How well do you know Alabama Football Traditions?

When someone thinks of The University of Alabama, the first thing that probably comes to mind is Alabama football. A program that includes 12 national championships, 25 conference championships, Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, Bryant-Denny Stadium, and many more traditions that make Alabama football so amazing. But, do you know where and when some of these names and traditions originated? Most people who claim to be die-hard Alabama football fans have probably never even thought about it.

The University was founded in 1831 and a year later football was introduced by a law student, William G. Little, who formed a 19-man team. Back then the team was known as the "Cadets”, "The Varsity”, or the “Crimson White" and was coached by E.B. Beaumont. Before becoming “The Crimson Tide” the team was called the “Thin Red Line”. Not much is written about how they received this nickname, but my guess would be the minimal amount of players combined with Alabama’s colors. So where did the nickname “The Crimson Tide” come from? It resulted from one of the biggest college rivalries in the country, the Auburn vs. Alabama game also known as “The Iron Bowl”. In 1907, Alabama was set to play the favorite to win the game, Auburn. Due to the weather that day, the entire game was played in a sea of red mud and somehow the “Thin Red Line” rose up, pulled out a tie, and the name “The Crimson Tide” was born thanks to a sports editor, Hugh Roberts. The name was soon popularized in many newspaper articles and it has stuck ever since.

On any given game day in Tuscaloosa you will hear a variety of cheers and chants including “Roll Tide Roll”, “Rammer Jammer Alabama”, and even a little “Sweet Home Alabama” to get the crowd pumped up and ready for Alabama football. But what would an Alabama football game be without “The Million Dollar Band”? Our band is the largest organization on the campus, including nearly 330 students, and is listed as one of the top three college bands in the nation. They began as a military band in 1914 but didn’t get their well-known name until nearly ten years later. So how did they become known as “The Million Dollar Band”? In 1922, the band was able to travel to games because of the many fundraisers they held and gathering money from local merchants. After traveling to Atlanta that year for the Alabama vs. Georgia Tech game, where the Tide was easily defeated by Tech, an Atlanta sportswriter commented to W.C. “Champ” Pickens, an Alabama alum, “You don’t have much of a team, what do you have at Alabama?” Pickens who wasn’t afraid to recognize their need for funds replied, “We have a Million Dollar Band.” Today, nothing gets the crowd more pumped up than the songs from The Million Dollar Band and their amazing half-time performances.

And finally, what would a college university be without a mascot? Alabama has a unique story about our beloved mascot; “Big Al”. “Big Al” was not selected because we liked elephants; he was given to us in 1930 during the Alabama vs. Ole Miss game. This Alabama team was coached by Wallace Wade, and was one of the best teams in college that year. The team was described as powerful, tough, and fast. A fan at the game exclaimed “Hold your houses, the elephants are coming”, referring to the powerful Crimson Tide team as they ran out onto the field. From that time on, the teams from all Alabama sports have adopted the elephant, “Big Al”, to represent their teams.

From first hand experience, I know that being at an Alabama football game is one of the most thrilling experiences a person can have. From the time the team steps onto the field for warm-ups until the Million Dollar Band plays “Rammer Jammer”, there is an upbeat and exciting atmosphere in the stadium that makes Bryant-Denny the place to be every Saturday. This incredible experience is only possible because of the many traditions that The University has created over the years. The chants and cheers of the crowd, our crazy mascot, the amazing band, and most of all the 12 time national championship football program that has led to so many of these traditions, are just a few of the things that make The University of Alabama such a great place to be a part of.