Main Piece:

Game Day at the University of Alabama are like nothing else. It is a school defined by football, and people take it seriously. You wear a mix between your Sunday Best and Going Out outfit, but more modest than going out. Typically it is a mix of Crimson and White clothing. First thing people do is head to the quad. You find your friend or your sorority sisters and begin tailgating. Sometime you go to your sorority house, and her EG, her house is right next to the stadium. You go to the stadium an hour before the game, go to the student section and stand. Sitting rarely happens during these games. After every touchdown the crowd sings the fight song. At the end of the game, bearing that the students are still there, they sing Rammer Jammer, a classic song of the school. Many students don’t stay for the whole game as Alabama typically gets a huge lead over their competitors, and they typically leave before the fourth quarter making them miss this tradition.

Context:

EG is a sophomore at the University of Alabama, and has attended football games for the past two seasons. Both of her parents attended the school and are also avid fans of the team. She was raised an Alabama fan her whole life and has never been otherwise. This was taken from a conversation at our house.

Thoughts:

As EG is my twin sister, I subsequently was also raised an Alabama fan. We have been to make games over the years, but I am the only one to never have gone to a game at Bryant Denny Stadium, Alabama’s home stadium. The only thing I can compare it too is the USC Game Day experience. From picture’s I have seen from theirs. It is similar in ways and different in ways. When she came to Los Angeles for family weekend last fall, she noted that the atmosphere in the Coliseum was different than in Bryant Denny. As I have not been to an Alabama game, I cannot understand what she means. While we also have traditions at the fourth quarter and end of the game, they are much different than at Alabama.