When I became an Alabama fan

Many of you might be wondering why I am a big Alabama fan, me being from Ogden.  The truth is I haven’t always been an Alabama fan.  When I was little I knew next to nothing about Alabama, and I was doing the unheard of as a BYU fan and I was rooting for Utah in the 2009 Sugar Bowl where the Utes beat the Crimson Tide 31-17 concluding their undefeated season.  Alabama was just another school to me that was in the SEC that I never seemed to care about.  That all changed on April 7^th 2010.

On that day, I received my mission call to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Alabama, Birmingham Mission.  I was really excited to serve and because I would be going there, I decided that I would look into Alabama Football.  I remembered watch the National Championship earlier that year between Alabama and Texas and I was happy when Alabama won 37-21 but I never thought it would have meaning to where I would spend two years of my life starting later that year. 

When I first got to Alabama, I was kind of shell shocked as to what to do and at all the differences. I mean there were no mountains, trees everywhere and the humidity was so strong I could hardly walk from the house we were staying at to our car without breaking out in a sweat.  As time went on though, I really came to love the people there and that is what contributed to my devotion to Alabama Football.  The first area I served in was a place called Cullman.  It is about midway between Birmingham and Huntsville for those of you who know at least the major cities in Alabama.  While there, I really loved the atmosphere and the people.  Days were long especially on a Saturday when Alabama was playing but it was still worth it.  Although I could never watch an Alabama game, many members of the ward would update me and my companion on how the game went and especially how they were going to kill Auburn later in the year. 

At Christmas, we were invited over to spend the day with a family of die-hard Bama fans.  This guy never missed a game, whether home or away and he was always vocal about his favorite team.  He was a very active member of the church and he loved the missionaries.  So on Christmas, he got me and my companion our own Alabama Sweatshirt, T-Shirt, Clock, and Hat.  It was really awesome to receive such great gifts from this great family. 

Overall the mission went great, and as far as the football atmosphere goes, Alabama is one the best states for football.  It seems like the entire state shuts down for a big game, especially a rivalry game.  Alabama has won the National Championship 2 of the last 3 years (Auburn won the other one).  I will definitely be cheering for Alabama for the National Championship. Not because I am a bandwagon jumper, I owe my devotion to Alabama to my mission.