Let's see: I left Birmingham on Southwest at 10:30 yesterday morning. After stopping in Tampa
and switching planes with a 4 hour layover in Baltimore, I finally made it home for the Chiefs 4th quarter by 9:30.
But anyway. This was my first (and probably only) trip to Tuscaloosa. A few thoughts:
Didn't make it to downtown Tuscaloosa, so I know nothing about it. The rest of the town, sans the University of Alabama was pedestrian at best. That's the negatives.
Now, onto the university, Bryant-Denny Stadium, and Bama football.
The university is actually 8 years older than Mizzou, which mildly surprised me. It is a very large campus, and nearly all of the buildings are some combo of red brick and stone. To me, it was one of the more impressive college campuses I have seen, and I've seen quite a few.
Bryant-Denny is one mammoth edifice. And it sits right next to campus, with Greek houses literally just across narrow street from the stadium. Imagine Faurot Field where Stankowski Field is with the AEPi house less than 100 feet away. Built in 1929 (just slightly younger than our Memorial Stadium), this stadium has undergone about 8 expansions. In the 1960s, it was about the same size as ours (roughly 60,000+). They have added in every possible direction (unlike the monstrosity in Lincoln) and done it almost seamlessly. As you walk in through the brick facade, you can see the OLD brick facade from when it was a single tier bowl. They've expanded outward and upward with 159 suites and over 100,000 capacity. When they play Dixieland Delights and about 50,000 fans shine their lights like a rock concert, it's damn impressive. Outside the stadium, there is a very large quadrangle chock-full of tailgating tents, quite similar to the Grove at Ol' Miss and the near the stadium at aTm. Nearby, there are trumpet line and pep band rallies going on and various and sundry other activities.
And then along all the nearby thoroughfares, the sidewalks are lined with seemingly a hundred little tents selling every sort of Bama gear.
The Strip, a block or two to the west of the stadium, was the only bar scene that I saw, but i"m sure there were others. It was OK (the Houndstooth was the biggest and loudest, but also the hardest to get into), but nothing special.
Finally, the football team. I went in with my only goal being that we come out injury free. I haven't heard how Christian Holmes is doing, but I don't recall any major injuries. So, there's that.
The Crimson Tide is pretty damn good. I doubt we got their best game, but I came away thinking that if they played only their second team, the only difference in the outcome would have been a smaller margin of victory. Our Tigers played hard and competed the entire game. Bama is just THAT much better and then some.
Overall, my lasting impression is that down there, they take all of this very seriously (which is not to say they weren't friendly and gracious - they were very much so). It's so evident that Crimson Tide football, not to mention Auburn, which is a pretty big deal in that state in its own right, dominates that state in ways we can't even dream of. The University of Alabama (and to a certain extend UAB, which grew from the outstanding medical school there) has grown exponentially in size, and some might argue, in stature, owing in no small part to that football machine. This was a glimpse of the major leagues. I have loved MU dearly since 1958 and am proud of who we are and what we do, but honestly, in comparison, we're either high Double A or low Triple A. That's only being mildly critical of our state and our school. Damn few others are in those majors: probably tOSU, Michigan, Penn State, Clemson, Georgia, aTM, OU, and (perhaps) Nebraska and Tennessee.
When we joined the SEC, many warned us that we were in for a real eye-opener; they weren't lying.
Glad I went; had a good time; and I figure I'll be lucky to still be alive the next time we're surrounded by "Roll Tide".
and switching planes with a 4 hour layover in Baltimore, I finally made it home for the Chiefs 4th quarter by 9:30.
But anyway. This was my first (and probably only) trip to Tuscaloosa. A few thoughts:
Didn't make it to downtown Tuscaloosa, so I know nothing about it. The rest of the town, sans the University of Alabama was pedestrian at best. That's the negatives.
Now, onto the university, Bryant-Denny Stadium, and Bama football.
The university is actually 8 years older than Mizzou, which mildly surprised me. It is a very large campus, and nearly all of the buildings are some combo of red brick and stone. To me, it was one of the more impressive college campuses I have seen, and I've seen quite a few.
Bryant-Denny is one mammoth edifice. And it sits right next to campus, with Greek houses literally just across narrow street from the stadium. Imagine Faurot Field where Stankowski Field is with the AEPi house less than 100 feet away. Built in 1929 (just slightly younger than our Memorial Stadium), this stadium has undergone about 8 expansions. In the 1960s, it was about the same size as ours (roughly 60,000+). They have added in every possible direction (unlike the monstrosity in Lincoln) and done it almost seamlessly. As you walk in through the brick facade, you can see the OLD brick facade from when it was a single tier bowl. They've expanded outward and upward with 159 suites and over 100,000 capacity. When they play Dixieland Delights and about 50,000 fans shine their lights like a rock concert, it's damn impressive. Outside the stadium, there is a very large quadrangle chock-full of tailgating tents, quite similar to the Grove at Ol' Miss and the near the stadium at aTm. Nearby, there are trumpet line and pep band rallies going on and various and sundry other activities.
And then along all the nearby thoroughfares, the sidewalks are lined with seemingly a hundred little tents selling every sort of Bama gear.
The Strip, a block or two to the west of the stadium, was the only bar scene that I saw, but i"m sure there were others. It was OK (the Houndstooth was the biggest and loudest, but also the hardest to get into), but nothing special.
Finally, the football team. I went in with my only goal being that we come out injury free. I haven't heard how Christian Holmes is doing, but I don't recall any major injuries. So, there's that.
The Crimson Tide is pretty damn good. I doubt we got their best game, but I came away thinking that if they played only their second team, the only difference in the outcome would have been a smaller margin of victory. Our Tigers played hard and competed the entire game. Bama is just THAT much better and then some.
Overall, my lasting impression is that down there, they take all of this very seriously (which is not to say they weren't friendly and gracious - they were very much so). It's so evident that Crimson Tide football, not to mention Auburn, which is a pretty big deal in that state in its own right, dominates that state in ways we can't even dream of. The University of Alabama (and to a certain extend UAB, which grew from the outstanding medical school there) has grown exponentially in size, and some might argue, in stature, owing in no small part to that football machine. This was a glimpse of the major leagues. I have loved MU dearly since 1958 and am proud of who we are and what we do, but honestly, in comparison, we're either high Double A or low Triple A. That's only being mildly critical of our state and our school. Damn few others are in those majors: probably tOSU, Michigan, Penn State, Clemson, Georgia, aTM, OU, and (perhaps) Nebraska and Tennessee.
When we joined the SEC, many warned us that we were in for a real eye-opener; they weren't lying.
Glad I went; had a good time; and I figure I'll be lucky to still be alive the next time we're surrounded by "Roll Tide".
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