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The Alabama Game and the ATVS Family

By Richard Pittman

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.

  1. We don't really talk about it during game week.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. The child does not dress up in either Alabama or LSU gear for the game.
  5. 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.