Is it okay to be a Bama fan if have no ties with the University?!?

CrimsonMapper

1st Team
Apr 19, 2006
578
395
87
Montgomery, AL
I had two opportunities to attend UA. I was offered a full ride for both undergrad and grad school. I turned both down because the programs they offered just didn't quite fit into what I wanted to do academically. I went to South Alabama and Southern Miss instead. I attended more Bama games than USM during my two years in Hattiesburg. I've loved Bama my entire life, and I just didn't feel like I had to attend the university to strengthen that connection. Considering where I'm at in my life, I wouldn't trade my decisions for anything. That being said, I'm looking for some kind of grad certificate or something from UA to slip in for the heck of it.:)
 

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
23,143
21,437
282
Boone, NC
I have no problem with people who support Bama, but have no personal affiliation with the school, so long as they are not fair weather fans. You have to love Bama at the top of the top and at the lowest of the low. If people just jump on board because Bama's on top, I have no use for them.

There is nothing worse than a bandwagon (fair weather) fan. :mad2:
Yep! As I like to say, "Alabama by birth, Crimson Tide by the grace of God."

Like many other Bama fans, I'm a graduate of other universities but have chosen to Roll with the Tide!
 

skeetertzx

New Member
Oct 25, 2010
14
0
0
I'm another fan that doesn't have a affiliation with the school. I became a fan due to great heritage around BAMA football. I do have BAMA to thank for the fact that I met my best buddy due to we both bleed crimson.
Posted via Mobile Device
 

sanjosecrimson

Hall of Fame
May 18, 2007
6,258
5,407
187
San Jose, California
I got my Bama orientation from my brother-in-law, a native Alabamian and alum. in fact, 4 of my family members at one time or another attended UA.

My brother and I are perhaps the biggest Bama fans in the Bay Area, California if not all Cali..:biggrin:

WE have been fans for well over 30 years. we have taken pride and joy converting our family and friends to love the Crimson Tide!!

I dare anybody to tell me that I can't be a fan of Alabama because I didn't attend the University!!

:BigA::BigA::BigA:
 

mikeincarolina

Scout Team
Sep 11, 2010
154
0
0
Wow!I'm glad you brought this topic up Playball!I left another site because of the alums looking down their noses.This place is really special....:biggrin:
 

Let's Roll Tide

1st Team
Sep 29, 2003
856
1
0
Denver, CO
I have no problem with people who support Bama, but have no personal affiliation with the school, so long as they are not fair weather fans. You have to love Bama at the top of the top and at the lowest of the low. If people just jump on board because Bama's on top, I have no use for them.

There is nothing worse than a bandwagon (fair weather) fan. :mad2:
I know what you mean. Here in Denver, we attend the alumni association's game watching parties. Back in 2005 when we moved here, I think the biggest one had about 30 people. Now that Alabama has won the National Championship, all of the sudden there are 250+ "diehard fans". Drives me crazy-where were all of these people during Dubose & Shula??

I agree w/Stacie, as long as you support Bama through thick & thin, then youre a fan. If not, go jump on the Boise bandwagon (really, does anyone go to school there?).

As for myself, I'm proud to say, I have undergrad & grad degrees from UA, as do my parents, grandparents (one also was on the Board of Trustees), and one great grandparent. I also grew up in T-town. :biggrin2:
 

judge9103

BamaNation Citizen
Jan 5, 2007
43
0
0
I pulled for Bama through my entire working life and immediately upon retirement enrolled in UA as a student and graduated with honors. I did this just for the enjoyment of it and have never regretted it eventhough I have never used my degree for any work purpose.

I'll never regret it even as I know that I was as much a Tidefan before the degree than after.
 

banjeaux

All-American
Jun 6, 2007
2,126
1
0
Slidell, Louisiana
My wife thinks its crazy that I'm obessed with the Tide especially since I never went to school there and don't live down there. Roll Tide from St. Louis!!!
You ain't crazy, playball. Scroll to bottom for my expert plan.

