Thoughts from the Chick

Actually, I should say, a funny thing happened while at the tag office.

A little background - I had to get my car tag changed over and finally got all the appropriate paperwork needed to do so.  Who knew changing a tag/title from one state to the other would be such a hassle?  Anyway, I got there, and the clerk got everything processed and then she asked me “Do you want a regular tag?”

I said, “How much extra is it to get the Alabama tag?”  She told me the amount, and I said, “Ok - I’ll go with that one.”

So the clerk starts to enter in the codes and has to ask the manager what the code for the University of Alabama tag is.

He says, “It’s RT, for Roll Tide!”

I told him, “That’s Right!  And very appropriate!”

He said, “Well, we have to come up with some way to remember all the codes…Alabama is RT for Roll Tide; Auburn is TZ for Tiggerz.”

I LMFAO.  Who knew that going to the tag office could be such a great way to start my Friday!?

Tiggerz. LOL

Here’s hoping that it’s a great, fun football weekend - Roll Tide!!!  

I was nervous yesterday.  Very nervous.

I felt like we would win.  I knew that our players were disciplined.  Well coached.  Talented. 

But until Rolondo McClain sacked Tyrod Taylor with 2 minutes left in the game, I didn’t know that we would win.

What a game.  There was great energy in the Dome.  I knew Virginia Tech would be tough, but they were better than I thought they would be.  I have to give them credit.  They were good.

I was impressed with Greg McElroy.  I was impressed with his poise.  I was impressed with his ability to take some big hits and get up and get back out there.  I was impressed with his tenacity and his drive.  I was impressed that he didn’t get in his own head and quit.

I was impressed with Mark Ingram.  He took some hits.  He kept with it.  He believed in the game plan, and it eventually paid off for him big time.

I was impressed with Marquis Maze.  The 48 yard catch he made was beautiful.  The way he laid out for that ball…Amazing.

I was impressed with Colin Peek.  He is tall.  He is tough.  He jumped up and caught that 2 pt conversion in the end zone like it was his job. 

I was impressed with our kickoff team.  They were right in front of us in the 4th quarter and they were HYPED.  Those guys - especially Robby Green and Chris Rodgers - danced out onto the field, got the crowd involved, and were ready to go down and f’ing hit somebody.  And hit somebody is what they did - stripping the ball and recoving the fumble to eventually set up for a Bama field goal.

But most of all, I was impressed with our TEAM.  I have not seen another team - at least in recent memory - that worked together like they did.  They had eachother’s back.  They would not let any player get down.  And at the center of that was Rolondo McClain. 

Now any Tide fan - really any SEC fan - knows that Rolondo McClain is the man.  THE MAN.  But on his own assertion, he’s not a born vocal leader. 

Well, I am here to say that he stepped up into the role Nick Saban asked him to take and did everything he could to inspire his team last night. 

I was fortunate enough to have seats that allowed me to see a lot of what was going on on the Alabama sideline.  Rolondo McClain wasn’t just “in the face” of his defense - he also had some things to say to his counterparts on offense. 

In the 1st Quarter - he got nose to nose with each of those offensive players to keep them up. 

He wouldn’t let Roy Upchurch walk off the field with his head down after the ball was stripped from him.

And the most telling thing to me, was when the team came back on the field for the 2nd half, and after McClain had been called for both a personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of the 1st half, Rolondo McClain walked up to BOTH the official and the other player involved in those plays and somehow made ammends.  I have no idea what he said, but it was clear that his first piece of business when he walked out was to speak to those two men. 

That takes guts. 

And that’s what I hope I continue to see from this Alabama team this year - guts.

I might have been gutwrenched for 4 quarters last night, but damn it was good. 

And those players, coaches and staff members should be very proud of themselves.  Very proud indeed.

All of the waiting and wondering and questions will be answered by the end of today today.  I couldn’t be more excited or nervous.  I always say that if I’m nervous and my Sister Chick is calm, cool & collected - then all is right with the world!  Let’s hope this is true today.

I was down at the Dome last night visiting with some family and friends and I have to say that at least in the motorhome world of the Yellow Lot of the GWCC, the Alabama contingency greatly overwhelmed the VA Tech contingency (if you can call it that).  I’m sure there were more of them than what I counted, but I remember seeing about 5 motorhomes with VA Tech, and the rest Alabama. 

Now maybe VA Tech just doesn’t have the motorhome crowd that Alabama does, I don’t know.  Maybe they are driving and staying in hotels or flying - But I hope that the trend I saw last night continues.  I guess we’ll get a better idea when College Gameday comes on this morning. 

If you’re looking for players to watch on the VA Tech side of the ball - Check out my “Who are the Hokies” post that I wrote about a month ago - just remember that Va Tech has lost Darren Evans since I wrote it.

Also, it’ll be interesting to see who they pair together to take care of Cody - flu or not, you can’t overlook that Mountain.  And I also read an article this morning that their defensive line thinks they can manhandle our offensive line and get to McElroy.  Let’s hope the new Bama O Line can prove them wrong.

Roll Tide!!!!!!!

It’s GAMEDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  GAMEDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  GAMEDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess all that rain in Oregon doesn’t just make you depressed - it must make ya angry too.

At least it did for Mr. Blount of the Oregon Ducks. 

Now, let’s be fair, it looks like the Boise State player #94 was doing his share of taunting.  I bet he won’t talk that way to #9 again.  And don’t ya wish you knew what he said to piss him off so much??? 

Julio Jones and Mark Ingram were cleared on Wednesday by the NCAA to play in Saturday’s season opener against Virginia Tech in Atlanta.

Hallaluia!

Now, let’s just hope no one else takes any trips, tries to thwart any robberies, or gets the flu…

2 days!  Roll Tide!