Livin' The Wood Life: Bama comes to town

Guest blogger again here. Erin is out of town for her cousin’s wedding as she previously posted so I thought it was a great opportunity to hijack her blog again. The last time I posted was almost a year ago so obviously I didn’t get the “blog bug” like a lot of people have. I was a bit philosophical in the last post so I think I will take a different approach this time with something a little lighter that we are excited about for this weekend!

Things have been pretty busy around here getting ready for this weekend. We have a pretty big weekend planned and have been looking forward to it for years. Yes, that’s right, I said YEARS! Ever since Duke and Alabama announced they would be playing a series back in 2004 or 2005 we have been really excited about them coming to Durham to play. The first game in the series was played on October 7, 2006 when the stadium was a mere 92,000 (now it’s over 100,000 with the new expansion). I was lucky enough to play in that game which was a big deal since I have grown up going to Alabama football games my whole life.

My dad played there from ‘69-‘72 when Bear Bryant was the coach. Since they just finished the expansions to the stadium and to celebrate the National Championship Alabama had all of the former football players come down on the field before the first game which was pretty cool.

The Alabama connection doesn’t stop there, however. My sister, Rachel, went to Alabama for college and met her husband, Jeff, while they were in school. The funny connection between Rachel and Jeff is that both of their/our dads played together at Alabama! Rachel and Jeff are currently on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ at Alabama and love living in Tuscaloosa. Another Alabama football connection is that my cousin, Charles (Dad’s side), played there a couple of years ago. We actually played against each other when Duke played Alabama in 2006. My other cousins, William and Julia, also currently go to school at Bama. So, as you can see there are plenty of Alabama connections in this family truly making it a divided household!

Since Duke traveled to Tuscaloosa in 2006, a return game was scheduled for 2010 in Durham. My parents, sister, and brother-in-law are all coming up for the game this weekend. We have a tailgate planned and will be having a good time before the game with all of the pre-game festivities. We’re hoping for a great game regardless of the fact that Duke is 24 point underdogs! The game starts at 3:30 and will be televised by ABC.

Some pictures from the 2006 game in Tuscaloosa:

The whole crew before the game (from left):
Dad, Mom, Aunt Lisa, Grandparents, William, Samuel, Jeff, Rachel, Jeff's Parents