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Offseason thread - What "qualifies" you as a Bama fan?

LSUgrad2BamaDad

LSUgrad2BamaDad

All-SEC
May 5, 2016
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Destrehan, LA
Perhaps just as importantly, do you think the club has entry requirements?

I was raised an LSU fan. My grandparents bought season tickets when their oldest, my Dad, was the first in our family to enroll in college. My Dad bought tickets not too long after graduation from LSU and I attended tons of games as a child. I attended and graduated from LSU, married an LSU alumnae whom I met in college, and we just renewed our season tickets for the 24th time although I'll probably only go to the Bama game. I do feel I'm qualified and I can get perturbed when people with no connection to LSU have strong opinions - "we need to..., we should..." What WE?

Y'all know my Bama story. I have a son who is a rising junior and another who is considering Bama in a couple years. I've enjoyed watching the team play and this place is great for civil conversation. I've never used "we" when referring to Alabama. Maybe I'll feel differently if I am associated with the University a few more years, but I don't feel that connected, not to mention I had a dislike for Alabama football for many years.
 
My favorite bumper sticker of all time: "Alabama by birth, Crimson Tide by the Grace of God."

I've never known anything different.
 
BamaMoon said:
My favorite bumper sticker of all time: "Alabama by birth, Crimson Tide by the Grace of God."

I've never known anything different.
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Nor I. From a tot, we were an Alabama family. Earliest memories of watching football, 1958 when Coach Bryant arrived. Undergrad and grad degrees from the University. I think I`m "Qualified ".
 
The only qualification for me is that you genuinely support the University and Athletic programs in what ever way you can.

By genuine I mean not a bandwagon fan who is only a fan now while we are dominating but will jump off at the 1st sign of lack of success.

I was born in 1978 and have been a hardcore fan since about 1982-83. My Pop-Pop(Grandfather) graduated from Alabama in the 40's and always taped the games back in the 80's on Beta or VHS so I could watch them. My Mom also went to school there in the 70's.

I became a season ticket holder in 2013 and have either gone to as many games as possible or gave tickets to friends and family for them to go.

But I don't think anyone needs to have ties of any sort to be a true fan. Just honestly support the teams through the Winning years, the Mediocre years, and or the Losing years. Stay Loyal.
 
I think what qualifies one as a fan of a school/team/program is simply that they display fandom.

I think you'll find that most people who want to institute requirements for fandom - especially in regards to Alabama - are actually fans of opposing teams who like to throw around terms like "sidewalk alumni" due primarily to their jealousy of our fandom, popularity, and success.

I never went to school at Bama but I am a member of Tide Pride and I've shown more fandom than most for my entire life. Most people who know me will state that they don't know a bigger Alabama fan than me. If that makes me a sidewalk alum, then so be it. I'm pretty sure I count as a fan.

My dad did take some graduate school courses at Alabama but he was an Alabama fan - who happened to grow up in Tennessee - long before then. I'm pretty sure he counts as a fan.

My wife grew up in Texas and wasn't much of a football fan - for a Texan. However, I have a favorite story that illustrates her fandom...

Back a few years ago, Christion Jones was returning punts for us and he was known to have a few brain farts, for lack of a better term, now and then. In this particular game, he had already made a couple of mistakes and, as he's going back to receive another punt, my wife is sitting on the edge of the couch, muttering under her breath, over and over: "Just fair catch it; just fair catch it; if it's short, just let it go." The punt was short and, of course, Jones runs up to try to catch it and muffs the punt. Now, at this point I can't even remember who we were playing (maybe Ole Miss), much less whether or not we actually turned the ball over there. However, I remember my wife's reaction like it was yesterday. She was on her feet, yelling at the TV at the top of her lungs... not at Christion Jones but at Coach Saban - telling him to take the boy's scholarship away from him!

I'm pretty sure she counts as a fan.

Once you become passionate about a school/team/program, I'd say you qualify as a fan.

Of course, there are different levels of fandom.
 
Nice post dad. Born and reared in Alabama I was ordained a Tide fan by family preference. I'm the first in my family to graduate high school on my dad's side and was in Navy boot camp three weeks after graduation. Although I now have two master's degrees, none are from UA. I never say "we" either as I have never taken a snap at practice or in a game. I'm just a fan.
 
CoachJeff said:
I went to Bama and was in the stadium for the UL-Monroe loss. I could go on but I figure that's enough to prove my fandom.
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Same here. Also, I was in school during the DuBose/Franchonie/Price/Shula debacle (Coach Saban was hired my last semester during graduate school at the Capstone). I still went to games when we were terrible during those years, and never once left a game. I'd say I've earned my qualifications for fandom. (Also, both sisters went to Bama, my older having decided to attend during the 1992 season for the Communications program).
 
