What It Means to Be Crimson Tide

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact time that I became an Alabama fan, and I think it’s because there was never any real beginning to my fandom. It’s more like the existence of God. You know - no beginning, no end? I’m pretty sure I was born a kicking and screaming Alabama fan and never looked back. My Dad, who also bleeds Crimson, even gave me a fair chance to make a switch when I was but a youngster. He bought me a UGA trash can years and years ago, and even though I have lived in Georgia my entire life and I still have that trash can to this very day, I never even thought about being a Bulldog fan.

My great-grandma and great-grandpa were both professors at the University back in the 60s and 70s, and that pretty much sealed the deal for me before I even produced a conscious thought. Grandma was a math professor and Grandpa was a physics professor and the dean of the graduate school. They even tutored “Broadway” Joe Namath at their house in Northport when he was a struggling student-athlete at The Capstone. My Dad tells the story of Namath having Thanksgiving dinner with them one year and playing in the Annual Turkey Bowl after dinner. I know that was a special time and I have to say that I am a little jealous of that memory!

Unfortunately, I never got to meet Grandpa, but I spent a lot of time with Grandma as a child in Tuscaloosa where I learned about the University of Alabama. Some of my earliest memories of Tuscaloosa are going to the Children’s Hands on Museum in downtown and spending all afternoon there with my Grandma and then riding through campus with her and taking in all the scenery and grandeur of The Capstone. Perhaps my most special memory of Grandma and the University was at the ground-breaking ceremony for their library, the Eric and Sarah Rodgers Science and Engineering Library. Our entire family was there for the dedication and it’s something that is a huge source of pride for me and was perhaps the real beginning of my realization that there was this big school in Tuscaloosa that would always mean a lot to my family and me.

As I grew older, we spent more and more time on Lake Tuscaloosa every summer skiing, swimming and spending time with family. I remember one summer, my sister and my cousin were struggling to learn to ski. If you’ve ever tried to learn how to water-ski, you know exactly how excruciating it can be having water skeet up your butt 17 times in a row at 25 miles an hour because you can’t seem to stand upright on these two skinny planks on top of the water. Well, this guy in a MasterCraft happened along our slough and the gentleman inside the boat offered to help teach the two. They jumped in the boat and immediately began popping right out of the water! Well, turns out this wasn’t just some loon looking for struggling skiers on the lake, but Tom Strong himself, the long time ski-team coach for the University of Alabama! I doubt that he remembers my sister or that day on the lake, but it’s a special memory for me that only serves to solidify me love of the Crimson Tide.

We lived in Brunswick, Georgia until I was 10 and my mom was a school teacher, so summer travel was our thing and we rarely, if ever, made it to T-Town for ball games. I think the first memory that I have of really watching a game on television though was the 1992 National Championship game. The reason that I remember that game so vividly was that my Dad, who is a die-hard fan like me, had on the most ridiculous get-up I had ever seen up to that point. Come to think of it, I can’t think of many more ridiculous outfits in all my years since then, and I have been to some UGA games in Athens where people favor tight red pants and suspenders on game day. He was wearing a white Crimson Tide straw hat, white long johns, red University of Alabama suspenders and a pair of University of Alabama boxers on top of his long-johns. I’m pretty sure that he had some kind of ridiculous button on too, but those suspenders and the boxers on top of his pants kind of block the details out. Now, this might not seem so bad in the privacy of your own home, but imagine going to the store with your pie-eyed Dad dressed up like that as an easily embarrassed nine year old child. It was appalling at the time, but I have to say that it makes for a good memory, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

As I started getting older, I started working weekends in restaurant kitchens and Alabama was in and out of trouble. I missed a lot of games between the time I was 15 and 21, but whenever there was a chance to catch a glimpse of the game on the bar TV or listen to it on the kitchen stereo, you better believe I was tuned in. I specifically remember the 1999 SEC Championship game when Alabama whipped Florida 34-7!! The reason that I remember this game so well is because there was a guy that worked with me at one of the restaurants and he was one of the extremely obnoxious blue-jean shorts wearing Florida fans who had been talking all kinds of trash before the game. Well, me being the humble and gracious person that I am, I hooted and hollered and generally rubbed it in his face until I lost interest months later. Ok, maybe I’m not so humble and gracious, but you know what they say: It’s had to be humble when you’re from Alabama!

As much fun as all those early memories were, the last few years haven’t been so kind for us Crimson Faithful. I remember exactly when this losing streak to Auburn began. I was out deer hunting and listening to the game on the radio. I don’t remember a whole lot about the game (I tend to repress bad memories), but I do remember just being sick and not wanting to face any of my Barner friends. But, I knew that it would only last one year and we would be back on top by next November. Well, 5 years later I was in Tuscaloosa for my first Iron Bowl live in person, still waiting to be on top again. All those feelings came rushing right back in just like they had 4 years ago, except they are much stronger when you’re actually a part of the atmosphere in downtown Tuscaloosa. Not to mention that it felt like a knife had been festering for 4 years and was just twisting deeper and deeper into my gut. I’m getting a little sick to my stomach right now just thinking about it.

Thankfully, Pepto-Bismol started making this new cure for Alabama fans. In case you hadn’t heard, his name is Nick Saban and it seems to work pretty well so far. I don’t know what it was like when Coach Bryant got hired back in the day, but I have been told that there was jubilation in Crimson Nation on a scale similar to what we are experiencing now. I know everyone says (well, at least hopeful/jealous rival fans), “Ahh, y’all will have him for 3 years and he’ll leave you too.” Well, he may very well do exactly that. But for right now, 3 years of this kind of feeling will push these last 5 right out of my mind, and that’s worth $32 million to me.

What it means to Be Crimson Tide means remembering exactly how we got to this place today (not only the good times, but also the bad) and knowing what it takes for us to get back where we belong. It means following the leadership of Coach Saban and being patient; expectant and demanding, but patient nonetheless. So, here’s to the next era of Crimson Tide Football.

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, Give ‘em Hell Alabama! Roll Tide!