Missing the South: College Football

I love college football.  I love the SEC.  I love weekends spent in Auburn or Oxford cheering on my Tigers and Rebels! I love game days spent in the grove with my family and friends.  I always loved tailgating in Auburn at my friend's family's tailgate.  I love Tiger Walk and Walk of Champions and rolling Toomer's Corner. I love breakfasts grabbed on the square at Bottletree Bakery before heading to tailgate in the grove

And, honestly, as silly as it may sound to some, I'm feeling a little blue and a bit homesick this week because Football starts and I won't be there! And, at this moment, I have no plans to be there at all this year unless I can squeeze a game day trip in later this fall.  COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS HUGE WHERE I AM FROM, SO MISSING A FOOTBALL SEASON IS ALMOST LIKE MISSIG A HOLIDAY. And, for those who didn't grow up with college football as such a big part of your lives, this sadness probably doesn't make sense...but it is a HUGE part of my life that is changing this fall.

In the South, College Football...

....is one of my family's main hobbies, way to bond, and way to spend time togethers. We have so many memories of weekends spent in Oxford, so many pictures, so many traditions, etc.

....is something that the SOUTH does best.  In a country that hates on the South, full of people who automatically assume we're lacking in many ways, I LOVE that when it comes to football, there is article after article about the SEC and how dominant it is, about how tailgating in  the South is SUPREME, about how football Saturdays in  the south is like no other place in AMERICA.

....signals fall in the South. Trust me, if there was no college football, we wouldn't know it's fall til the end of October.  College football signals a time for mums, fall colors, the -ber months, and occasionally a slight breeze. (It does finally cool of by late October/early November!)

....introduces the BEST time of the year: football weekends then the HOLIDAYS!

....was one of the predominant ways in overcoming racism.  Integration in Sports helped integration in life.

...is a way to escape, atleast it is for me.  If you had a rough week or if you have a rough summer or fall, every week you get to tune out and focus on football! True, I don't think you should always tune out of reality, but we all need a break at times, and checking out to watching football is probably a lot better than other forms of "checking out."

....unites you with others.  I believe in AUBURN. I love what the school stands for. I like the spirit of overcoming and desire to work hard. I like standing there and cheering on our tigers with a group of people who feel as I do.

....is a form of hospitality.  WALK AROUND the grove and you will likely be invited into someone else's tent to tailgate.  You will run into someone you know or meet someone new and be invited in.  The South is known for hospitality, particularly my home state of Mississippi, and tailgates at various schools are a huge vehicle for southerners to show hospitality to others!!


CREATING NEW TRADITIONS

When we were planning to move, we assumed it would be Alabama, most likely Birmingham. One of the biggest pros for Birmingham (for me, atleast) was it's proximity to Auburn (1.5 - 2 hrs) and Oxford (2.5 -3 hrs).  I had visions in my head of football saturdays, tailgates, season tickets and eventually children in cheerleading uniforms and jerseys!

DC was our first choice of places to move (so we were thrilled when we got the chance), BUT one of the top items on the con list was the lack of proximity to SEC football :(  And, so, we are having to come up with alternative ways to enjoy gamedays and "pluses" to being away.

My main plus is COLLEGE GAMEDAY on ESPN. I usually only get to watch a portion of the show, if any, because I am headed to a game. Now we can leisurely watch the pregame show while doing chores.  Another plus is the ability to watch a LOT of games.  That only happened on the Saturdays I stayed in Jackson. ALSO, I love the idea of going to a sports bar to watch a game.  I haven't done that but once or twice since law school.  I usually fill up on tailgate food on gamedays and never sit down for a real meal, so I am excited to cook chili and hamburgers and hotdogs and other "football watching" meals.  I'm eager to plug in with the Auburn, Ole Miss and MSU (yes, its true, but I did marry a grad!) DC alum groups and going to their respective sports bars to watch the games, maybe meet some other alums! 

So, it will be different, BUT even so, we are planning to celebrate this upcoming weekend, beginning with hotdogs, beer and chips for the Ole Miss v Vandy game this THURSDAY!! (yes folks, 4 days til college football!!!!)  I already have an Ole Miss decorative hanger in my kitchen and an Auburn hanger on the front door.  I even unpacked some of my gameday clothes last week! 

so it will be DIFFERENT, BUT STILL GOOD. I can't help but be excited because even in DC, it's football season! WAR EAGLE AND HOTTY TODDY!

Oh, and luckily, I still have my favorite football date.... (and yes, that's an ole miss hat in the pic below...when you are planning to ask someone for his daughter's hand in marriage in the near future and that same person hands you an Ole Miss cap to wear to the game, you wear it !!!)