Memories of College Football

   

 When I think of college football I think about passion, tradition and my dad. As a kid growing up I remember having friends over our house to watch the games on Saturdays, during the cool crisp Ohio autumns. Everyone wearing their teams loyalties we had of course OSU fans, Michigan fans, Notre Dame fans,but my dad being a southern boy we would be sporting our Alabama gear. Of course we would argue about which teams tradition was better, who won the titles, the Heisman's and the most recent head to heads. I loved it! I felt I had the best of two worlds. I grew up in Big 10 country with a great football tradition, our household just so happened to put our SEC touches on it. We would watch all the games, but everyone knew before hand that if their team was in a tight game with seconds ticking away and even if it had national title implications, if it was time for Bama to play that channel was getting changed! I remember dad changing the channel late in the fourth quarter of a Notre Dame Michigan game just to watch Bama thump Vanderbilt! The look on my friends faces of pure shock and disbelief was priceless. I recall them begging him to "change it back" but dad just set them straight, "boys Alabama takes a back seat to nobody! Then they ran to my bedroom and turned on the small TV I had to finish watching the game. Hilarious! That's what college football is all about, my friends wouldn't have cared where they finished watching the game and dad wasn't going to accommodate anyone if it meant missing his "Roll Tide Roll"!
     When we would go down to Alabama to visit family, no matter which Uncle or Aunt's house we were gathered at the TV was always on college football. My dad's side of the family lives on the Alabama Georgia border. So close in fact that if you cross the street from my aunts house which is in Georgia you will be in Alabama. So easy to understand why some of my cousins and baby brother are Bulldog fans. Those gatherings were the best, they usually ended up in a pick up game in the front yard with us arguing who's favorite team was better than who's.
    Time has passed and life happens, people have their own lives to live and move on. Dad even moved back to Alabama after we graduated high school. I miss him but it felt right, those roots ran deep. So I don't get to spend every Saturday watching football with him like I use to. Actually one of my best memories was a game we watched in 2009 when Alabama went on to win the National title. It was a rivalry game known as "The Third Saturday in October". Alabama was undefeated and went into the Tennessee game limping not having had a bye week and it showed.  Lane Kiffin's Tennessee team gave my Tide more than they could handle. With 4 seconds on the clock and a makeable field goal attempt that could win it for the Vols coming up, my heart sank. "Not Tennesse anyone but these F...ing guys!" My dad was like I can't believe this s..t, its going to be all over the papers tomorrow about how great the damn Vols are. See I forgot to mention the closest city to where dad lives is Chattanooga Tennessee. That's where all his news comes from. But when Terrence "Mount" Cody blocked the attempt it was pure bliss. The Tide went on to win Title number 13 over Texas, it was a great season for our team.
     College football fans no matter who you root for understand these stories, they can relate. To hear your teams fight song after a score or victory is priceless. Parents pass their team's passions down to their kids and so on. I was only a year old when my father's dad died. Through the years usually during a Tide game I would hear the story over and over about how he never and I mean never watched TV at all unless it was his precious Crimson Tide. That kind of dedicated, passionate fanbase is what makes this game so great! Roll Tide Roll!