You have to love Bama at the top of the top and at the lowest of the low. If people just jump on board because Bama's on top, I have no use for them.

There is nothing worse than a bandwagon (fair weather) fan. :mad2:
Hmm. Yes, ma'am. Sometimes, it may be difficult to tell, 'til things go to heck.

Absolutely.
No snobbery or elitism in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
If you love the Tide, you have 102,000 friends.
102,000 fans at the stadium, plus hundreds of thousands more around the globe.

... born in Mobile, and when I was born, they stamped the Bama logo on my buttocks!:)
ROLL TIDE ROLL!
Is that you, Forrest?

You'll really laugh at this one; I've never been in Bryant-Denny Stadium. :blush:
No problem, BigAl. Put it at the top of your bucket list, even if you must go alone. You have lots of friends. Pick a game. Let me know. Perhaps, we can meet up. The spring game of '07 was my only time in B-D. Not sure if that counts. I did attend all games in Denny in '58. Plus, several Sugar Bowls and LSU, Tiger Stadium games.

Loving Bama is the strongest tie there is. You need nothing more.;)
Roll Tide, Brother!:BigA:
Indeed, Bamaboda1!

Okay, playball, back to your situation. You've received our resident Lucy's 5c worth of advice. Now, for my 2c.

Here's the plan. 1) Must plan way, way ahead. No spur of the moment, 'cause your wife needs to come with you, and ladies don't cotton to last minute stuff. Okay. Got that? Now, don't wait 'til she commits for sure, 'cause it will never happen. Way, way ahead might not fit her personality 2) Next, pick a game. One of the conference games, preferably. 3) Make room reservations and research game-day maps, info and hints. 4) Purchase tickets, ahead of time is best, when coming with your lady. Otherwise, research what tickets may cost and have cash readily available. 5) Make friends with TideFans. Read: Get invites to tailgates. Send pictures of yourself and wife to your tailgate hosts. (Note: This must be kept from your wife.) Your tailgate friends will take over and make you a Crimson Hero. Your wife will be Mrs. Crimson Hero.

I'm sure other TideFans have lots of additional hints. The key is that you must get her to the Capstone. That's where the Crimson Tide tailgates. That's where she will quit thinking you are obsessed and or crazy. Perhaps, Dr. Lucy will be in her office. :biggrin: OBTW, bring some skeptical friends. Impress them, too. Let 'em pay their own way, of course.
 
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AdrocknBama

BamaNation Citizen
Jun 4, 2008
62
0
25
Brandon, MS
I didn't attend the school and have lived in MS all my life. My dad and his side of the family are all from AL. I grew up getting Bama paraphernalia every year. I have always been teased by all the Ole Miss (I mean Bears haha) and MSU fans but you learn to get over it.
Heck, I have friends that graduated from UA and they see me as a more dedicated and hardcore fan than they are :biggrin2:
I say stick with it and RTR brotha!
 

tidefanbeezer

All-American
Sep 25, 2006
3,292
204
87
47
Atlanta, GA
I would venture a guess that the majority of Alabama fans (or any college fans for that matter) did not attend the university.

I don't care where you went to school, so long as you are a classy Bama fan.
 

RollinTider1335

All-SEC
Jun 12, 2010
1,460
0
0
Spring Hill, TN
I have no problem with people who support Bama, but have no personal affiliation with the school, so long as they are not fair weather fans. You have to love Bama at the top of the top and at the lowest of the low. If people just jump on board because Bama's on top, I have no use for them.

There is nothing worse than a bandwagon (fair weather) fan. :mad2:

I am glad you said this. I tell people I flew my Alabama flags on my car when we were 7-5 the same as when we were 12-0.

I think it's great if you are a fan whether you associated/attended UA or not. Just as long as it's the side you stick with, thick and thin.

