SEC Championship

What a birthday! The only way this one could have been better was if my family had been there with me, oh and maybe I win the lottery with the tickets I bought on the way home. We arrived in Atlanta around 3pm Friday. As we waited for other friends to arrive we stood on the balcony overlooking Baker Street and listened as the Gator fans yelled and taunted us. Our hotel was full of Gator fans. We took it all in, knowing after the game we would have our fun.

Our other friends arrived and we left for the Hudson Grill. We call a taxi and give the driver the address and name of the place, She drives and drives as we watch the meter increase with every minute. We arrive at the Hudson Grill in Buckhead where we believe there to be a Pep Rally complete with cheerleaders, Big Al and the like. We pay the taxi driver 35 bucks! The place was full of Bama fans, however it was not as crowded as we expected. We asked the hostess about the Pep Rally and she says it's at the other Hudson Grill! What??? Have we been duped? The taxi driver spoke her best spanglish but obviously did not understand our directions.

Frustrated but not deterred we call yet another taxi. This time the guy takes us straight there. The place was packed and we were hungry. We knew we would not get anything to eat waiting on the "beeper" to go off that would signal our table was ready. We made our way to the balcony where we found a waitress without much to do. She takes our order and we eat in the frigid Atlanta air.

We get up Saturday morning and make our way to the Innisfree Tailgate party by gate A.

We froze to death for several hours until we decided to go the the Conference center and visit SEC Fanfare. Once again, packed with obnoxious Gator fans!

We got to see Bergwood!

Game time brought excitement. As the fans made their way to their seats I wondered where all the Gator fans were. The Bama seats were filled at least 30 minutes before game time. I got to see my wife's Aunt and Uncle whom I had no idea would be there. I also noticed fans of other Schools had made the game. Auburn, South Carolina, Miami and even a pack of Penn State fans were in attendance.

As we held Florida to 3 and out on the first possession, I thought to myself, this thing is over! Alabama totally dominated Florida in every aspect of the game. I now know why we struggled against auburn. Maybe the team thought auburn would be easy like the 2008 contest. Maybe they had their minds on ripping the Gators apart. Whatever the case Alabama is the best team in the country and has been all year and will be after we play the Longhorns in Pasadena California on January 7th 2009.

I noticed toward the end of the 3rd quarter the gator fans had left the building amid the chants "go home gators" and "Tebow", "Tebow", "Tebow" as they showed Timmy crying on the jumbo tron.

It's over Gators. You had a nice run but it is Alabama's turn now! We have a tradition of winning at Alabama, more so than any other school in the country. Our recent success is made even sweeter by knowing all the turmoil the program has gone through. Coaches like Mike Price, Dennis Franchone and Mike Dubose have left the program in a state of disarray. I have a feeling we will enjoy much more success in the coming years!

After the game we returned to our room! Still no Gator's! They had turned in or left town! We ordered a pizza and watched the Texas vs. Nebraska game!

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!