Roll Tide Roll

It's that time of year again. A sea of crimson-clad fans converged upon Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday ready to welcome in another season of Alabama football, and rally behind the man they hope can bring the Tide back to national prominence. Even though I've lived in Tuscaloosa for one full football season (the first fall we were here, I skipped out and went to India), it is always kind of overwhelming when I take my first step into the stadium and remember the enormity of it all. And I'm not talking just about the size of the stadium, but also about the weight that football holds in the region. Even as an Alabamian myself, I still look at football season in Tuscaloosa as a bit of an unknown quantity, a cultural gem that begs to be observed and studied and picked apart. And as such, I always feel a little detached during the first game--like an outsider with her anthropological notepad observing the species in their natural habitat...

Andy and I joined the ranks of the other 90,000 plus folks, and made a day of it. Living close to campus, we took our bikes first to a fun little Bloody Mary tailgate at a friend's house, then weaved through the hordes of people walking up and down and around the Strip and the Quad. We landed for our traditional pre-game drink and cheer at the watering hole of choice, Egan's bar. Then on to the stadium for an introduction to what folks are calling "The Great Saban Experiment" (Saban is the hyped new coach). Several touchdowns and Roll Tides later, and the damage had been done. The team had ushered in a new season and a new coach with a whopping 52-6 defeat over Western Carolina. And so it begins...