Are You Ready for Some Football?

Boy, am I!!!! It's now just 3 days and counting until Alabama kicks off its 2006 season. Gary and I have our tickets and I am WAY BEYOND excited and ready to get to the game! We get to see Bryant-Denny Stadium with all of its renovations (I saw it about a month ago, but none of the plaza in front of the new entranceway had been completed) and can't wait to hear what it sounds like now that it holds more than 90,000! And we'll finally get to see how our team's gonna stack up this year. People are kinda holding back until they see how we do--we have some young players and we lost some BIG name guys, so they're not really picking us to do great (it doesn't help that we have to play Florida, Tennesee, and LSU all on the road. Yikes!). I just hope we surprise a lot of people!

Some signs that it's almost time for some Bama football--

* The flags have come out! This was a refreshing sight yesterday morning on the way to taking the girls to school.

* The trash talk has begun on the radio shows. I'm an avid sports talk listener and yesterday people were taking off the gloves and pulling no punches against Auburn, Florida, Tennesee . .. any team that seems to be getting more respect than their own.

* I'm singing the Alabama fight song a little more often than usual. Yes, it always does reside in the back recesses of my mind, but I don't hum it quite so much during off-season. But this week? It's running through my mind at regular intervals.

* I've pulled out the Alabama paraphenelia (I cannot figure out how to spell that word, but it's just the perfect word for what I'm talking about it. So forgive me if that's totally mangled!). Got the new jersey, and the Alabama purse. I guess I need to buy me a new pair of gaudy elephant earrings . . .

* I've begun to think less about anything important that needs to get done the rest of this week (wash clothes, talk with editors, make sure kids get homework done) and instead am interested solely in reading any news I can find on sports websites and blogs.

What am I looking forward to on Saturday?

* Walking down the "Strip" and just sensing the exciement, then turning the corner and seeing the stadium.
* Watching the pre-game video about Alabama's winning history. The 12 national championships, the snippets of the great plays over time, and, yes, even the Bear Bryant garbling that I have still yet to interpret.
* Hugging and doing high-fives with total strangers.
* "ROLLLLLLL TIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDE" on kickoffs!
* Popcorn, watered down coke, and a pretzel (now, if they'd just get cotton candy into those stands!)
* Walking out of the stadium with a smile on my face, knowing all's right with the world until we have to nervously wait out another victory next week.

Okay, okay . . . I probably do take this football thing a little too seriously and, believe me, I do understand its importance in the Greater scheme of things. (So, don't worry about my soul or anything LOL! ) (In fact, I had a very emotional experience this morning that I considered blogging about. But I'm still kinda processing it and will probably share tomorrow--it definitey reminded me that other things are more important than sports!) I have my priorities straight . . . but a Southern girl's gotta love her college football!

I'll try not to go on and on about it too much here on my blog (don't want to bore those of you who could care less about football .. . or rattle those from across the way who may root for teams like Notre Dame or Oklahoma or Purdue--hey Phats!), but right now I just CAN'T WAIT!!!!

In other news in our house (yep, whether I like to admit it or not, there is other stuff in life!) . . .

* Delaney is officially on the Birmingham Thunderbolts Purple 10u softball team. There are two Bolts teams for the girls her age--Purple and Gold--and she is now officially on the Purple roster. She will pitch, play 2nd base or shortstop, and play outfield. Can't wait to get started!

* Need to try a new candy bar? Check out the Payday Avalanche. It's a chocolate coated payday and really takes this candy bar to the next level. Really yummy! (I'd been wanting to try one and I made a candy bar run to Walgreen's last night around 9. The cashier asked if we were having a party, because I had four candy bars and nothing else! LOL)

* McKenna has got her priorities straight about school, but still worries if she's "geeky" because of it. We went to the Open House at her high school Monday night and, after walking around with me and talking to teachers she said, "You know, all the other students complain because they're drug here with their parents. I don't know why they say that, because I like coming to this." I told her there were other students who did too, but she said it was only the kids on the "Scholar Bowl," but then we discussed some other "popular" kids who also had their act together academically. "Yeah, you're right," she said. Let's just hope she stays this way--nothing better than a teenager who wants to get A's in all of her classes and worries about what her teachers think of her!

Well, too much talk about other stuff!! I've got time for one more

ROLL TIDE!!!!!

See ya soon, and here's hoping that your favorite college team does great this Saturday!!