74
DECEMBER 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
“
Heh-heh-heh,” he says.
“
Excuse me,” I say. “Are you happy that
Georgia scored, or that theVols are losing?”
He considers this for a moment, then
says, “Son, I’d drive through the gates of
hell just to avoid the state of Tennessee.
Does that answer your question?”
“
Yes, sir, I believe it does,” I reply, before
lowering my voice to a confessional whis-
per. “I’m actually a Georgia fan.”
“
I ain’t got no quarrel with thoseDawgs,”
he says in return.
“
Roll Tide,” I offer.
He nods. “Roll Tide.”
EVER SINCE I CAN REMEMBER,
I’ve been a
hard-core fan of college football in general,
and Southern football in particular. The
problem is, growing up in the Northeast I
never had the opportunity to take in the
spectacle of amajor college football game.
And it doesn’t get anymoremajor than the
University of Alabama.
TheCrimsonTide are the reigning kings
of college football, having won two of the
past three national championships. This
was thought to be their rebuilding year,
but, after steamrolling Michigan in the
opener and hammering Arkansas, they
are once again undefeated and on top of
the polls when Ole
Miss comes to town.
So, tofill that glaring
hole in my college
football experience
and completemyself
as a fan at long last, I
make the trip south to
catch the game.
When I arrive at the
Quad eight hours before
kickoff, the tailgates have already
been up and running for a full day. Under
tents and awnings, fans gather to grill
vast amounts ofmeat andwatch the early
games onflat-screenTVs, the signal carried
via portable satellite dishes. Everything
from folding chairs to baby strollers is col-
oredAlabama crimson. The encampments
are guarded by inflatable versions of Big
Al—the Tide’s elephant mascot—while
recordings of ’Bama’smarching band blare
from massive sound systems. This is no
free-for-all, but rather a highly organized
operation with preassigned plots and an
information tent in the middle to help
folks find their parties. It’s boozy, yetmore
laid-back than its pro counterparts.
Leaving the bacchanalia behind, I
wander past the cluster of RVs by the law
library to check out
the Paul W. Bryant
Museum. It’s a shrine
to both its namesake
legendary coach and the
majesty that is Alabama foot-
ball. The Bear’s importance can’t be
overstated. For 25 years, he stood watch
over his boys in his trademark hound-
stooth cap, winning six national titles
and demanding not only perfection on
the field, but also victory with class.
The museum’s effect on ’Bama fans is
not unlike that of the Holy See on devout
Catholics. Grown men stare transfixed at
the Bear’s office, which is just as he le it
when he retired a er winning the Liberty
Bowl in 1982. Prompting almost as many
cellphone pictures is a symbol of more
recent success: a Gatorade-stained shirt,
displayed under glass and bathed in so
light, worn by current coach Nick Saban
during last season’s championship game.
The position of University of Alabama
head football coach is said to be the second
culture
||
THE FAN
PREVIOUS PAGE, MICHAEL CHANG/GETTY IMAGES; THIS PAGE, FOCUS ON SPORT/GETTY IMAGES
THE COACH
Paul “Bear” Bryant,
practically a sainted
figure in Alabama, on
the job in 1970
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