PhillyGirl
Member
Hi guys,
I'm new here, and also a newcomer to Bama football in general. I have been in love with college football for about six years now, but never had a real affinity for one particular team. I'm from Philly, where college football isn't a big deal (Temple? Really?), but most people who do care about the sport here root for Penn State. So for a while I liked Penn State. Didn't particularly know much about them, just that they were the geographical team I should be caring about. Plus, JoePa was awesome.
Last year I decided to get serious and fully invest in a team. I chose Penn State. I learned rosters, I watched videos, I wanted to go to Beaver Stadium and participate in a White-Out, I wanted to chant "WE ARE" with everyone. But going to school in DC, I couldn't really see most of the games on TV. The only game I saw was the Alabama-Penn State game. And I remember loving the different style of play Alabama showed on the field. Penn State has Silas Redd, but Alabama had Trent Richardson! But that was it. I didn't pay much mind. I checked scores for Penn State, while also watching Alabama's scores, but that was it. Come November, the Sandusky crap broke out. I remember being so ashamed of a program I had aligned myself with, of a coach I had held in such high esteem. Real bummer all around. I started following Alabama more closely. I already knew of Bear Bryant and his accomplishments, but I began to find the program fascinating.
Come January, I set off for Birmingham to work with Habitat for Humanity and rebuild homes destroyed by the tornadoes in 2011. This was the week of the BCS game. I was already in high spirits knowing I'd be in the greatest college football state of them all, but to be there during a championship run against LSU was nuts. Everywhere I went: ROLL TIDE. Finally, game day. I hit up a bar in Birmingham, packed with a ton of Bama fans, and I was screaming and shouting at the TVs with the best of them. I was SUCKED IN. I had grabbed a Tide t-shirt from a team store the night before to show my support, but now I was crying and hugging everyone and hollering. The days following, I felt like a new person. I felt like I had experienced something magical, something I had not experienced with PSU. I had never experienced a place so enthralled with college football and with a team and boy did I love it!
In the months post-college football season, my fandom was in question. Was I a (*shudder*) bandwagon fan for now loving everything Crimson Tide? Was I betraying the hometown (sort of) team back home? Perhaps out of guilt, I continued to follow PSU news and recruiting. But Alabama couldn't leave my mind. I was constantly researching the seasons, the accomplishments, the sad days, the coaches, the players, the games, the traditions. I ordered books online (currently reading "Rammer Jammer, Yellow Hammer" by Warren St. John). PSU was in my mind, but not really in my heart anymore.
So here's my dilemma. I can't quite place where I stand. I can't figure out whether the PSU stuff is out of obligation, or whether I just like Alabama because they won, or what. But I figured this was a good place to start. I don't know if the fact that I am researching Alabama for graduate school means anything but that's in the mix too, haha. I am also hinting to my boyfriend (not a big sports fan .. yet) that I would DIE if I could return for a game but he is confused as to who I am rooting for (SO AM I, DANG IT). So what's the deal? What defines fandom? Am I a Bama bandwagoner? Should I stick with the "hometown" team? I've been overnanalyzing this for weeks now and I need to ask some experts; aka you guys. So .. HELP!!!
I'm new here, and also a newcomer to Bama football in general. I have been in love with college football for about six years now, but never had a real affinity for one particular team. I'm from Philly, where college football isn't a big deal (Temple? Really?), but most people who do care about the sport here root for Penn State. So for a while I liked Penn State. Didn't particularly know much about them, just that they were the geographical team I should be caring about. Plus, JoePa was awesome.
Last year I decided to get serious and fully invest in a team. I chose Penn State. I learned rosters, I watched videos, I wanted to go to Beaver Stadium and participate in a White-Out, I wanted to chant "WE ARE" with everyone. But going to school in DC, I couldn't really see most of the games on TV. The only game I saw was the Alabama-Penn State game. And I remember loving the different style of play Alabama showed on the field. Penn State has Silas Redd, but Alabama had Trent Richardson! But that was it. I didn't pay much mind. I checked scores for Penn State, while also watching Alabama's scores, but that was it. Come November, the Sandusky crap broke out. I remember being so ashamed of a program I had aligned myself with, of a coach I had held in such high esteem. Real bummer all around. I started following Alabama more closely. I already knew of Bear Bryant and his accomplishments, but I began to find the program fascinating.
Come January, I set off for Birmingham to work with Habitat for Humanity and rebuild homes destroyed by the tornadoes in 2011. This was the week of the BCS game. I was already in high spirits knowing I'd be in the greatest college football state of them all, but to be there during a championship run against LSU was nuts. Everywhere I went: ROLL TIDE. Finally, game day. I hit up a bar in Birmingham, packed with a ton of Bama fans, and I was screaming and shouting at the TVs with the best of them. I was SUCKED IN. I had grabbed a Tide t-shirt from a team store the night before to show my support, but now I was crying and hugging everyone and hollering. The days following, I felt like a new person. I felt like I had experienced something magical, something I had not experienced with PSU. I had never experienced a place so enthralled with college football and with a team and boy did I love it!
In the months post-college football season, my fandom was in question. Was I a (*shudder*) bandwagon fan for now loving everything Crimson Tide? Was I betraying the hometown (sort of) team back home? Perhaps out of guilt, I continued to follow PSU news and recruiting. But Alabama couldn't leave my mind. I was constantly researching the seasons, the accomplishments, the sad days, the coaches, the players, the games, the traditions. I ordered books online (currently reading "Rammer Jammer, Yellow Hammer" by Warren St. John). PSU was in my mind, but not really in my heart anymore.
So here's my dilemma. I can't quite place where I stand. I can't figure out whether the PSU stuff is out of obligation, or whether I just like Alabama because they won, or what. But I figured this was a good place to start. I don't know if the fact that I am researching Alabama for graduate school means anything but that's in the mix too, haha. I am also hinting to my boyfriend (not a big sports fan .. yet) that I would DIE if I could return for a game but he is confused as to who I am rooting for (SO AM I, DANG IT). So what's the deal? What defines fandom? Am I a Bama bandwagoner? Should I stick with the "hometown" team? I've been overnanalyzing this for weeks now and I need to ask some experts; aka you guys. So .. HELP!!!
Last edited:
