My Experience at Alabama
Reagan Perry
©
Copyright 2022 by Reagam Perry
|
Photo
by Jimmy
Conover on Unsplash |
Have
you ever been to a place that you’ve never been before? I went
to Alabama for a football game on October 7, 2022 with my parents. It
was a long 8 hours of a Friday, but it was so worth it. We stopped at
Texas Best Smokehouse to get snacks, drinks, and decorations. On our
way to Tuscaloosa , Alabama , we listened to Taylor Swift, 90s
Alternative , and Modest Mouse. A hotel was booked in advance , and
whenever we got there to check in, they said that the hotel had been
trying to call us for a week saying that our room was given up. So in
response, we had to drive all the way to Birmingham to get a new
hotel room. After we got settled, we went to eat at Slice Pizza . The
pizza was very charred, smokey, and delicious.
On
Saturday, the game would start at 7 PM . We got dressed, ate
breakfast downstairs, and then headed out to the stadium. Whenever we
got there, we were welcomed by men screaming profanities at us, Texas
A&M. Our team beat them 41-38 in 2021 with a field goal, so we
were all hoping to win this time, as well. Yet, we didn’t. We
took the loss home with us to Texas, and now whenever we play them
again, we are certainly going to win.
Instead
of going into the stadium,we went into the Alabama Student Center to
see if there’d be a bookstore there. Instead of a bookstore, we
found a room full of LGBTQ+ stuff. Flags, newspapers, photos, and
handouts. It was amazing, considering that I am part of the
community. After that , we went downstairs to the merch store. I got
an Alabama tie dye shirt, pom poms, wrist bands, and shakers for the
game.After we bought our stuff, we walked around through the little
area where the Denny Tower is. We got food at Full Moon
Bar-b-Que's food truck. As we were walking to the stadium, we
were verbally attacked by all of the cruel Alabama fans. They kept
telling us to go to hell, and that Jimbo was a piece of “poop”
that deserved to die.
Once
we got into the stadium, we went to find our seats. They were at the
top. The very top. It would be a workout just to go up the stairs, so
for an hour, my dad was on Ticketmaster trying to get us new seats. I
was very impatient and I didn’t know what we were going to do.
All of a sudden, my father tells my mother and I that we are moving .
As we are going down the spiral staircase, Alabama fans kept saying
,”f**k Texas A&M'' . I just brushed it off, and we ended up
moving to the section by the field goal. The Texas A&M section
was right next to where we were sitting, so I was able to do the “
Beat the Hell outta BAMA !Eh- WOO '' whenever it came up. As the game
kept going, we kept cheering on our team and , even though we lost,
it was an amazing game. During halftime, we unexpectedly saw one of
the family friends and said hi to them. Their son is Nigel Smith ,
who has been offered many positions at colleges for scholarships for
football .
Once
the game was finished, we left and went back to our hotel room.
Walking toward our home away from home, there was a group of old men
standing at the doors. So I told my mom that we should go the other
way, so we did, and inside by the elevators, there were more old men.
Creepy. My father said something to me, and then all I could hear was
the guys saying, “ Now that’s a dad.” In the
elevator, I told my parents what the guys had said, and they just
laughed. At least I made them laugh. We all took showers, and got
ready for bed, and then about 30 minutes later, my dad falls asleep
and starts snoring. My mom and I were just watching the TV when all
of a sudden we hear our door open, and we look at eachother. “Maybe
it was the wind?”, I said, but I was positive that it wasn’t
. It probably was the people from across the hall getting into their
room. Most likely other A&M fans.
In
the morning, we got dressed, went downstairs for breakfast, and then
left. The car ride was really boring, considering that I had nothing
to do because I got my phone taken away. I slept for about 3 hours
before we got to a complete stop. I woke up, and my mom groaned. I
knew what that meant. Traffic.I hate traffic. I get that people have
to be somewhere, but it’s insane. Take another route.
Out-of-towners are here. We are trying to go back to Texas, and it is
going to take forever. Many cars were honking at us and we all got
mad.
After
all that, we went to a Buc Ee's nearby to get some snacks. I got some
Albanese Gummy Worms, and a cream soda . About 2 hours later,
we’re back in Texas so we stop at Texas Best Smokehouse again
to go to the restroom and eat. Since I'm a vegetarian, I didn’t
eat any of the meat, but I did get Sonic, which was built into the
store.
I
got my mom’s computer and played Roblox on it. Once the
computer died, I fell asleep one more time.
It
was a really fun trip, and I would do it again, I just don’t
want all the stress that was included with this. Alabama is so
pretty, and if I didn’t get into UChicago, I would probably go
to Alabama University to study writing. This experience was a
journey, for sure, but isn’t everything? I mean, it’s not
everyday that you get to go to another state for a weekend for a
football game. But, that was the place I’ve never been to
before. Alabama.
My
name is Reagan Danielle Veronica Perry from Melissa Texas, and
I have dreamt of becoming a writer since I was about 9 years old. My
goal is to go to U Chicago to study Social Sciences, and get a degree
in writing.
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