Lollapalooza in Tuscaloosa

   It is being called "The Game of the Century."  Saturday night's matchup of SEC rivals Louisiana State University versus the University of Alabama is receiving more attention that any sports matchup in recent memory.  It is not very often that NCAA Football sees a game where the #1 ranked teams faces the #2 ranked team.  There is a lot of history amongst these storied programs, as well as a lot of bad blood.  Most recently, Nick Saban, heralded as the most dominant coach in college football, walked out on LSU to captain the Tide.  The hopes and dreams of two states are riding on this game.
   Being from Massachusetts, I did not understand just how big college football was in certain parts of the country until the summer of 2010.  I spent that summer living in Orange Beach, Alabama, working on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.  Every person there was either a die-hard Alabama or Auburn fan.  Every rear windshield sported a giant sticker boldly displaying who the driver supported.  Orange Beach is a beautiful city right on the Gulf Coast, nicknamed "Redneck Riviera," it draws crowds from all the over the south.  When Texas, Tennessee, or Ole Miss fans would come to town, they would be heckled by the Auburn and Bama fans.  People literally live and breathe college football in this part of the country.
     The only comparison I can make is that tomorrow night's game is like the Red Sox playing the Yankees in game 7 on the NLCS.  The winner is almost definitely going to play for the BCS championship.  This rivalry is greater though because they are evenly matched over the years and no one has dominated, while unfortunately the Yankees have won 27 World Series compared to the Sox 7.   The Southeastern Conference has controlled the BCS recently and these two teams further strengthen this.  They are leaps and bounds ahead of the other top 10 teams and there are even a few sports writers discussing that if they play each other well tomorrow that they could possibly still face one another in the BCS championship.
      I have not been this excited for a sports game, let alone a college football game, since the Celtics were in the Finals against the Lakers.  The biggest factor is that the game is being played at Bryant-Denny Stadium and the Crimson Tide are 25-1 here in their last 26 games.  Both teams are coming off of a bye week and Nick Saban cannot be stopped when he has had an extra week of preparation.  The Tide will Roll.