When I started out blogging, it was on a different site that was created by me to extend my sports column which ran for two years in my high school's newspaper publication. It was devoted to my devotion to sports. And my devotion to sports is an undying thing. I was born in the Tar Heel state, where the shine of the hardwood is a beautiful thing and the squeaking of rubber-souls is almost as sweet of a sound as swoosh. My devotion to sports was born in basketball but has developed into a passionate, burning love for the game of football. It was not too long after moving to Alabama that I realized how infatuated with tradition-rich football I was!
That's why today was a good day. I sat on a couch with one of my best friends, Emily McGee, and spectated ALL day long. We were spectators of a game that we both have a strong connection with. That's because we both went to a school that lives and breathes and will die for all things football. We have lived in a city that comes to life in the Fall and goes into hibernation during the Spring, when our town's people are glued to BamaOnline and Rivals.com hoping to get a glimpse of what to expect from this town's one true love: the Crimson Tide.
We left only to pick up a few things from the grocery store and to pick up a take-out order to keep us fed during this football packed Saturday. Today there were no frills; just a couple of twenty-something year old girls who looked a lot like 45-year old beer-gutted men today with a Bud Light in our hands and our asses imprinted on the couch. It just humors me that even when the Crimson Tide play in an entirely different state, the team's faithful still let college football be what our world revolves around. And with the end result being a W, I can't seem to find a better way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon. Well, an afternoon in the crazy student section at Bryant-Denny Stadium would be nice, but I've got that to look forward to next week.
But I love the days like today when I am reminded just how passionate and on-fire I am for the crimson-clad boys. The game against Arkansas in Fayetteville was a high-intensity, edge of your seat type game and I think it would have made for a less successful day if I were standing on the metal bleachers in Bryant-Denny. Not that I would have any less faith in my schoolmates to secure the 28th straight regular-season win, but the anxiety and near-fatal panic attacks I suffered in the comfort of my own home would have not mixed well with the whiskey-lit and rip roarin' drunk fans that pack themselves in like sardines to every home game. The back and forth lead, the gloom of doubt, and the hard-to-understand play-calling were all handled much calmer than if I were in my home-game element. I laugh when I think of the close calls I've witnessed in person.
Plus, I got to watch more football and keep my ass permanently imprinted on the couch. The love isn't just for Alabama when the quad is covered in crimson and the speakers jam out 'Sweet Home Alabama.'
The love for football runs deep here in the Deep South and the faith that I have in the Crimson Tide continues to grow. Even on the Saturdays that I shake no shaker, I drink no Yellow Hammer, and I scarf down no 'Denny Dogs.' Maybe that's why I love this program so much.
And, then again, maybe it's because we are the number one team in the nation. Or because we are SO good, even when we play REALLY bad. Whatever it is, it's earned my lifetime commitment as a Bama fan. Now who's with me?!?!
peace and love
ROLL TIDE
baily
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