The Alabama Game and the ATVS Family

by Richard Pittman on Nov 4, 2009 6:07 AM CST in Football Comment 11 comments

This is something of a big week for LSU. The Alabama game has always been a little bit special for LSU fans, especially in the years in which the Ole Miss rivalry was somewhat dormant. Then the Nick Saban thing made it take off into the stratosphere.

But on a personal note, I live in Tuscaloosa. I am married to an Alabama fan. We fight constantly for the soul of our child, me in hopes that she will choose good over evil, her in hopes of seducing her to the temptations of evil. I work mostly with Bama fans, but with the occasional Auburn fan thrown in. My friends here are mostly Bama fans, with the occasional disinterested hippie thrown in.

That makes this a particularly strange week in the ATVS household. How do a Bama fan and an LSU fan get through a week like this. Well, Mrs. ATVS and I have been together now for over 7 years and married for over 5, so we've developed some survival strategies.

We don't really talk about it during game week.
If we're both at home when the game is on, we mostly sit in silence watching it, so neither one of us aggravates the other with our demonstrations of joy or sadness.
Twice in our relationship (2002 and 2003), we were both at the stadium when the game was played. We were sitting in the Alabama section of Tiger Stadium in 2002 when they killed us, and we were sitting in the student section of Bryant-Denny in 2003 when we killed them. I was there in 2005 when we beat them in overtime on a Jamarcus Russell touchdown pass to Dewayne Bowe, but she was not there. In the stadium, it's more or less the same as when we're at home. Don't say very much. Be kind to those around you.
The child does not dress up in either Alabama or LSU gear for the game.
Everyone's respectful to each other after the game. At least, our words are respectful. I can't say anything for our thoughts.

This year will be no different. We're both going to be at home, watching the game. One of us will be very upset when it's over, but we'll manage to make it to the next day.

One day, Little Miss ATVS is going to make her decision about who she really will root for. The dynamic will change a lot that day.

Poll

Marry an Alabama fan. Could you?

Yes, there is more to life than football.

91 votes

Yes, because I am self-loathing.

26 votes

Yes, because I don't care about football at all, and I don't know why I even read this blog.

4 votes

No, football is too important.

92 votes

213 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 11 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I Are One

I’m married to a UGA girl and made the mistake of taking her to Tiger Stadium for her first game last year. Very poor planning on my part!

That’s what we get for marrying Canaanite women!

Oh, don’t surrender your child to the dark side, that would be too much!!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

by SouthernMan on Nov 4, 2009 6:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I Fathered One...

Our daughter is a UGA grad. She and her husband live just an hour away. We are cordial the week of and the week after the game. That brings us to our grandson who will be celebrating his first Christmas this year. There WILL BE LSU gear for him under OUR tree this year. Not so sure that will be the case at their house.

by Tiger6367 on Nov 4, 2009 7:24 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I have a little perspective on this...

Because I’m married to an Auburn fan. And I’m not talking about some girl who casually waves a shaker and cheers, I’m married to a yell at the TV, read message boards, never miss a game type Auburn fan. And since I attended LSU from 2000-2004, my formative fan years were spent hating Auburn. We live in Huntsville so I am outnumbered by the general population, but more importantly my inlaws. We’ve watched the LSU-AU game together every year since 2005 with the exception of 2008 when we both were in Jordan Hare Stadium but didn’t sit next to each other.

Since 2006, the games have been really easy to handle since Auburn has generally been an underdog. If the games had the same implication now as they did prior to 2007, it would be a lot harder to handle. These days we can bond through our mutual hatred of Alabama. We received tickets to the LSU-Alabama game as a wedding present this year. I’ll be wearing purple and gold, and she’ll be wearing orange in blue in Bryant-Denney.

by LSU Jonno on Nov 4, 2009 8:08 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Luckily....

… my girlfriend went to Houston for undergrad and Bowling Green for grad school. so aside from her love of Urban Meyer (she HAD to go there the one year he was BGSU’s coach), there’s no college conflict. She now roots for LSU (favorite player: Chad Jones, because she’s a bigger fan of baseball than football… hell, Jones is her favorite player on the baseball team as well)

My problem is in pro sports. She roots for the Colts. I’m from Baltimore. I hate the Colts so much that I literally toasted Bob Irsay’s death. She loves Peyton Manning and we watch every Colts game every week (which I guess is payback for my control of the TV on Saturday). I hate the Colts. They ruined my childhood. This is killing me.

Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com

by Poseur on Nov 4, 2009 8:34 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Light Hearted posts like this

Almost make me feel bad for the hate I love to unleash this week. But then I once asked Tyson Jackson to bring me John Parker Wilson’s head on a plate.

by Billy Gomila on Nov 4, 2009 9:00 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Ping

That’s the sweet sound of being married to an LSU fan. Ya’ll just make sure to raise your kids right, otherwise you end up like my uncle with 2 kids who went to U of Maryland.

by janepriceestrada on Nov 4, 2009 9:58 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

This is why you need to do what I did

and meet my fiance in the student section of Death Valley. Only arguments we have is who deserves to be hated more

I'm proud of my damn strong football team. Have a great day!

by Mikethetiger on Nov 4, 2009 11:16 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Well, I'm a Bama fan/student

but i’ve been in a 5 year long relationship with a very die-hard Auburn fan and graduate. She’s getting her masters at Bama, and we have a similar, don’t taunt only discuss policy when it comes to football, but some of my friends aren’t so obliging. We both go to games, and we both have all our attention focused on the field and we root for our teams, just not against the other team if that makes since. She did have to leave the student section shortly before the end of the game (we don’t leave games early under normal circumstances) before rammer jammer after the 36-0 loss because she couldn’t handle it and I wasn’t going to let 6 years of frustration be denied.

by 1st and 15 on Nov 4, 2009 11:37 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Not related to the family issue

But I don’t know if you saw this on ESPN.com. It’s really interesting, especially in regards to our offensive line getting stronger as the game goes on. They even make the point that we could have success by running the ball in the second half, that we could actually wear down Bama.
http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/insider/news/story?id=4621973

Here’s the part I was referencing

Keep running in the second half:

LSU was supposed to be a stout rushing team this year, and while it hasn’t necessarily worked out that way with Charles Scott rushing for just 459 yards (4.5 per carry) in 2009, poor blocking has not necessarily been the culprit. LSU’s offense ranks just 54th in rushing S&P+, but ranks 40th in line yards+ (also known as adjusted line yards, a measure of the ability of the offensive line). After the first quarter, in which their offensive line yards+ ranks just 79th, the Tigers improve, ranking 16th in the second quarter and 21st in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Alabama’s defensive line yards+ regresses as the game advances, from second and ninth in the first and second quarters, to 42nd and 41st in the third and fourth quarters. If LSU can keep things close enough to avoid must-pass situations in the second half, the Tigers could see their rushing output improve rather significantly.

by Ianoka on Nov 4, 2009 7:47 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

No vote 'cause I am a Bama fan

When my girlfriend (at the time) told me that she was choosing between Tennessee, Bama, Auburn, and Samford when I was a freshman at UA, I told her that I was going to marry an Alabama girl. Hearing that Tennessee girl yell Roll Tide for the first time was what prompted me to go buy the ring.

Lee Corso: How would you describe tailgating at Alabama?
Kirk Herbstreit: Barbecue and Ralph Lauren

by animalcracker on Nov 5, 2009 9:43 PM CST reply actions 0 recs