Funny story... My wife and I were standing in the small gift shop at Bryant Museum on Friday morning wondering if we should buy our swag there. I'd heard about the Superstore but had no idea where it was. I asked a guy next to me... he asked us where we were from... they live in Flint Michigan (UM grad) but have been coming to Bama games for over 20 years. They walked with us over to Ferguson Centre... we really hit it off. They were staying at Capstone Hotel and suggested that we come by around 5pm to see the team come in to the hotel- so we did. But only hotel guests could come in so we were standing outside the lobby by the bar and this couple introduced us to a really nice fellow named Jack who couldn't believe how far we had come for the game. While we're standing there, Chris Samuels walked by and I said, "That's Chris Samuels". Apparently, Chris heard me and he turned and waved. Well, the three of them just about fell over that I recognized him (they didn't) and I told them who he was. I think I said he paved the road for Shaun Alexander and was All Pro with the Redskins which iirc, he was. So, Jack asked me if i would recognize the players on this year's team and I told him i would probably recognize some of them. He went to the security detail working the hotel and next thing we know, we were waved into the lobby with the players and coaches.
Anyway, the team came out of their meetings later that night and Coach Saban and some of the players signed autographs and posed for pictures. I was very, very surprised that they would take the time to do that the night before a big game with so much on their minds. They really are great ambassadors for the program. So, I have pictures with Coach Saban, Blake Sims, Trey Depriest, Christion Jones, Cooper Bateman and a few others as well as some autographs. It was really something else.
So, right place at the right time and a whole bunch of luck is the short answer.
