Fall Classic

With Thanksgiving and Black Friday behind us, it is back to work. I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Mine was spent with dear friends who took mercy on a bachelor that was “home alone” for the holiday.

Leftovers! Is there any thing more satisfying than a turkey sandwich, stuffing with gravy and a piece of pecan pie as you kick back and get consumed by the best of home town college football rivalries. I guess you could argue that each rivalry, in it’s own right, is the “best” but for sake of discussion I would have to say there is no greater battle than the Auburn vs. Alabama “Iron Bowl”!! This year’s game was no exception. For Auburn fans it was heartbreak and for Alabama fans it was a heart attack. The emotion that surrounds this game is nothing short of a religious fervor.

I have no greater memories than those being on the sidelines photographing the last four years of Bear Bryant’s Alabama football career. I can honestly say there was nothing more mesmerizing than to be in his presence. Arguably, he was the greatest college football coach of all time. I stood in awe every week, mesmerized with hundreds of other photographers as he leaned on the goal post watching the Tides pre-game warm-up. It was a spectacle of infectious proportions. I was fortunate enough to be at 315 and fortunate enough to be in Memphis for his very last game. His influence on the game we so cherish today is unmistakable.

Sometimes you have to look behind to see and appreciate what lies ahead … Paul “Bear” Bryant in post game interview after the 1971 Iron Bowl, “I know one thing, I’d rather die now than to have died this morning and missed this game.”