard/YouTube contest (see this post), Cyndy Kanel from West Haven, CT was the third one to collect her prize (two tickets, a backstage tour and meeting with the band) when she went to the band's show in Virginia Beach, VA on July 11. Here's her report.

"My life completely changed on May 29th when I received an email from the Def Leppard web site, announcing the YouTube/lip syncing contest. After reading the rules of this contest, I already had it won in my head. I had no clue which song or how but I knew this was a contest that I could have a shot at winning and somewhat have control over depending on how creative I could be. I told my daughter Kaleigh, who is the star of our video, about the contest and she was as excited as I was. She really wanted to win this, so much so that she was willing to dress up as a boy for the world to see...but she was willing because she knows how much Def Leppard means to me and the role they played in my life. We were both ready for this challenge, but we didn't know which song until the day we started. "LET'S GET ROCKED" was one of our favorites and I knew it would be lots of fun to do so we chose it. We taped the video in a couple days in pieces and I spent a couple days editing it. I was anxious to submit it a few days before the due date in case we ran into any problems uploading it. After it was submitted successfully, I chose not to look at any of the other contest entries. I wanted to stay positive and knew if I viewed other entries I would get discouraged and lose focus. "

"On that following Monday, Kaleigh and I were leaving CVS when I pulled out my cell phone and saw I had an email and it was from Defleppard.com! I scrolled down the email that read "recently you submitted one or two videos"... "after reviewing hundreds of videos"... at this point I couldn't scroll fast enough, still trying not to lose hope but I have to admit I thought I would eventually get to the word "unfortunately". However, after practically waring out the little ball on my Blackberry I came to the part of the email that read "We are happy to inform you...". I immediately let out a scream and burst into tears... thank God at this point we were outside the store! Kaleigh wasn't sure what my problem was but kept asking me if I was alright, then I managed to squeak out "we won"... at this point it was her turn to scream. I can't tell you how long we sat in the car and I cried and reread that email. "

"On the morning of the concert, I got the call from Matt, a member of Def Leppard's crew. After we made plans to meet and I hung up with Matt I looked over at Kaleigh and said, "this is it, it is really going to happen!". Later that day, Matt met us at the gate before the parking lot of the venue even opened. Matt was waiting patiently for us at the gate with a golf cart. He introduced himself and we immediately felt extremely comfortable with him. We zipped through the venue into the back where the buses and trucks were. Matt took us to the trucks which carried all the band's equipment and explained all the work that goes into assembling, disassembling and all the hours of labor that went into loading and unloading the trucks twice each concert day. He then took us backstage and we saw the crew working hard assembling and checking all the equipment required to make this show a success. It is truly amazing what goes on in the background that no one sees or even gets to know about or appreciate. These guys work their tails off and still managed to greet us with a smile. And, does anyone involved ever really get to sleep???"

"Matt walked us to the front of the stage - we were on the actual stage Def Leppard would be performing on - oh my gosh! Matt had us sit on the steps that led up to Rick Allen's drums for a picture. I was speechless and completely awestruck. This is happening to me? Then he told us all about the lighting above our heads and all the cables holding them up and how they take them down and load them and unload them when out walks Vivian Campbell. I remember telling myself not to cry and to stay strong and not get all "fan-ish" on him. We all stood and talked for a while then Matt took our picture together. Vivian was very gracious and patient and autographed Kaleigh's drum head that she brought along to have signed. Then he said goodbye and we thanked him. I was quite proud of myself that I didn't cry, wet myself or pass out! I really had no idea what to expect or how I would react. Kaleigh and I were both grinning ear to ear and very happy to have met Vivian."

"We then went in the offices and met the people who worked on the business end of all this (again, from the outside, these people we don't consider or think about but they are a huge part of the whole operation) and we had the awesome privilege of meeting Malvin Mortimer, the band's tour manager. He knew us by name and saw Kaleigh was holding the drum head. He asked us if we would like it signed so Kaleigh handed it to him and he told us he would take care of it for us. He said he just saw Kaleigh on the video and asked who did all the editing. It is all so unbelievable that our video would be viewed by people like him. How did we come to deserve all of this??? He wanted to make sure this experience was the best.....as did Matt. He told us to have a great time and we walked on. "

