Ram Jam Part 2

Saturday- I barely slept Friday night in excitement for Saturday – Bame gameday.  We woke up and decided to stop by Chick-Fil-A and Starbucks for some much needed coffee and chicken biscuit minis before heading to the soccer field.  Saturday was filled with Alumni activities.  When we arrived to the complex Tates gave us our alumni gift.  First of all, let me say how extremely nice it is that they even give us a gift.  Second of all, the gist was AMAZING – a gray or black Nike pullover half zip that has the Alabama A and soccer in the corner.  I will probably wear it every day, so if you see some girl out and about wearing it, it’s most likely me (and/or NG).  We started out Saturdays festivities by playing an alumni scrimmage.  I was extremely nervous to play since my knee is not what it used to be, but at the same time I really did want to play (also I was semi dying to prove to PR that I could actually play soccer and was once pretty decent).  So we played for about 30 minutes and it was so much fun – it started out as a friendly, fun game and then slowly started becoming more and more competitive.  If you are an athlete you’ll understand that it’s all fun and games until you start losing.  Mine and NG’s team ended up winning and we both scored goals! After the game NG and I decided to hop in the cold tubs because our legs were already starting to feel sore…yup 5 minutes after I was done playing and my legs were shot.   I would share pictures of this, however, I think PR was too distracted by my amazing foot skills since he forgot to take any pictures.

After the alumni game, a few of us quickly showered and got ready for the day.  I bought my game day dress approximately two months ago, so I was so excited to finally wear it.  Naturally, it was houndstooth print.  The Bama coaches and staff organized the most delicious BBQ from Moe’s for all of us girls – a full spread of pulled pork, mac and cheese, corn casserole, dips, banana pudding, and more.  We all ate, listened to Coach Bramble give a great speech, and drank a few drinks before heading out.  Tates was nice enough to drive us in the limo golf cart to Gallettes – the most famous bar in Tuscaloosa – for some much needed Yellow Hammers.  If you are not familiar with Yellow Hammers, let me fill you in: YH’s are the most delicious drink in Tuscaloosa (next to sweet tea).  They are basically pineapple juice, orange juice, rum, and vodka, and probably another ingredient I’m forgetting.  They arrive in a Gallettes yellow cup that you get to keep.  Since this month is best cancer awareness, the YH’s arrived in pink cups! Obvi I took home about 5 cups for my apartment! 

Photo shoot in the locker room?? Why not!

More photo fun...

Ridin dirty through tuscaloosa....literally through and over everything in sight

This is Gallettes at night, with no one there..next door is the campus party store where you can buy any and all alcohol needed

Tailgating fun at Gallettes- please note the pink Yellow Hammer cups

Ohhhhhh the stack of cups....

Upon entering Gallettes you receive a sticker that says "I got Yellow Hammered at Gallettes"

We spent about 3 ½ hours at Gallettes – saying hi to friends, catching up, enjoying the weather – then PR, NG, SP, and I headed to meet some more friends and pick up BIG BAD WOLF!!!!! Ok so if you are not familiar with Big Bad Wolf, let me explain: BBW sells barbeque but only on game weekends.  They set up their tent on the patio of a bar on the strip and they open on Friday night and close usually late Saturday night when they run out of pulled pork.  I only get one thing from there, the pulled pork nachos – nacho chips topped with melty cheese, pulled pork, jalapenos, and pour it yourself barbeque sauce.  These nachos are what I imagine to be little slices of heaven.

I miss these nachos already...guaranteed the best you'll ever have!

Gangs all here!!!

After BBW, PR and I walked (literally around the ENTIRE stadium) to will call to pick up our football tickets.  I bought tickets through the Bama alumni group, so thankfully we were surrounded by all of my friends to the game.  I’ve only ever sat in the student section, so it was really fun to see the game from a different perspective.  The game against Arkansas was a blow out, so by the end of the 3^rd quarter PR and I decided to leave (side note: I actually asked him to because my cute game day dress turned out to be inappropriate for the nights cold weather and became very cold).  On our way to another bar in the area, I snagged a cute koozie, croakies, and the CUTEST Bama sweatshirt (pics tomorrow)! We met back up with the #clubBangerz, Tates and a few other soccer alums at another fun bar called Innisfree.  We stayed there and watched the end of the Bama game, Ole Miss game, and Clemson/FSU game – all of which were equally surprising!  The #clubBangerz had a flight on Sunday at 7:00am, which meant they had to leave the hotel at 5:00am.  So, we all headed back to the hotel for the night. Oh and I can’t forget to mention that PR was DYING to stop by Krystal (???????) for some late night burgers.  Of all places, that’s what he wanted. After throwing up from the sight of Krystal, I’ll admit I may or may not have eaten a burger or two….and some fries! (he ended up buying the combo meal which consisted of 12 burgers, two fries, and two sweet teas so there was a lot to go around)

Game Time!!

Such a pretty stadium!!!

Murica + UA + Football

These are Krystal burgers...

 On Sunday we decided to just continue our habit of nonstop eating (hey, don’t judge it was vacation).  After checking out of the hotel we went to another great breakfast spot, Waysider, for some country cooking.  Waysider is the cutest, little red house that is always PACKED on Sundays. The inside is lined with all Bama gear and paraphernalia.  PR and I split biscuits and gravy, sausage, grits, and hash browns.  After breakfast we headed to church and hoped for a Nick Saban sighting, but not this time. After a f ew prayers, we decided to do a little more shopping for some more Bama gear and also visited the brand new Amphitheatre – word is the Backstreet Boys recently performed there.  The shopping left us hungry again, so we decided to stop by Newks to pick up lunch before heading to the soccer game.  Unfortunately, Bama lost to Kentucky but it was really fun to watch them play.  We decided that since the Birmingham airport doesn’t really have food options there, we picked up Jason’s Deli to go for a quick dinner at the airport (side note: we were all too busy stuffing our faces with the free ice cream that when we walked out of Jasons, at separate times for some reason, none of us actually grabbed the food to go.  (Oh and PR went to get another ice cream cone, dropped the ice cream all over the floor and then simply ran out of the restaurant) 

Waysider

Inside Waysider...the only dining area

Newk's pizza is so delish!

The Tuscaloosa trip was so much fun, one that I really will never forget.  If you are ever lucky enough  to make a trip down there for a game weekend I highly recommend it.  Can’t wait for the next reunion weekend in two years, you guys!