Yea, Alabama!
By Torence Eugene
Yea, Alabama!
It’s a Saturday in the South.
You can hear the sausages sizzle as they set on the grill.
You can hear the fizz of the carbonation as someone cracks open another cold one.
Everything is crimson. Everyone is excited.
Football is our religion, our gods are Nick Saban and Paul “Bear” Bryant, our church is Bryant-Denny Stadium.
It’s game day in Tuscaloosa.
What does it mean to say Roll Tide and be one of the best fans in college football?
Yea, Alabama! Drown ‘em, Tide.
It’s 35 bowl victories.
It’s 25 Southeastern Conference Championships.
It’s 16 National Championships.
We’re not cocky, we’re confident.
“I ain’t never been nothing but a winner,” is what the Bear used to say.
We love to win and history proves that we’ve gotten pretty good at it.
But we know that all those crystal footballs didn’t come without a cost.
“The Process never stops.”
It’s dedication, it’s hard work, it’s heart, it’s soul.
Play for four, stay for four.
101,000 people fill the pews of Bryant-Denny and scream until the final seconds roll off the scoreboard clock.
Don’t quit til the job is done… Then it’s on to the next.
Yea, Alabama! Drown ‘em, Tide. Every Bama man’s behind you, hit your stride.
What does it mean to say Roll Tide?
This isn’t some bandwagon just anyone can hitch a ride on to the next national title.
An elephant never forgets and we do not forget our loyalties over one lousy season.
Even when we lose, we hold our heads high and say Roll Tide, while we still hate Auburn,…
and LSU…
and Tennessee, too.
That gaudy orange is not in my color wheel and I will not wear it.
Football is not just a sport, it’s our religion and we relentlessly follow it.
Yea, Alabama! You’re Dixie’s football pride, Crimson Tide.
If winning is our bread, then tradition is our butter.
Whether it’s a houndstooth hat, or a shaker in your boot, we dawn our Saturday’s best for the games.
We are on our way to church, after all.
Like a cult, we sing the same songs, yell the same cheers, eat the same foods, and drink the same beers every week.
At Alabama, the only change we’re okay with is a change the number of our national championships.
Yea, Alabama! You’re Dixie’s football pride, Crimson Tide. Roll Tide, Roll Tide!
What is a “Roll Tide?”
Well, what isn’t it?
Like an amen, Roll Tide is a punctuation mark.
It’s a hello, it’s a goodbye, it’s a way of living.
What I mean by that is that Roll Tide is a way of holding yourself with pride and dignity that is still humble and kind.
Southern hospitality?
That’s us.
Our tea is sweeter, our skies are bluer, our community is tighter.
Some might call us “the most hated fans in the nation.”
Well, I think we’re just misunderstood.
Roll Tide is a rallying cry to fight on, never give up, never surrender.
A college sports team gave us this motto to live by, that with integrity and a good work ethic, you can be a champion.
Our fight song says it all:
Yea, Alabama! Drown ‘em, Tide.
Every Bama man’s behind you, hit your stride.
And if a man starts to weaken, that’s a shame.
For Bama’s pluck and grit have writ her name in crimson flame.
Fight on, fight on, fight on, men.
Remember the Rose Bowl we’ll win then.
Roll on to victory, hit your stride.
You’re Dixie’s football pride, Crimson Tide,
Roll Tide
Roll Tide.
Some places they play football.
At Alabama, we live it.