"Matt brought us out to show us our seats, which were really close and began to watch the soundcheck. I couldn't believe we were this close to them. We felt like we were royalty...what a feeling! I have never felt like this. Malvin then came out and pointed us out to Joe Elliott and Joe looked over and said "congratulations" to us. That was too cool! In the middle of the soundcheck Matt came back and said for us to follow him. I sort of walked backwards trying not to miss the rest of the soundcheck... but then we were heading backstage again! OH MY GOD! Most of this time I was just speechless, completely blown over and amazed. We were now on the side of the stage watching Def Leppard do the soundcheck! As I was trying to contain myself and soak it all in and not miss a beat, Rick Allen gets Matt's attention and is waving us over. I didn't really think he was waving to US so I stayed put. As Matt is heading over there Rick is still waving.....he can't be talking to us can he??? I did the quick check behind us to see if he was talking to someone else. Matt turned around and said for us to follow him...so we did... We went around to the back of the stage and inside the area where Rick is with his drums! It's quite small inside there but here we are with Rick Allen! He greeted us and talked a while in between his drumming. When I think back to this time, it feels like it was all in slow motion. We sat down on the steps just feet away from Rick while Matt snapped some pictures of us with Rick in the background. At one point Sav ran up the steps that we stood under just a foot away from my head! Then we stood and Rick started drumming away like he does. I had the biggest lump in my throat and again tried to fight off the tears as best as I could, it didn't work this time, I remember thinking "I am standing here behind THE Rick Allen, my biggest idol, greatest hero and inspiration on this entire planet!" He was no doubt my greatest role model. His example of persevering under the most extreme circumstances helped me get through my own personal tragedy with the loss of my family in 1984. I truly believe he had a large role in my own personal healing. And here we were watching him do what he does best. Now, I believe I can be very emotionally strong, however, not this time. Watching him play just feet away, uh... I can't even write this without getting emotional all over again. When he was finished he turned around and talked to us with a big smile that melted my heart. I am overflowing with respect for him. I wanted so much to talk more but I was having problems forming words at this point. "

"Matt then had us go out into the venue on our own for a little while and told us we would meet up with him in a bit. When we met up with him again he took us to an area that was fenced in where others were waiting for the same thing, a Meet & Greet with band members! After a couple minutes Rick Allen and Phil Collen walk in. Phil with his beautiful daughter on his shoulders. I shook Rick's hand again, then Phil's and we lined up to take the picture. I thanked them both and then we were on our way to somewhere in a hurry. I overheard Matt talking to someone saying he had to make the announcement and introduce us to the crowd. I got Matt's attention and asked him what was going on. He said he was going to introduce us to the audience! I followed Matt closely and he introduced me to the crowd. I was half ready to start dodging tomatos but the crowd was thankfully in a great mood and they cheered as Matt talked and tossed out a couple DVDs into the crowd. After this we headed back out into the venue and Matt said we'd meet up a bit later. We went out and watched Poison perform. I was afraid Kaleigh would find the music too loud and overwhelming because sometimes loud music or noise bothers her unless it is something she controls herself. We were supposed to bring ear plugs but we forgot them. However she was fine and she actually knew a few songs -- thank you Guitar Hero! Poison was really good and we both enjoyed watching them. After they finished we walked back out and ran into Matt, he said to follow him. He asked us if this was what we were expecting and I said I really had no idea what to expect but this was WAY more than I thought it was going to be. He then led us back stage so we could see Def Leppard perform! We saw them getting ready to go on stage.....it was unbelievable! We watched as the lights went down and the music began. Matt told me that I may want to get pictures of this, thanks Matt! If it weren't for you, I'd have no pictures at all. I was so overwhelmed and filled with emotion. After a couple songs Matt said the dreaded words I never wanted to hear; "time to go to your seats." I couldn't be disappointed one bit because this was so much more than I ever expected! We had such a great time with Matt and it was so sad to hug him and walk away.....again fighting back the emotions. Before I left Matt for the last time I made him promise me that he would give Sav a hug for me so, Sav, if you are reading this, Matt owes you a hug!"

"Kaleigh grabbed me and pulled me toward the show as I waved goodbye to Matt with my lip quivering... I felt as if I was leaving an old friend I have known for years. We sprinted to our seats and continued to watch the concert from this side of the stage now. Our seats were awesome . We were set a little higher than the floor seats and I swear Joe looked over and acknowledged us.....at least that is my story and I'm sticking to it. I am also pretty sure we made eye contact with Sav as well. We both danced through each song and sang along. So much for worrying it may be too loud for Kaleigh. I look over and she is singing her heart out! What an awesome thing to hand down to my daugther, the love for the greatest band in the world. She first loved them because I did, and now she loves them because she knows them through her own experiences. "

"Def Leppard was awesome once again! What an excellent show, what an unbelievable experience! Again, I was overcome with emotion on our way out of the venue, it was so sad to be all over but I will never ever forget it! Ever! "

"From both of our souls, thank you Mark, all the awesome crew members, Malvin Mortimer, Rick Allen, Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, everyone behind the scenes who judged the contest and watched all the videos, the parking lot attendant for not towing my car and last but certainly not least, Matt for being such an awesome tour guide. I wouldn't be smiling this much after five days and my dream would still just be a dream! We love you guys!"