Anna Kate Donovan

Yes, my friends, as most of you now know, my beloved University of Alabama Crimson Tide stomped Texas in a 37-21 victory to win the BCS National Championship last night!  Woo hoo!

I finally turned off the television after the game a little after midnight and went to bed.  Forty five minutes later I was still awake – too excited about the win to sleep.

In my usual fashion, I got the girls off to school this morning and began to question my feelings from the night before.  Why did a football game keep me awake into the wee hours of the morning?  Why do I care so much about this team?  Why do I get so excited about football?  I couldn’t throw a football to the other side of my yard if you paid me.  What gives?

The answer requires a quick trip back to high school so indulge me, if you please.  I went to a very small high school.  There were 48 students in my graduating class.  We did not have a football team.  We had basketball, volleyball, track, soccer, tennis, baseball, etc….but no football.  My parents are not big football fans and even though I went to a couple of games in my youth, we were not a family who watched football or cared much about what was going on in the sport.

Then I went to college at Alabama.  My first year, I got student tickets and went to the first football game by myself.  From the moment the team came on the field and I heard the roar of the crowd for the first time, I was hooked.  It was the coolest thing I had ever experienced.  I had to know everything about what was going on.  I was completely lost in the excitement of the crowd.  It was intoxicating.  Every home game, I was early to the stadium and late to leave – I couldn’t miss a minute.  Homecoming came around and I ended up going to all the events alone.  (Alone because of a boyfriend that turned out to be a turd so let’s not go there, okay?)  I was mesmerized.  I can’t explain how in awe I was.  It was fabulous.  Four years of being a student and a life-long love of the University had taken root and a passionate football fan was born.

What school you support, if any, really doesn’t matter to me.  I’m not going out of my way to say something if you cheer for a different team than I do.  Unless you are my sister-in-law or her dad.  They are the most fiercely competitive people I know.  But that’s beside the point.

What is my point, exactly?  I guess I don’t have one.  I was so excited about the Championship I just had to write about it.  This was our year and it was wonderful to experience as a fan.  Next year, who knows.  I’m sure there are plenty of people talking about it already.  It’s a clean slate.  For now, Roll Tide my fellow Alabama fans!  Enjoy the victory!