Uniquely Alabama: The Religion Of Football

"Uniquely Alabama" is an occasional series where Patch tries to find the answers to questions about life in Alabama. Have a question about the Yellowhammer State that needs answering? Send it to michael.seale@patch.com.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — It's been stated over and over again, but football in Alabama is truly akin to a religion. I was raised in it, I have been immersed in it and I wade in it year round, but especially over the next few months.

That's right, college football season is here, and even though the weather doesn't feel much like fall with the Alabama humidity still lingering, the referee's whistle, to me and most other Alabamians, signals the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. And it is a wonderful feeling.

The best part about the week leading up to the first game of the season is hope. Hope for a championship, hope for big wins and bragging rights and the anticipation of great things to come. That's because right now, everyone is still undefeated.

But you know what else is undefeated? The power football has over the people in this state. As a child, one of my very first memories was watching Alabama play Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, and although I will admit I did not realize at the time how iconic the game would be in college football history or the circumstances that surrounded Alabama's victory that day, what I did know right away — having just turned 5 years old — was how important the game of football was, and still is.

A loss by Alabama in my household meant the difference in a happy household and a somber one. It meant that sometimes I wasn't even allowed to go out and play because my dad was so mad about the game. I remember after Alabama beat Auburn in the 1984 Iron Bowl, I went to my friend Alex Wyatt's house down the street to see if he could come out and toss the Nerf ball around, and his dad was so mad about Auburn losing that Alex was grounded. That's right. A college football team located more than two hours away from Birmingham lost a game and my friend was punished for it.

Those aren't isolated incidents or sentiments, folks. When the leaves start to dry up and the air gets crisp, Saturdays in Alabama take on a completely different feel, and people take on a completely different attitude. And it has nothing to do with the weather. Some might say its a spiritual transformation. I mean, what else could explain how otherwise rational people would behave the way they do because some 20-year old football players won or lost a game?

And please do not misunderstand my tone here. I am not belittling it. I'm not even criticizing it. Because I, too, get touched by the spirit of football. I have often allowed the outcome of a college football game to determine my mood for an entire week, or a month — sometimes longer. Heck, I'm still not over the Iron Bowl in 2010 (you know, Bama blowing a 24-0 lead), and I don't even talk about the Kick Six game.

I am a husband and father, first and foremost. And I am a brother, a friend, a writer and a bunch of other stuff. But I will place "football fan" right in there with all of those things. And I would dare say the majority of Alabamians would say the same about themselves.

You see, it's a feeling and force that is hard to describe. It's a power that seizes you, that you can't get enough of. It's the reason why I start around July watching old games I have saved on my DVR. It's the reason driving through many communities in the state on a Saturday afternoon in the fall feels like driving through a ghost town. It's the reason people plan their weddings around their favorite team's schedule (my wife and I sure did). It's the reason grown men talk to each other in all seriousness about how fast a teenager can run a 40-yard dash. It's an otherworldly force.

So go ahead and yell "Roll Tide," War Eagle," "Go Blazers" or whatever else you like to shout this time of year. Because it's here. It's college football. And it's wonderful.