Roll Tide!
Fads come and go, life begins and ends, but the TIDE is forever...
Did you know that the Theodore Roosevelt Council of Boy Scouts of America, located right here in Nassau County, is under the leadership of David Richardson, a Bama alum? What does that have to do with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County? Well as you may or may not be aware, I am a Bama alum too! David’s wife Sharon and I even graduated the same year! What are the odds?
Okay - quick FYI...Bama is the affectionate name of the sports teams at the University of Alabama, where I earned my undergraduate degree. AKA the Crimson Tide, Tide, Roll Tide. Bama has had some very good football teams. And football is sort of like a religion in the south...and I'm nothing if not a good southern girl!
It’s hard be an Southeastern Conference (SEC) fan on Long Island. I mean I know that Hofstra has a football team, but my Bama is 11 and O - as in zero! They have beat 11 other teams over the past 12 weekends and had a bye weekend. Some of those other teams have been really, really good. Bama is ranked #2 nationally - in the Bowl Championship Series Poll, Associated Press and ESPN. (USA Today has them #3, go figure!)
I love college football, but know hardly a thing about the Pros. I started going to college football games when I was six years old with my Uncle Jake. He was my favorite, and I was his. I'd do anything to please him, including learn all the players names every year, and all the rules. Other kids might absorb a foreign language at a formative age. I soaked up football. Incomplete forward pass stops the clock. First and ten let's do it again. Special teams can make or break a season. I even know what offensive pass interference is, and what a safety is. And, I even know why the Crimson Tide's mascot is an elephant and that when Title IX was passed, giving women equal access to sports, it was Joe Namath who made the first big contribution to women's sports at The University. (Yes, there are several other universities within the borders of the State of Alabama, but whenever you use "the," there is only one...) And this year Tiffin, the kicker, became the school's all-time high scorer.
The thing is, in the rest of my life, I am a rather peaceful person. I have not had any significant proclivity to violence or even other contact sports. I would not have wanted my own son to play football because he could have gotten hurt. And boys do get hurt - every week. And we're finding out now that all that head knocking, even with the helmets, is probably not good for anybody. Pro-football players appear to have higher instances of early onset dementia and other related ailments. And yet, I can't curb my enthusiasm and anxiety for Bama. When you have won 11 games in a row and you are going up against your all-time rival, it can be very stressful.
While others are out scooping up the bargains after Thanksgiving, this Friday is the legendary Iron Bowl, Alabama vs. Auburn. (They still call it the Iron Bowl even though it hasn't been played in Birmingham for years.) When they pull this one off - the following week they go against #1 ranked Florida for the SEC Championship! All I have to left to say is Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and Roll Tide!
Okay - quick FYI...Bama is the affectionate name of the sports teams at the University of Alabama, where I earned my undergraduate degree. AKA the Crimson Tide, Tide, Roll Tide. Bama has had some very good football teams. And football is sort of like a religion in the south...and I'm nothing if not a good southern girl!
It’s hard be an Southeastern Conference (SEC) fan on Long Island. I mean I know that Hofstra has a football team, but my Bama is 11 and O - as in zero! They have beat 11 other teams over the past 12 weekends and had a bye weekend. Some of those other teams have been really, really good. Bama is ranked #2 nationally - in the Bowl Championship Series Poll, Associated Press and ESPN. (USA Today has them #3, go figure!)
I love college football, but know hardly a thing about the Pros. I started going to college football games when I was six years old with my Uncle Jake. He was my favorite, and I was his. I'd do anything to please him, including learn all the players names every year, and all the rules. Other kids might absorb a foreign language at a formative age. I soaked up football. Incomplete forward pass stops the clock. First and ten let's do it again. Special teams can make or break a season. I even know what offensive pass interference is, and what a safety is. And, I even know why the Crimson Tide's mascot is an elephant and that when Title IX was passed, giving women equal access to sports, it was Joe Namath who made the first big contribution to women's sports at The University. (Yes, there are several other universities within the borders of the State of Alabama, but whenever you use "the," there is only one...) And this year Tiffin, the kicker, became the school's all-time high scorer.
The thing is, in the rest of my life, I am a rather peaceful person. I have not had any significant proclivity to violence or even other contact sports. I would not have wanted my own son to play football because he could have gotten hurt. And boys do get hurt - every week. And we're finding out now that all that head knocking, even with the helmets, is probably not good for anybody. Pro-football players appear to have higher instances of early onset dementia and other related ailments. And yet, I can't curb my enthusiasm and anxiety for Bama. When you have won 11 games in a row and you are going up against your all-time rival, it can be very stressful.
While others are out scooping up the bargains after Thanksgiving, this Friday is the legendary Iron Bowl, Alabama vs. Auburn. (They still call it the Iron Bowl even though it hasn't been played in Birmingham for years.) When they pull this one off - the following week they go against #1 ranked Florida for the SEC Championship! All I have to left to say is Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and Roll Tide!
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