Autumn Saturdays in the South
College football time.
Hearts swell with hopeful pride as warrior teams clad in triumphant regalia - their legions of fans dressed to match - swarm green battlefields across the campuses of the South.
Their eyes grow misty as bands with names like "The Best in Sight and Sound" (Univ. of Arkansas)," "The Redcoat Band" (Univ. of Georgia), "The Golden Band From Tigerland" (LSU), "The Spirit of Gold" (Vanderbilt) play the majestic and sentimental strains of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "My Old Kentucky Home," "I Saw the Light," and "Mr. Touchdown."
I, too, am a college football fan. And though I live in the heart of Big Orange Country, I am not a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers.
Yes, you read that right.
I am not a Vols fan.
This time of year is especially difficult for me. Why? It is because I am a fan of Tennessee's arch-rival: Alabama.
I am a Crimson Tide fan. Yes, I even named my firstborn son after Coach Bear Bryant.
For a Tide fan, life in Big Orange Country can be a challenge.
By and large, most Vols fans that I encounter are gracious and even friendly. Let's face it - both of our teams would love to put a first class whoopin' on Georgia. But the underlying rivalry between UT and 'Bama still exists, and we do feel the tension.
There are some UT fans that get hostile at me when they learn that I am an Alabama fan.
I've had the "Bama" tag on my car defaced and stolen. I've gotten ugly looks and remarks when I've worn an Alabama shirt.
But I don't let it faze me. Thankfully, those people are in the minority.
College football season starts tomorrow, and I am excited. To the UT Vols and all their fans, let me wish you good luck tomorrow.
To Alabama and all my fellow fans, let me say:
Rammer Jammer
Yellowhammer
Give 'em hell, Alabama!
And click here to sing along with me:
Yea, Alabama!
Drown 'em, Tide!
Ev'ry 'Bama man's behind you,
Hit your stride.
Go teach the Bulldogs to behave
And send the Yellowjackets to a watery grave!
If a man starts to weaken,
it's a shame,
'Cause 'Bama's pluck and grit
Have writ her name in crimson flame.
Fight on, fight on, fight on, men -
Remember the Rose Bowl we'll win then!
Roll on to vict'ry!
Hit your stride!
You're Dixie's football pride, Crimson Tide!
Hearts swell with hopeful pride as warrior teams clad in triumphant regalia - their legions of fans dressed to match - swarm green battlefields across the campuses of the South.
Their eyes grow misty as bands with names like "The Best in Sight and Sound" (Univ. of Arkansas)," "The Redcoat Band" (Univ. of Georgia), "The Golden Band From Tigerland" (LSU), "The Spirit of Gold" (Vanderbilt) play the majestic and sentimental strains of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "My Old Kentucky Home," "I Saw the Light," and "Mr. Touchdown."
I, too, am a college football fan. And though I live in the heart of Big Orange Country, I am not a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers.
Yes, you read that right.
I am not a Vols fan.
This time of year is especially difficult for me. Why? It is because I am a fan of Tennessee's arch-rival: Alabama.
I am a Crimson Tide fan. Yes, I even named my firstborn son after Coach Bear Bryant.For a Tide fan, life in Big Orange Country can be a challenge.
By and large, most Vols fans that I encounter are gracious and even friendly. Let's face it - both of our teams would love to put a first class whoopin' on Georgia. But the underlying rivalry between UT and 'Bama still exists, and we do feel the tension.
There are some UT fans that get hostile at me when they learn that I am an Alabama fan.
I've had the "Bama" tag on my car defaced and stolen. I've gotten ugly looks and remarks when I've worn an Alabama shirt.
But I don't let it faze me. Thankfully, those people are in the minority.
College football season starts tomorrow, and I am excited. To the UT Vols and all their fans, let me wish you good luck tomorrow.
To Alabama and all my fellow fans, let me say:
Rammer Jammer
Yellowhammer
Give 'em hell, Alabama!
And click here to sing along with me:
Yea, Alabama!
Drown 'em, Tide!
Ev'ry 'Bama man's behind you,
Hit your stride.
Go teach the Bulldogs to behave
And send the Yellowjackets to a watery grave!
If a man starts to weaken,
it's a shame,
'Cause 'Bama's pluck and grit
Have writ her name in crimson flame.
Fight on, fight on, fight on, men -
Remember the Rose Bowl we'll win then!
Roll on to vict'ry!
Hit your stride!
You're Dixie's football pride, Crimson Tide!
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