Bama - South Carolina

So we got whooped in Columbia (whooped real good...), but at least we had fun with family and friends on another great road trip. Following the Tide around the country makes for lots of special memories. The South Carolina game is always a fun trip for us since Robert's family lives in the Palmetto State. This year, we stayed at the Adams family lake house and then drove the hour to Columbia on Saturday morning for the game. Robert's mom and dad were super hosts as usual. Luckily, I snapped a few pre-game pics of the crew before we lost and no one felt like smiling for the camera...


So glad my brother David and his sweet girlfriend Shelby made the trip with us. They are so much fun and always keep us laughing. The trip was a little rough for them though. This was the first regular season Bama loss they have EVER experienced as students. (Yes, you read that correctly.) They're juniors now - much different times than when Robert and I were in school.

We also had so much fun with our friends Drew and Katie, both Alabama alums, who love going to games as much as we do. Drew and Katie have actually been to every football game so far this season. Katie and I were both student assistant writers at the Alabama Alumni Magazine while undergraduates. We're so glad Drew and Katie now live in Homewood too and we can get together often. We're joint Bama basketball season ticket holders with the Crawfords (as of this year) and are looking forward to many a fun Bama basketball game this winter/spring.

And, we also got to see Robert's brother-in-law Reeves, and his dad and brother, who were able to make the game.

The lake was absolutely beautiful. I can't believe we were able to waterski in October, but we did and it was gorgeous.

Bama - Florida Gama

Great win in Bryant-Denny! This was actually the first time all year that we've sat in our actual season ticket seats. Not a bad view!

Taking it to the Hogs

Prior to the start of this season there were three SEC football stadiums at which I had never watched a game live. Well, now there's only two. We decided earlier this year that we would make the long drive to Fayetteville to see Bama take on the Hogs. It of course helped that we have some really great frineds who just moved to Northwest Arkansas who were wonderful hosts, even taking us to a fun charity benefit and silent auction Friday night. We traveled to Memphis Thursday night, again staying with great friends, and then made our way up to Fayetteville on Friday. We had a blast hanging with Amy and Matt and Amy's sweet family, who also made the drive from Columbus, Miss. and Tuscaloosa. We were all pretty excited to celebrate Bryson since Amy and Matt just found out that they were having a little boy earlier that week and announced the name. I was super excited that we got to sit with my brother David and watch the game together live. He scored a sweet set up and flew to Arkansas on a private jet with some friends. It was nice to pull out a victory in a tough road game.

Bama/Penn State

We're a third through with football season (say it isn't so!) and I'm already behind blogging the games. Here's some pics from the Bama/Penn State game. It was our first time in the new and improved Bryant Denny Stadium since we didn't make the San Jose State game. LOVED the atmosphere of this game with all the tradition, respect, lack of hatred for the other team, and cute little Joe Pa pacing on the sidelines. It also helped that we had this one in the bag from the beginning, so no nerves. The Penn State fans we met were great, and I've never seen the quad so packed. Got a lot of family pics since Rob's mom and dad came down for the game and we also tailgated with my family. Besides some random rain showers it was a great day.

The Kick

Not to be confused with a possible Daniel Moore painting by the same name, the title of this blog post and photo above depicts my brother David (far right as seen from what is likely a cell phone pic taken by a friend in the stands), a junior at UA who was selected to participate in the Golden Flake Kick for Tuition competition during the Bama/San Jose State season opener.

We were in South Carolina with Robert's family for Labor Day and didn't get to see his performance live (which was last minute because he was selected just minutes before kickoff), but we found out about it from the many text messages we immediately received from friends and family at the game who kept asking, "Was that your brother?"

Apparently Summerville is not that common of a last name, or either they equated his athletic prowess with my mad athletic skills, but either way the answer is, "Yes, it was!" We are so proud of him. He made his field goal from 15 yards out, did his signature black flip (nearly taking out the girl contestant in the process, but we won't go into details), and resultingly qualified for the final kick for tuition kickoff event. If he beats out the other winners, he'll get the chance to kick for a $2,000 tuition scholarship during the Iron Bowl.

Way to go, Big Dave!

Tide Pride

Author's note: This post is done in jest; as with all things worth laughing at, there are elements of truth threaded throughout this "confession."

One day earlier this summer Robert got an email we had been waiting on...hoping for...yes, even praying would come... for years. Literally years. And then it finally came. And I seriously can't remember a day we've collectively been more excited. Maybe when we got married. Maybe.

The email was from the Tide Pride ticket office. The short of it was - You're in. After three and a half years on the waiting list - that's 1, 276 days (but who's counting, right) - we finally made the cut. And we were ecstatic.

We likely would have had Alabama football season tickets four years ago if we hadn't been naive and ever so slightly bitter new Bama graduates who survived Shula's years in college and decided not to purchase season tickets the minute we graduated.

Talk about a decision we regret. We can always get tickets, we said. No need to sign up now, we justified. We're just starting out; we can wait a few years and then get them, we thought.

