Rivalry Week

Spirit Nails

It's fun the week of the Iron Bowl.  The state literally divides in half. As if the trash talk didn't go on since the first of August anyway, Bama fans and Auburn fans taunt each other all week long before Saturday.

Conversations center around the quarterbacks, the kickers, the O line, the Big D. Who's got the best team, the best coaches, who will have the best recruits next year? What secret weapons does each team possess?  How does the second string compare to the first string? Who is on the injured lists? Who got arrested or suspended?

It's relentless.  For the whole week. The day of the big game, the highways are literally free of traffic. The stores are ghost-towns.  The only place where anyone is gathered is the mall where nervous women too nervous to stay home and watch the game try to escape it...but to no avail.  The game is on EVERYWHERE. Literally every radio and every TV in every store shows the game. The score is called out over the PA system.  Alerts ring on the apps on the phones. Nowhere is safe...not even the nail salon.

The interesting thing about this year is after Auburn won, Bammers gave about 48 hours for the celebration, and then the ribbing commenced.  48 hours. That's all we got.  Then it was how the refs were paid, how they still had more wins and more championships...We can't even enjoy the fact that we are ranked higher on the polls at the end of the week...they will have something to say about that.

I look at Alabama t-shirts and sweatshirts and ball caps all year long. I wore my biggest, most comfy sweatshirt today on a Tuesday...by now Bammers are fed up with Barners, as they call us.  I got all kinds of remarks.

"You are proud of that sweatshirt, I guess."
"THAT one just happens to be the most comfortable."
"You enjoyed the game, did you?"

Not every Alabama fan shares the same mindset. My girlfriend Michelle hugged me as soon as she saw me, despite my Auburn shirt.  My girlfriend Lacey is secretly jealous of my Auburn shirt.  I wouldn't have looked at them any other way if Bama had won.

To tell the truth, I wish that Tua had been able to play.  The challenge is only great if you have the greatest warriors. Regardless of the outcome, the game was the very best and well-matched Iron Bowl in history. It would have given my Daddy a heart attack.  My friend Ginny and I might not have spoken to each other for a week after it was over.  But alas, it is over. And Christmas is coming!

War Eagle