The Heart Of Alabama Football Is The Women Behind It

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I heard a comment this past week that burned my biscuits. Someone actually said, “Women don’t like football.” EXCUSE ME?!? In Alabama, Football Saturdays aren’t just another day—they’re full-blown EVENTS. From small towns to big cities, football binds communities—(and women are right there in the middle of it).

    We’ll coordinate our belts and handbag straps flawlessly, but we can also hold our own discussing RPOs, slant routes, or play-action passes. We can see a block in the back faster than a white-capped referee can signal the press box. Football here is drenched in tradition, and rites of passage on fields, and storytelling platforms recognized by two-word names like The QUAD, The Grove, or Death Valley.

    We’re armchair quarterbacks and wanna be cheerleaders, rednecks and white-collar workers, scientists and Southern Belles. We're marching bands and meat smokers with axles bigger than fifteen-passenger vans.

    When our team loses, we’re devastated. When coaches with storied careers retire, we call out "sick" for a period of mourning. When our favorite player is injured or enters "The Portal", we scream, curse, and are unbearable. (We may have even been known to throw a brick with a note attached through a window- just to get a point across).

But football also brings out the best in us.

For a few hours each Saturday, it's a glimpse into the best of humanity. We share traditions and tailgate food with friends and strangers. We no longer see black or white, and instead see Crimson or Blue. We laugh together and shake hands with perfect strangers. We smile more, high-five often, and hug harder. As soon as those moments are over, we look forward to doing it again next week. 

    As believers—that’s what we’re called to do. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, people will know that you’re my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13) Here’s to loving and believing in our teams and one another. May we strive for more touchdowns than turnovers in life because we are truly better by cheering one another on. 

You can hear Holli on the NEW 101.7 The River, afternoons, with DC & Brother Scott from 3-7 pm.