As strange as this may seem, this article was inspired by my friends that bleed purple and gold (Justin Palmer, Jonathan Lewis, Kevin Coleman) . We usually watch the game together at the nearest Buffalo Wild Wings but I’m almost certain we’ll be going to this game together every year from now on. I’m a Bama fan and rode to Tuscaloosa with three rowdy LSU fans. This was my first time attending an Alabama game. The atmosphere was simply electric and now I understand why college football is king! The only way to describe going to Bryant-Denny stadium as an Alabama fan is like going to a family reunion and knowing/liking every person there. Allow me to be your tour guide on the tailgate experience, the game, and the fans demeanor post-game.
We started tailgating around 1 pm and met up with B.U.T.T, KOTD and KOCKA. These are three different tailgating entities that form one joint shindig that consists of LSU and Bama fans. The friendly trash talk went back and forth like a match in Wimbledon. These three organizations make up a party so impressive that it would make Kid and Play blush. Despite the constant rain, the weather didn’t stop the show. It was the groups 10th year reunion and neither side held anything back. They provided amazing food, a great DJ and enough beer to form an Irish brewery. If you want to have a great time and get the full experience of college football as a LSU or Bama fan, you have to party with these guys and gals!! As you could see, they made the front page of the Tuscaloosa News this past weekend, so they’re kind of a big deal!! For more information, just click on the name and the link will route you to their respective pages.
Initially, we had small intentions on going to the game. Our plan was just to tailgate and watch the game on a big screen because we didn’t want to spend 250 dollars for nosebleeds. Suddenly we had a change of heart and waited an hour before the game and patiently watched the tickets like a hawk on stub hub till they got down to 100 dollars. We retrieved amazing seats for 130 dollars in the end zone, thirty rows up on the opposite side of the student section. The only thing you need to bring to the game is your phone for pictures and an extra set of vocal cords. It is non-stop screaming for three hours. Six days after the game and I’m just now starting to get my voice back. I sat with three of my LSU friends and they were in a swarm of red. But none of the Bama fans in my section were belligerent or disrespectful in any way to the LSU fans. It was friendly banter like: “ you came a long way for a butt kicking” “ Don’t stop cheering for your team now”.
The game came down to winning the trenches and the showdown of two of the best running backs in football. Derrick Henry and Leonard Fournette are both men amongst boys. This clash was primed to be thrilla and manilla or the rumble in the jungle. Derrick Henry ran like a man possessed. He should truly be called “business decision” because that’s what it is to tackle him. Alabama just refused to be a part of Leonard’s Heisman highlight reel. Fournette had a tall task of facing the “Great Wall of Hell Naw”. Truthfully, I wanted my team to win, but I didn’t want Leonard to have this badly of a game. I know, I have a heart for players. I understand he’s the size of Bo Jackson but he’s still a kid that has the weight of the entire state of Louisiana on his shoulders. A loss of this magnitude could be a lot to bear.
After the game was over, the Bama fans in our section thanked my friends for coming and wished them safe travels home. After so much negative criticism from the “Katrina banner” that hung from an apartment, I was more proud of this moment than even winning the game. Because I was elated that we could win with class and dignity and not degrade the opposition for something they have no control over. The friends I rode with said, “we can’t even hate Bama they way we want to because they treated us like we were cheering for the same fan base”. Welp, I hope you enjoyed my synopsis of the experience and on to Miss. State. RT