And that would have been true. Until Saban was hired. And then the waiting list went something like 10 years deep nearly overnight. Luckily, Robert signed us up hours after the announcement. That slim jump start he had on the other thousands of clamoring Bama fans who also smelled roses and championships in the future air - plus the extra 20,000+ seat addition that resulted from the north and south endzone expansions - somehow translated to us getting the golden nod in 3.5 years.

We couldn't write our check fast enough. We felt fortunate, blessed, graciously smiled upon by God. For weeks we were on a high no drugs can come close to effect.

And then we waited for these beautiful babies to come in the mail.
The day they did will probably only be trumped in our lives by either 1) the birth of a child, or 2) winning the lottery. Probably. (Since we don't play the lottery, I'm betting on the kids.)

You see, that's because now we're in. And we never have to be out. And that is a comforting feeling. (Trust me when I make a big deal about being in. There's plenty of long deceased Alabama fans claiming their season tickets each year. Currently, there's something like 10,000 to 15,000 people still on the waiting list. Luckily we're not stuck in the middle of that pack.)

It's not that we suffered in the years we didn't hold tickets. We watched in person nearly all the games we wanted. Granted, we paid a little more than face value, but that's not really the point. It's those agonizing days and hours before the game wondering if we will find tickets. You see, we always go to the game, but we don't always shell out for the certainty of having tickets in hand before we go. To put it short. We're dedicated but on a budget. But that was in the past. In one word, what have have now is security. Budgeted security. And that's a nice feeling.

Still reading and don't think we're crazy intense... fanatical...partially insane? We'll, no need to fear because any readers on the fence on this point are about to jump right over as soon as they hear this true confession: If Robert and I were the kind of people who believed in divorce (for the record, we're not), I can guarantee you the one possession we would fight to the death over with the best Birmingham lawyers money can buy would be the Alabama football season tickets. What can I say, we share the same priorities.

So about this point, I'm hopeful you've decided to add mine and Robert's idolatry of Alabama football to your daily prayer list. And we need it. Because it's just a team and just a game. (Trust me, as full of truthful-ish jest as this blog post is, we do remind ourselves of that. Because we have to.)

But Alabama football is also something we both love. And I mean love. That shared passion that includes so many of our family and friends and has its on unique set of old memories and new ones and ones to be created. Believe it or not, Alabama football and all that goes with it is a deep tradition in both our families.

(I know, some of you just threw up a little in your months when I used the good ole "T" word. Feel free to go make a joke about the Bear being long dead if you need to to get through the rest of this post.)

But it's true. Alabama football is our thing. And I stress our. I'm not going along with this because it's something I get to do with my husband when I would rather be doing something else if I had my pick. I'd go if Robert didn't. Every time. But I probably wouldn't have married him if he pulled for another team. But that's a mute point.

One thing is for sure. Alabama football is our thing, and we're now season ticket holders. And that's exciting. So is legitimately having this car tag.

If nothing I've written up to this point has shocked you, you're probably either one of our true friends who knows us deep down, or you share our priorities. If not and you're considering rethinking our friendship, I humbly ask you to bear with us. (No pun intended.) Because we're Bama fans. And that's all we know how to be.

Roll Tide!

The Clampetts

Sometimes you feel like your life is straight out of a movie. This past Labor Day weekend we literally became the Beverly Hillbillies, minus a grandmother in a rocking chair in the back of the truck. My dad graciously let us borrow his truck to travel to South Carolina, where Robert's family graciously bestowed on us an inheritance of beautiful antiques from his paternal grandmother, Margaret Sharp Adams. In an effort to be efficient, we loaded everything we possibly could in the truck to bring back to Birmingham. We managed to fit the following: a gorgeous table, buffet, and six chairs originally purchased in Europe when his grandparents lived oversees (which will become our formal dining room set - when we have a house big enough to include a formal dining room); a settee (which we think transforms into a daybed and which I plan to have reupholstered); two additional chairs; a table with four folding chairs; a mirror; three large pieces of framed artwork including two tapestries; five smaller frames; and three boxes of silver, crystal, linens, dishware, and glassware. I'm probably forgetting something since I have yet to unpack it all. The only two items we left behind for his parents to bring down the following weekend were a large mirror and the croquet set. Believe it or not everything else fit. Barely. My husband and his grandfather proved to be quite the efficient packers.

We did have to pull over three times (in the first five miles out from his home) because the tarp wasn't cooperating. On the third time we just took it off. The policeman who stopped to check on us on the side of the interstate just said, "Well, it's not going to rain. It's too hot to rain." And it was. Seven hours later, we made it home safe and sound.

Having those things that belonged in your family for years is one of those things I especially love about being Southern. All things heirloom are just special, and I'm excited about incorporating these items into our home.

We also had a blast hanging with this crazy guy (here he is helping us sort through grandmother's Halloween and Christmas decorations) and the rest of Robert's sweet family. Can't wait to see them again over Thanksgiving.