Friday, November 17, 2006

Roll Tide Roll!!
It's a Day Away from the Iron Bow
l!!



. . . and yes, Gary and I will be there!!!

You sports fans out there know that there are a lot of big games that go on during Rivalry Week in college football. You know that there are rivalries like

Texas-Texas A&M
Georgia-Georgia Tech
Army-Navy
USC-UCLA
Florida-Florida State
Ohio State-Michigan (which, I know! . . it will be the biggest game by-far this week and of the season!)

(I've even learned from my Fellow Sports Fanatic Blog Friend Phats that the Purdue-Indiana game is a huge rivalry game for them!)

But, in my neck of the woods and from where I stand, there's just nothing better than the Iron Bowl . . . Alabama vs. Auburn. Two in-state rivals who played their first game in 1893, that have had some classic wins over the years (can I ever forget the 52-yard field goal by Van Tiffin that won Bama the game in 1985; and the Bama radio announcer screaming, "It's good, it's good, it's good, it's good, it's good . . .tonight the state of Alabama is colored crimson!"), and that pretty much separates the state of Alabama in half into Crimson Tide fans and Tiger fans.

Even in a year like this, the game matters to us down here. Alabama is 6-5 and the hopes we had at one time have been dashed; Auburn is better at 9-2, but reeling from a horrible performance against Georgia last week. They always say you can "throw the records out the window" when the two teams play, and I definitely think that's true. Alabama's players have a hunger to win this game (incredibly, we've lost the last 4) and so do the fans! And Gary and I will be there in crimson cheering on our team, believing in them for one last afternoon in Tuscaloosa!

When I think about my love for Alabama football, there are several reasons that I love it so much. Among them . . .

* The campus! It's a beautiful, classically Southern campus with antebellum buildings (there is an architectural rule, in fact, that all the buildings must have columns!); and the Quad at the center of campus is beautiful and peaceful (except on Gameday!). Denny Chimes boasts the footprints and handprints of past players (Joe Namath! Kenny Stabler! Shaun Alexander!)



* Bryant-Denny Stadium! We now can house 94,000 fans and that will make this year's Iron Bowl the one with the highest attendance ever! The new expansion and the beautiful plaza outside it (with statues of the four national champion coaches, and monuments to each of the 12 national championships) is just great!



* All of those championships! (And I'm just awaiting the day when it will happen again!)

* I went to college there! I graduated in 1990, and then also received my Master's Degree from Bama in 1995. You can't attend college there and not be a fan!

* I have some wonderful memories of the place! College was some of the best times of my life--the academic experiences, but also the wonderful friendships and fun times I had there! (My wedding day memories revolve around the place too--Gary and I got married at the beautiful Gorgas House on campus!) Whenever I walk back on campus, those things just come back to me!



* The Tradition! Alabama is the most tradition-filled football team you can possibly imagine. There's just a feeling in the air there . . you just know you're in a special place!



And now, since it is officially Iron Bowl week and that means that Alabama-Auburn jokes run rampant across the state, I thought I'd share one with you. (This one doesn't really insult Auburn fans, but it kinda puts the game's importance in perspective. LOL)

A man had 50 yard line tickets for the Alabama/Auburn game. As he sits down, a man comes down and asks if anyone is sitting in the seat next to him. "No," he says, "the seat is empty."
"This is incredible," said the man. "Who in their right mind would have a seat like this for the Auburn/Alabama game, the biggest sporting event in the world, and not use it?"

He says, "Well, actually, the seat belongs to me. I was supposed to come with my wife, but she passed away. This is the first Iron Bowl game we haven't been to together since we got married in 1987."

"Oh ... I'm sorry to hear that. That's terrible! But couldn't you find someone else, a friend or relative, or even a neighbor to take the seat?".

The man shakes his head. "No, they're all at her funeral."


. . . And then a little more humor before I go--this is an "actual" school photo from Tuscaloosa. Pity that poor kid!!




If you could really care less about football or sports, send some Good Thoughts and Football Mojo down South for me anyway, would ya? Yell "Roll Tide!" even if you're not sure why you're doing it!! (And hopefully, I can send all of you a really happy "Roll Tide" out to Blogland on Saturday night after the game!)

And for the rest of you who will be watching your favorite teams play on Saturday, may the good guys win!

And now--for those of you who are already tired of me talking about football (aren't you glad that there's just a Bowl game after Saturday's game? LOL. Actually, though, there's basketball coming up. Ha!), how about a Friday Impossible Question?

This one is totally NOT about sports of any kind, but it's a fun one.

* Accordng to a recent survey, THESE are the three words that women want to hear the most. What are they?


