I had another blog post I was planning to post, but I am still chewwing on that one, so...here is something else I have been noticing this week...
So, I may be interning, I may be in discipleship boot camp, I may be learning things along this journey, but it has been brought to my attention that the vast majority (we will just go ahead and go with 99 percent) of people here are CLUELESS about one thing: COLLEGE FOOTBALL. Well, ladies and gentlemen, consider this a cliff's notes version of a very vital part of life.
In the South, the most wonderful time of the year is not Christmas. It's the glorious 12 weeks of football season. We count down the days from the time the last second expires on the clock in the last game of the season (usually November, not counting bowl games), until the tailgating, pre-gaming, spine tingling moments leading up to that very first kick-off in the fall (usually late August, early September). Football in the South, ESPECIALLY the state of Alabama, is a second religion to some, and, sadly...a first religion to most.
From the time you are old enough to understand the spoken word, you make a vital choice. This choice is one that unites and one that divides. What choice, you ask? Alabama or Auburn. Who will you cheer for? The devotion to whichever team you pledge your allegiance is a tie that is absolutely unbreakable. It is the tie that binds. Little boys dream of being the next Bo Jackson, Joe Nameth, Pat Sullivan, Cam Newton, Mark Ingram, etc. Girls dream of being cheerleaders. Pets are named after the greats. Life events are scheduled around football Saturdays. If you're smart, you won't have any sort of major life event (wedding, birth, etc) on the third Saturday in October...(really big rival games on both sides are played. Alabama vs. Tennessee, and Auburn vs. LSU) or the all important day in November, which usually falls on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. This day? This day is the most important game of the entire season. The Iron Bowl. Auburn vs. Alabama. It doesn't matter if you have won EVERY GAME up to this point. If you lose against your rival, the season is a wash. People take this rivalry VEEERRRY seriously. The one person you don't envy is the player who costs you the game. Sounds ridiculous, but it is oh, so true. By the way, if you did not put two and two together yet, if you're smart, you won't have anything scheduled on this day, either...
Every school has their traditions. Being an Auburn fan, I will tell you two of my favorites. One: Pre-game, an eagle soars over the stadium to our "battle cry." War Eagle. Two very special words. :) the second awesome tradition: after we win a game...we "Roll Toomer's Corner." I am talking colossal amounts of toilet paper, gang. The die hard fans will wear their colors on Friday, definitely on Saturday, and...win or lose, you wear them on Sunday.
In the South, the most wonderful time of the year is not Christmas. It's the glorious 12 weeks of football season. We count down the days from the time the last second expires on the clock in the last game of the season (usually November, not counting bowl games), until the tailgating, pre-gaming, spine tingling moments leading up to that very first kick-off in the fall (usually late August, early September). Football in the South, ESPECIALLY the state of Alabama, is a second religion to some, and, sadly...a first religion to most.
From the time you are old enough to understand the spoken word, you make a vital choice. This choice is one that unites and one that divides. What choice, you ask? Alabama or Auburn. Who will you cheer for? The devotion to whichever team you pledge your allegiance is a tie that is absolutely unbreakable. It is the tie that binds. Little boys dream of being the next Bo Jackson, Joe Nameth, Pat Sullivan, Cam Newton, Mark Ingram, etc. Girls dream of being cheerleaders. Pets are named after the greats. Life events are scheduled around football Saturdays. If you're smart, you won't have any sort of major life event (wedding, birth, etc) on the third Saturday in October...(really big rival games on both sides are played. Alabama vs. Tennessee, and Auburn vs. LSU) or the all important day in November, which usually falls on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. This day? This day is the most important game of the entire season. The Iron Bowl. Auburn vs. Alabama. It doesn't matter if you have won EVERY GAME up to this point. If you lose against your rival, the season is a wash. People take this rivalry VEEERRRY seriously. The one person you don't envy is the player who costs you the game. Sounds ridiculous, but it is oh, so true. By the way, if you did not put two and two together yet, if you're smart, you won't have anything scheduled on this day, either...
Every school has their traditions. Being an Auburn fan, I will tell you two of my favorites. One: Pre-game, an eagle soars over the stadium to our "battle cry." War Eagle. Two very special words. :) the second awesome tradition: after we win a game...we "Roll Toomer's Corner." I am talking colossal amounts of toilet paper, gang. The die hard fans will wear their colors on Friday, definitely on Saturday, and...win or lose, you wear them on Sunday.
I do not expect any of you west coasters to understand this. Truth is, until you experience it first hand, you probably won't. A little education is always good, though. So, consider this a brief synopsis of College Football: 101. War Damn Eagle...y'all. ;-) "I believe in Auburn and love it!"--George Petrie
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