College Football Saturday in the South

You just can't bottle the excitement of the first Saturday of the college football season in the South.  It's the day people have been waiting for all year.

Photo by Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer

Your internal clock wakes you up in time to plop in front of the TV for the start of ESPN's College Game Day, so you can soak in the excitement from the commentators and fans, who are just as optimistic about their team's fate for the season as you are.  Personally, I love reading all of the crazy signs the fans hold up in the background.

This LSU sign from 2012 still cracks me up!

 In Alabama, the season really starts the Friday before.  You pick out your outfit for school or work to show off your team colors, so there's no mistake where your allegiances lie.  I usually opt for something with over-the-top houndstooth and red.  Here's what I wore yesterday complete with a little elephant necklace.  I even paint my nails red before every season starts...to match most of my outfits for the season, of course.

In case you haven't guessed or aren't a college football fan yourself, I roll with the Crimson Tide.  I'm a proud graduate of The University of Alabama.  Our mascot is an elephant, Big Al to be exact.  And, the houndstooth obsession is inspired by our legendary coach Bear Bryant's signature hat.

Fanatical support of your team starts early in the South. I remember my first day of third grade at a new school in Alabama. The first question the kids asked me was if I was for Alabama or Auburn. In Alabama, you make a choice between our two major universities - bitter rivals. Apparently, that was the determining factor in whether we could be friends or not. I was already crushing on a little boy that was wearing an Alabama shirt that day, so I made my choice...and it stuck.

At our house, we're a little superstitious, too.  Both my husband and I have lucky shoes that must be worn at least once on game day...not necessarily during the game.  I also have a particular Vera Bradley houndstooth purse that I must purchase every year. Even though it has been discontinued, I spend all year stalking my next purchase of one on eBay because I generally wear it out by the end of the season. We've won National Championships the last two years, since I started using these purses, so I'm not going to stop now.  I also have a matching wallet, which I've used both years...so maybe that's really the lucky charm.

Lucky Vera Bradley Purse

 Of course, we also watch at least part of every game at Beauregard's on Jordan Lane in Huntsville, so maybe that's it.  In January, I also have a lucky Alabama wreath that my friend's mom made for me for Christmas...that may attribute to the National Championship wins.  Since I got it for Christmas, I cannot put it up until after Christmas...I'm trying to follow a pattern here. When you're superstitious, it's hard to know exactly what your lucky charm is, so we just try to keep repeating everything that may be working in our favor.  That's what any good fan would do, isn't it?!  We all have to do our parts!

Best Hot Wings in Huntsville, AL

Once we get home from Beauregard's, part of the fun is pulling out all of my Alabama and football partyware for a winning spread. To give you a sense of how deep college football runs in the South, my husband's family gave us some really pretty silver Arthur Court elephant platters and etched Alabama pilsner glasses as a wedding present because that's essential hostess gear. We love them...everyone should be so lucky to start their married life off right like this!

And finally, we'll end the day by watching ESPN for recaps to see how the other teams in the NCAA did that day. Then the anticipation for the next Saturday starts up again.

Here's to hoping we're on the winning side of the recaps....ROLL TIDE!  Best of luck to your team today, too!