Give it a shot! Post a comment with your answer and we'll see who's right!
An Update-- I had a lot of great guesses for the Impossible Question for the day (my personal fave was Jenn's guess of "Let's Go Shoppin"--I know that those words bring joy to my ears), but I guess it really was "impossible" because none of them were right! So, now that it's almost Saturday, I figured I needed to come in here and provide the answer. It was: "You've lost weight"! Now that you see the answer, it kinda makes sense huh?
Looking forward to tomorrow. We are heading to the game around 11 in the morning, and I will hope to post an update tomorrow night (hopefully with some pictures). Until then, have a good night and see you all soon!

(And now, finally, my Thankfulness entries for today. I'm writing them right now on my paper slips to add to the ones from last night--

4. I'm thankful for bubble baths.

5. I'm thankful for a good book.

6. I'm thankful for Sydney going to the potty.)

Hope you have an OUTSTANDING Friday and a great weekend!

Love you all!! (and oh yeah, Roll Tide!!!)

24 comments:

the not so "new" mom on the blog said...

Yay, I am first!!!!!! Well this was a very nice post and I totally enjoy it when you share things like this with us!!!!

The 3 words woman want to hear -:

"want some money?"

"want some tea?"

"I love you"

oh hell I dunno, just mucking about here! lol

Have an awesome time at the game and don't forget to post lotsa pics!!!!

Anonymous said...

hi Cheryl, hope the game goes well. Looks like a beautiful campus, after reading this I can totally understand why it means so much to you, I guess it is like me and my husband supporting Ireland in the World Cup (football....soccer), though it only comes around every 4 years and even then they don't always qualify! So when they do, the whole country goes crazy!

Answer: I am guessing "I Love you" as well or something like "Just rest , honey!"

Anonymous said...

Oops, that anonymous was me....sorry, don't know what happened there, blogger is playing up!

Anonymous said...

ha, ha, it is definitely too early in the morning....I forgot to sign my name TWICE!!! Jane from http://derekandjane.blogspot.com

Linda said...

white chocolate
dark chocolate
milk chocolate

would be the 3 words I want to hear :)

Have a great time at the game!!!

Andy said...

it should be a good game this weekend. but WAR EAGLE. great post and i love the school picture with the AU boy all by himself. even though i'm an auburn fan i can find humor in something like that. it was great.

Anonymous said...

I home Al wins, thanks for all the info, I guess you learn something new everyday!!!

Anonymous said...

The question . .

it is either you are right or I Love You

Anonymous said...

If it's her husband/significant other..."I'll clean up"? hahahaha How about "You look nice/pretty."

Anonymous said...

"I Love You" seems a little too obvious, but that's going to be my guess.

Unknown said...

i don't know what they want to HEAR most, but I know what they SAY MOST...
"Leave Me alone!"

ROLL TIDE!!!!

Renee said...

Hope y'all have a great time.
I've spent many a day watching the Tide Roll. My dad was a die-hard LSU fan and we'd go to every LSU-Alabama game, home or away.

Anonymous said...

"I need you."

?

Cheryl Wray said...

Boy, you guys and gals are coming up with some really good guesses. I love all of them . . . but none are right yet? Bwaahaahaa . . .

Anonymous said...

Hey,

I love Arkansas sports (surprised, right?). It's lonely up here in big 10 country! I miss my SEC. But, for this weekend, I will yell "ROLL TIDE!" I will also yell "GO HOGS!"

I'm also thankful for little kids going potty. Clay did it yesterday!!!!!!!

Have a good weekend!

Anonymous said...

"Get some rest"
for the question?

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous campus...I guess I can really understand your love for the game now! That joke was too funny, but that's probably what my hubby would do if he had tickets to see Dallas and I were to pass away on that weekend, LOL....which by the way he is happy on his way there this weekend to watch the game live with his friends. He hasn't been in Dallas since we got married almost 10 years ago so he is sooo happy to go back there.
My guess for the three words would be "I love you"

Anonymous said...

Oops I just read your post, my guess was wrong. No idea....maybe "Are you tired?" or "Can I help?"

Lynilu said...

ohmigawd, Gary was right! You are a sports fanatic! ;-)

Phats said...

GO BAMA SCREW AUBURN!!!

I refrained from saying the cuss word I used on my blog haha!! Umm our rivalry is right up there with all those, because it's old haha, and we play for a bucket :) Our basketball rivalry used to be one the of the best in the country.

ROLL TIDE! I hope you guys win

Anonymous said...

Is the answer, "Let's go shopping"?

Phats said...

BTW i love that picture HAHA

Anonymous said...

"I need you" that is what women want to hear.

And as for College Ball...GO FIGHTING IRISH!!!!!!!!!!!! Hehe

aimee said...

Wow. My husband would love your blog! Go Red Raiders! (We both went to Texas Tech!)

The three words women would most like to hear:

I am sorry. (from their husband)
You are cool. (from their kids)
You are beautiful (from anyone!)

Fun post! And thanks for commenting on my blog! :)