I worked with a Tennessee fan and he said last year he was going to switch to be an Alabama fan. I told him I would never let him forget it! UT fans can't see 5 minutes past the hand in front of their face.
 

coosacrimson

1st Team
Dec 6, 2000
349
17
137
70
Alexandria, Louisiana
fatalityinc.com
You are what a few posters on here refer to as a "sidewalk alum" :)mad2:) - just like me. I've never attended UA - never had that opportunity - but I've been a fan for 40 years! I see you're not new to the board, so a "welcome" would not be in order, I guess. Anyway, bring your wife down for a game and tailgating, and I'm sure you'll be able to convert her. As you know, we take our football seriously! RTR!
Ditto and Ditto....
No one better tell me I can't root for my team!!!!! And if you don't want to hear it (in good times and bad) walk away, just walk away!!!!

Rolllll Tiiiide!!!!!!!
 

CapitalTider

All-American
Jun 8, 2004
2,798
0
0
Vienna, VA
It's good to see another Alabam fan from St. Louis on here. There are actually qiute a few here, a group has viewing parties but I haven't been real good about going out there.

I first heard the sidewalk fan thing from Barn fans during law school. My former room-mate, a Barn fan, tried to explain it to me in typical Barner fashion, a reasonable explanation with a dig at Alabama buried in there. His explanation was that since Alabama had had so much success in the past (like the Cowboys or Yankees), the school had a lot of fans who weren't alumni, he then went on to make typical derogatory comments about non-alumni fans, implying a superiority on the part of Auburn. I used to work for a CPA firm that did audits of a lot of lumber mills in south Alabama, so I asked him "so all those guys I used to see working in the saw mill with Auburn shirts and/or hats on were all graduates of AU? I guess their degrees weren't worth a whole lot, I guess it's a good thing you decided to attend Alabama so you can get a job.":biggrin2:

Stewart Mandel wrote a couple of times that people should support their undergraduate school over home town schools, etc. But I disagree with him on that. That may be true in some places, but it's true in Alabama, you're pretty much an Alabama fan or an Auburn fan from an early age. You usually have to pick in grade school, if you're parents haven't already indoctrinated you. Especially with the fans that grew up before UAB, UNA, USA, Jax State, etc. had programs (or if they had programs before people outside of students knew about such programs). I went to UAB undergrad, which did not have a football program at the time. Even if they had, I had grown up with Alabam football and I probably wouldn't have pulled for UAB over the Tide. I suppose Mandel would say that now I should pull for UAB over Alabama, but he's crazy on that point. Like others, I don't think attending the school is required to be a fan, we appreciate all fans. Heck, I have a post-graduate degree from Florida, and I only pull for the Gators against UT and UGA, I really hope they lose every other game.

I could see why people in Missouri would be confused though. Apparently high school is all they care about here, and I don't mean football. Most every other place I've lived (and there have been quite a few) when someone asks where you went to school, they mean college. Not here, they want to know where you went to high school. 95% of the people went to Catholic High Schools, and you have to apply to the different Catholic High Schools. Apparently, selection day in 8th grade is very important, and they don't really care about college. Most will go to Missouri, SLU or UMSL, unless you have enough money for Wash U. I was told that people use the high school thing to judge your social status, how much money your parents had, etc.

I've never been to a Mizzou game, I hear they are pretty fun and they have a good atmosphere. Even so, I just can't imagine it comparing to the atmosphere in Tuscaloosa.
 

crimsonpride61

Scout Team
Jan 2, 2003
128
0
0
64
Smiths Station,Al.
I am about 2 months away from my 50th birthday and can't remember not being a Bama fan, and I didn't go to college anywhere. I love my Tide.
It's funny because my son is now in his 1st year at Alabama and I had a barner tell me it was ok for me to pull for Bama now! I told them thanks:rolleyes:, now I can sleep at nights.:BigA:
 
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