I was never given a choice. From early childhood I was raised to be an Alabama Fan.
My Mom taught my first dog to play dead. She would say, 'Had you rather be an Auburn Fan or a Dead Dog'. That little Feist Dog would flip over on his back, waiting for her to say Good Boy.
 
I basically stumbled into attending Alabama. I wanted to go to a school in the largish southern school with big football but I knew next to nothing about college football and who was good historically or who the top program was at the time. Literally the first college football game I remember watching is the UF vs OU NCG so I'm not exaggerating when I say I knew NOTHING about college football(I loved the NFL though). I visited a bunch of campuses and to my Mom's initial shock (she loved it as soon as she visited but hadn't at that point) fell in love with the university and its campus. My freshman year happened to be 2009. I didn't realize who Nick Saban was or how good Alabama was on its way to becoming again until probably half way through the season.

As for qualifications? My only qualification for any sports fandom is that you have to support the team somewhat actively. For example, while I will do my best to pretend like I am a Caps fan if they win the Stanley Cup I still don't actually count as a real fan since I only started watching once we started beating Pittsburgh.
 
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Well, I have never known being a fan of anyone other than the Crimson Tide. Actually, I was a big fan of the Braves for a long time as well, but I got bored with the sport and hated the idea of there being a Hall Of Fame without Pete Rose in it, so once the Braves finally got their World Series win, I gave up that sport and only really cared for football, specifically Alabama.

Honestly, I did not go to Alabama. It was more practical for me to go to a school closer to home, where I also had a scholarship, so I went to Troy State. Back then, they were not a top division school (what were they...2A, 3A...I don't remember). Anyway, the deal was, Troy State would be my small division favorite while Alabama would stay my favorite in the top league. Well, around 2000 or so, TSU broke that agreement, changed their name to Troy University, and entered the FBS. They can be my second favorite, because I would never give up the Tide.

My son was born in Dothan, Alabama, but grew up in Shreveport. When he was in kindergarten, his teacher said on the first day of class that she had graduated from Alabama. He stood up right then and sang "Yea Alabama" to her, even getting the "Bama's pluck and grit have writ her name in crimson flame" part right, and immediately became her favorite student. Even though he goes to La Tech, and should be a Bulldog fan, just as I should be a Trojan, he bleeds crimson still today. Even with all the abuse he took as a child in school being around LSU fans when they were up and we were down, he remained as die-hard as I was. He asked Santa for tickets to the Independence Bowl both years that we played in that game while living there (Shula's last and Saban's first years), and of course, Santa was more than happy to oblige.

Though we live several hours apart, and no longer get to watch their games together in person, we watch on TV, staying in constant phone or text communication and "throwing the football" to celebrate our scores, just as we have done since the day he could stand up.

Some may call me a sidewalk fan, but I have always been as dedicated to Alabama football as a fan as I have been to almost anything else, even when being just that was so hard to do.
 
Been so my whole life. Lived through the Dubose- Shula years. Graduated from UA. Invested more than I could afford for tickets and merchandise
 
I believe that you simply need to pull for your team in good times and bad to qualify. Some people are positive, some negative - that is their nature and has nothing to do with their fandom.

The only time that I think that someone's fan card should be questioned is when they harshly criticize players. I am not talking about open discussion of strengths and weaknesses, but the kind of stuff that Foster faced when his FG kicking cost Alabama games. Those people are not fans, IMO. They love themselves and just use Alabama to lift themselves up.
 
I'm a UF alumnus and the Gators are my #1 team, naturally.

But I learned to respect Alabama football (and it's culture) as a Gator and have followed and pulled for them ever since the early days of our SEC Championship Game days.

This forum has been very helpful to enhance the experience.

Thank you for that! :)
 
Pulled for them since 1960, was in the student section of the Punt Bama Punt and have never waivered in my support even during the dark years.
 
willie52 said:
Pulled for them since 1960, was in the student section of the Punt Bama Punt and have never waivered in my support even during the dark years.
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And there have been some dark periods, to be sure. From Perkins through Curry, then Dubose up until we got Coach Saban. Sure, we had a few blips of decent play that lasted a season or two, but never much to be really proud of. I am proud of our players and how they persevered through some dark times, and we did have some great ones even when our team wasn't great. But as I mentioned before, there were times when being an Alabama fan wasn't easy, especially when living in an enemy state (Louisiana and Tennessee). But there was never any doubt in anyone's mind who met me or saw me around that I was a Bama fan, so I was the target of some good laughs on their part, and, even worse, the occasional show of pity.
 
You might be a Bama fan if:

You take an extra job so you can by this year’s championship apparel.

You drive a red car with Bama plates.

You spend more on Bama gear than you did for your double wide.

etc.
 
My blood type:
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