Game 1 in the books

Bama's "Chase for 14" is underway. 

John and I left the lake about 11 to meet Susan and Tim at their place.  We decided to have a late lunch at Manasco's.  I love the steaks there.  They are almost as good as the ones John grills.  :)

We got to campus about 3:15 or so and walked over to the quad for a bit before deciding to walk over to see the new south entrance at the stadium.  It is GORGEOUS!

The area right under "Bryant Denny Stadium" is an open area.  Zoe's Kitchen and a yogurt shop will be opening soon, and there are plans to add other vendors.  This area will be available year round for students or visitors to campus.  Boy, things sure have changed at UA in the 20+ years since I was a student there.  :)

After going to see the new addition, we walked over to Rama Jama's for something to drink.  For a few minutes, we thought we were going to see a brawl.  John and Tim snagged us a table, and Susan and I stood in line to get our drinks.  About the time we got them, a guy who was either wasted or mental began cursing, loudly.  And it was just a "shit", "damn", or "hell" cursing.  A lady in line started telling him that he needed to watch his language because there were children around.  He continued to curse, and she continued to tell him to stop.  He finally took his sunglasses off and attempted (not very successfully) to put them on houndstooth hat.  He was giving her a "go to hell" look when two nice, big, burly officers approached him.  He turned to look at them with the same "go to hell" expression, but as soon as it registered that two of Tuscaloosa's finest were in front of him, that look went completely away.  Apparently, they didn't feel that he had been drinking because they didn't escort him out.  He did calm down.

By the time we finished our Cokes, game time was only about an hour away, so we walked back to the stadium and made our way in.  The new addition is gorgeous.  I love the video boards in all four corners.  The new scoreboards will take some getting use to, but I think after another game or so, I'll have them figured out.  It isn't that they are hard to figure out, but I'm just not used to what numbers are what, so I have to read to see if I'm looking at the number of time outs remaining, the down, or the score.  Like I said, after another game or so, I'll be able to glance and them and know exactly where to look for what.  Being one of over 101,000 people to watch a college football game was an awesome experience.

Of course, seeing the TIDE roll to a 48-3 victory was awesome as well.  Yes, we played San Jose State, so we should have won and won big.  A large number of our second and third string players got to play, which is a really good thing.  Since Mark was out with his knee injury, Trent got the start at RB.  We saw his fight, drive, and determination last year, and it was obvious that nothing was lost during the off season.  Demetrius Goode and Eddie Lacy got quite a bit of playing time;  A J McCarron had a good day as well.  The A J to Julio pass for a TD was PHENOMENAL!  Good pass or good catch...either way or both.  Our kicking game looked pretty good as well.  Let's hope it stays that way!

This week's game will be a real test.  I don't doubt that Coach Paterno will have his Nittany Lions as prepared as possible to come to BDS.  Way back when I was in college, Penn State and Bama played at Legion Field.  (I'm pretty sure it was in Birmingham...)  During pre-game, one of the members of the Million Dollar Band was hit and knocked down by either a kick or an errant pass.  Coach Paterno walked across the field to see if he/she was okay.  That one act impressed me immensely, and because of that, I have always like him.  It would have been so easy for him to have the attitude that it was "just" a band member and kept doing whatever he was doing.  But he didn't.  Now, that doesn't mean I always want Penn State to win.  Nope, not at all, but Coach Paterno is one of the icons of college football.

I think it's about time for this girl to head to bed.  My allergies have been acting up today, and I've taken Benadryl a couple of times.  The sleepies have hit.  No, the sleepies hit a couple of hours ago.  :)

Have a GREAT Memorial Day!