Good Morning USA!
Does everyone remember what some of my favorite things are? Football and autumn - that's right!! Anybody else wonder why football is SO popular (and, if I may say so, so awesome) in the South? Well, I think I can add some perspective to that age-old question.
First of all, if you grow up in the South, Fall (or the more snooty, Autumn) just has to be your favorite time of year. Oh, I know, people north of that imaginary and divisive Mason-Dixon line get all excited about Spring, and even I will admit that Spring is a very nice season. But Spring cannot hold her tender green head up against that most wonderous of all times, Fall. You see, up North people get all excited about Spring, because they have been trapped in indoor pursuits for several months because it was so dang cold outside. No golfing, no swimming, no lots of things. So, naturally, when the first buds pop out on trees, it is new life to those folks.
Let's consider fall in contrast. If you grew up in the South when I did, your more sedentary and "stay inside" times tended to be the heat of the summer. I remember after supper (that's dinner to you non-South readers), we'd go and sit on the front porch at my grandma's house. It served a couple of purposes. One, it gave the kitchen and house time to cool down from the heat of cooking. It gave us time to wind down after the typical big meal. And, it gave the community a chance to slow down before "retiring for the evening". Summer day scheduled often reflected the ebbs and flows of the temperatures. Get up early and get chores done - so one could do them before it "got so hot".
So, I've always thought Fall is to the South what Spring is to the North - a time of renewal, of getting active outside again, of shaking off the doldrums of the "indoor life" of summer. On that first September morning, when you get up and there is just a tiny bit of indication that the weather is going to be milder that day, it is like rebirth to me. And then one day, I'll just "smell it" - there'll be a subtle change in the air - a little drier and a little cooler - and I'll know the wait is over. Fall is here.
The BEST possible day in a week of Fall days is a Saturday. There are many reasons, but not the least of which are Football and hunting. I, myself, have never been much for hunting. First, I don't like having my shoulder look like a piece of raw meat following a late-afternoon sessions down by a watering hole for dove. Second, I don't even like to EAT dove!! In my family, hunting wasn't just for sport, though. It was to put food on the table - and in the Fall daddy was out stocking the freezer with dove, quail, and venison.
The weekend, for me, was for football. On Friday nights, in small towns across America, a small "civil war" is re-enacted as the young men on one small town fight the young men from a different small town for honor, courage and most importantly, braggin' rights. You heard me - it is a far happier soul who finds themselves attached by birth, attendance or general proximity to a team who can boast of more victories than losses any given "season". And, if all the stars align properly and the coach is going to be around much longer, the said young men may advance the cause of the entire community into a "play-off" berth, bringing even greater glory to the followers (aka fans) of their fight to the finish. And, then, for the fortunate and happy few - you may have a team you love playing at the next level on a crisp and gorgeous Saturday afternoon. I know that not everyone was a blessed as I to have been privileged to watch my faithful soldiers (the Florida Gators) enter the field of competition on a Fall afternoon. I was first given the privilege of attending these quests, these "Fields of Cloth" in the late 50's and early 60's. Thank you, Daddy!!!
I want to paint the picture for your imagination here of a big game day at Florida Field in, oh, 1962. Florida Field is positioned so that the end-zones are North and South. In those days, the south end-zone was pretty much open bleachers - those were the "cheap seats". The East Stands were for the students - after all, they deserve to cheer for their warriors as part of their education, right? The West Stands were for the alumni and Gator boosters who could afford the favor afforded them by making regular donations to the "cause" of the land of the Gators! My daddy's boss was a booster, and so he would get the tickets through his connections. We sat on about the 35 yard line and about half-way up. You can tell a lot, in a Southern football stadium, about a person's rank in the community about where their football seats are located. Back then, we loved our Gators, but in a more civilized and formal way. Ladies would arrive wearing their Sunday best clothes. If they were especially lucky, they would be sporting a corsage made from a giant chysanthemum blossom and festooned with the team colors in ribbons and bows. It was especially important to have such a corsage on Homecoming day. Gentlemen wore suits, or at least a nice pair of pants and shirt. The ladies would climb to their seats in great peril of a nasty fall due to the footwear required - HEELS!! Somewhere into the second quarter, someone in a seat around you would have consumed all the beverage in their hip flask or their cane with a special compartment and would become obnoxious. This was considered in very poor taste, bless their hearts!
Well, on a good day, your warriors would emerge victorious and that warm, happy feeling would follow you on the long walk to your car and even on the drive back home. You'd see other happy fans, waving their pennants and saying "this could be our year!". More about that later. It was a Roman Circus day, Southern style.
Gradually, as other parts of custom and etiquette relaxed, so did the dress code for the Big Saturday Game. Some clever entrepreneurs were ready to provide trendy and colorful garb for the happy fans to wear. It was more practical, really, because wearing a fancy dress or suit to a football stadium on a September saturday is just asking to have it stained with perspiration or baptized in bourbon. I like the new t-shirs, shorts, crazy flip-flops, cool color-coordinated sundresses, etc. that can be seen on any given Saturday at a Southern football game. Orange and Blue - so beautiful.
The Modern Gator Fan - TailGATORING before the Troy State Game with my cousins L-R, Larry, Janice, Cecil and the small one is Nolan.
Over the years, the Gators scratched and fought in the SEC (Southeastern Conference for you non-football addicts). Most years were decent - the scales balanced toward more wins than losses, but never quite enough to be the SEC Champs. All that would change when I former Gator Warrior returned home to lead his troops to victory. I'll tell you more about that next time.
