I met Robby at his house around 9:10 am and we were on our way to Tuscaloosa! We got there with plenty of time for Robby to give me a tour of his undergraduate institution. It was great! We started with a walk to the Paul W. Bryant museum. It was pretty awesome to see all things Bama - and with it being homecoming and a packed house, you couldn't help but get in the ROLL TIDE spirit! We then headed for the student center - and passing through the quad on our way.
The chimes were right there - and at the foot of them the captains of the football team (past and present) put their cleat and hand print in the cement. Joe Namath - cleat print and hand print - AMAZING! I've never seen tailgating like SEC tailgating! It was phenomenal....seas of tents - I mean numerous - thousands...each one with yummy food and oh yeah at least 1 if not 2 flat-screen televisions playing other football games. There were families playing football, there were blow-up things for kids to play in, there was spirit EVERYWHERE! It really was like a sea of crimson and white. Loved it!
At the student center we went straight for the bookstore - where I picked up my very own ALABAMA HOMECOMING 2008 long-sleeve t-shirt! Love it! Then it was a little Starbucks while we watching the opening half of Auburn game with hundreds of other people in the student center. Soon it was time to walk to the stadium with 92,000 of my new closest friends.
We scored and got to hear the band playing on their march to the stadium. The are called the Million Dollar Band - and I now know why - they ROCKED! Did I mention Robby is Million Dollar Band Alumni? The stadium was amazing - with statues outside it - of course my favorite was the BEAR (I absolutely love the houndstooth...so cute). I scored a picture of the statute in between the line up of 10 to get a picture with it!
The we got into the stadium. It was 45 minutes before the game started and I'm pretty sure they were the fastest 45 minutes ever. We got to watch both teams warm up, I finally got to taste DREAMLAND bbq (on nachos of course), and we got to hear the band. Then, it was pre-game! The Million Dollar Band spelling out BAMA on the field...then the live footage of Nick Saban leading his team from their locker room to the field.
4 quarters went by in a flash (although I was all over pictures of the score board), but it was a blast and still left ALABAMA undefeated this season!
Now, it's back to Birmingham - 1 paper down, 2 to go and the MPRE exam on Saturday.
Matt's weekend was also filled with football, albeit ACC and not really the same glorious outcome that I watched. Unfortunately, Miami came back and stunned UVA in overtime. However, Matt's fraternity brothers were in town, so I'm sure they drowned their sorrows on the Corner last night! Still impressed with those HOOS this season.
Sidenote: Another team I'm impressed by - my BAYLOR BEARS! The Bears almost beat the Missouri Tigers - tied 28-28 with a little over 2:00 minutes in regulation - amazing and icing on the cake as it was Baylor's homecoming...Although the Tigers kicked a field goal winning 31-28 with just minutes in regulation left - all I can say is SIC'EM BEARS! I'm so proud!
2 comments:
This was your 1st Bama game??????? I can't even tell you how many I've gone to! But you're right, tailgating there is awesome - not just necessarily an SEC thing though...Alabama has an awesome Game Day atmosphere. The stadium was just built on to in the last couple of years and the statues you were talking about are basically brand new. And if you thought the stadium was cool, I'll have to send you pics of the locker room - like a 5 star hotel for these guys! We listened to the most part on the radio b/c we weren't getting Pay Per View. That game put Bama at NUMBER ONE in all the polls...well, really, Texas' loss put them at number one but six of one, half dozen of another, right? Anyway, there's definitely a reason why there's so much ado about football there....and in my opinion, Bama totally lives up to the game day hype.
P.S. We love Dreamland...it's all over - in B'ham too. What did you think about it?
Wow! A Bama Broad! What about the Whawoo Gal of Virginia? Sounds like the game and experience was a win-win all around. What an appropriate present for a gal that loves football!
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