The day started out with us taking an Escalade stretch limo to Tuscaloosa from where were staying in Birmingham. There is nothing like having a limo pick you up from a Ramada. My buddy from WJOX, Lance Taylor, set the whole thing up. My wife and I rode in this limo to T-town with Lance and a group of guys ranging from big-time boosters to out-of-towners. Our first stop was Bob Baumhower's "Wings". Lance and Ian Fitzsimmons do a pregame show there every time there is a game in town. There is Bama memorabilia and tributes all over the place.
Here are some of the pics from that place...
It was great to see basketball coach Mark Gottfried at the bar
This is the place where the most boring radio show in the history of western civilization takes place
It was great to see basketball coach Mark Gottfried at the bar
This is the place where the most boring radio show in the history of western civilization takes placeLance and Ian hosted the show while a big group of us watched all of the games that were going on. They were hosting a show touted as "the longest running pregame show in the state of Alabama." Take that Mobile.
After we left Wings, we went to a place next to the stadium named Gallettes. This was the most crowded place in America on Saturday. As we made our way through this fire hazard, we were handed Yellow Hammer's. We were told that we had to try it while we were there. I wanted to find a sauna so that I could cool off. Yes, that is my wife.
We left Gallettes because I had a meeting with the Bear. He was kind of mad that I was a little late. 
After my meeting with the Bear, we walked across the street to check out the Gameday bus.
As we walked to the stadium, I stopped to pay tribute to Gene Stallings. I love Gene Stallings. He was the first football coach that I ever knew personally. When I was a little kid, my family went to church with Gene in St. Louis (he was coaching the Cardinals) and my sister was friends with his daughter. 
Our tickets were unreal. We were at the 45 yd line, about 50 rows from the field. I am pretty sure that Alabama has the best pregame in America. The videos, the band, the pageantry... it was spectacular.
The game was great. It was insanely loud when John Parker Wilson ran the TD in to tie the game at 20. 
I did not get any pictures of OT because I was standing there in complete disbelief. It was sad to see the fans throw all of the crap that they did on the Georgia players. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth after what was an incredible SEC game. I left the stadium so that I could go cry with the Bear. 
In the end, it was a great experience. The stadium is not as cool as Knoxville, the tailgating is better in Oxford, it is not as loud and crazy as LSU, but being in Tuscaloosa on Saturday is like watching the Muslims going to Mecca. They kill everyone in the tradition department. Alabama has so much tradition that I think any football fan would enjoy the trip. If you are a big college football fan, you need to check it out at least once. 
