A couple of my friends called me a "fanatic" recently. Actually it may have been more than "a couple. In fact, I think the term is pretty widespread in use by now. Folks think I'm a "rabid Alabama football fan"! I, on the other hand have always thought of myself more as a rather dignified graduate of the University of Alabama with, perhaps, more than her share of crimson, white, and houndstooth apparel, but who still retains her dignity...until...well... Who am I kidding?? I LOVE THE CRIMSON TIDE!!! I love the way our teams win (all of them, from golf to gymnastics!)!! I love our Football Head Coach, Nick Saban, I love his wife, Mrs. Terry! I love all the guys on our team, I love all the wonderful traditions of our University, I love every teeny, weeny, eensy, weensy little bit of fun that comes from living in a University City!! But my devotion to the team, my love for the University, my love for all this goes far deeper, and it pre-dates Coach Nick Saban by many, MANY years!! My truest devotion to the University is all tied up in sweet memories of times with my Dad and brothers.
As I grew up, my dad was a very busy M.D. in a dusty little one-stop-sign Alabama town. I saw very little of him--VERY LITTLE! Every chance he could, he'd try to schedule a few hours to be home on Saturday to watch or listen to Alabama's games with us. Real treats for our family were those weekends when he got tickets for us all to return to his Alma Mater for a game! Seeing him take a couple of hours to unwind and enjoy something so much made such an impression on me that when I was only six year old I decided I was going to learn everything I could about the game and team he loved so dearly, just so I could spend time with him! In the years since I lost him to cancer, I realize that was one of the best decisions I ever made!! Those times through the years we spent enjoying Bama football together were wonderful, and created some of the memories I hold dear to this very day. What fun we had!
In 1970 when my eldest brother, Randy, went away to the University, he played the bass drum in "The Million Dollar Band"! What a thrill it was to attend games and see him perform with them! Many years later now that I am married and living in Tuscaloosa, I love to drive by the band practice field just to listen to them, and I do it often. I'm kind of partial to drum section. Randy passed away suddenly last year, but it takes only the sound of the band's bass drum to bring to mind happier times. If I close my eyes as I listen, I can still see his smiling face in those old 70's uniforms! He looked sharp, and oh how he loved playing in the band!
I did graduate from the University of Alabama, I DO love the Tide, and I'm mighty proud of that. Maybe I do keep an inordinate amount of school apparel in my closet. But when I when I dress in crimson, white and houndstooth on gamedays, I have to admit my reasons are two-fold. I do it to honor my team, but it's also to honor a lifetime of autumn Saturday afternoons spent watching and listening to games at home and walking the Capstone hand-in-hand with beloved family members who loved Bama before me! When I walk across the campus today, I can hear the faint echo of those well-loved family voices, and sometimes, I think I can almost see traces of their smiles on the faces of fans headed into the stadium! When I do, I have to smile. Could be my friends are right about me...
