An apology to Bama nation: how my unlucky t-shirt almost caused a loss to LSU
As any real football fan will tell you, wardrobe selection on game day is of utmost importance. The clothes you choose must show your excitement about the game, your pride in your team, and in some cases, your dislike of their opponent.
This past Saturday, I woke up at 8:15AM, anxious about the Alabama-LSU game that wouldn't even kick off until 11 hours later. I pulled on my favorite jeans and rifled through my t-shirt drawer. At the very back of the drawer I found the shirt I was looking for - a t-shirt I reserve for ONE day a year. It was crimson, with white lettering on the back that read "TIGERS BLEAUX".
I love that shirt. I always get many laughs from strangers each year on the tense Saturday in November when I proudly display it's witty humor and poking fun at LSU's ridiculous misspelling of the word "geaux".
I wore the shirt all day. It survived a shopping trip with my husband and 3 children, a fender-bender (NOT my fault, for the record), and it even avoided being soiled by both baby spit-up and Rotel dip. And as Bama kicked off to start the game, I was sitting on my couch next to my husband and surrounded by friends, still wearing my special t-shirt.
I watched in horror as the game spiraled downward for Alabama. The offense couldn't convert on third down, and the defense looked tired and overpowered. I was at a loss, frustrated and sick to my stomach.
Then I remembered.
This was the shirt I was wearing last year during Alabama's heartbreaking regular-season loss to LSU.
I deemed it "unlucky" and refused to wear it during the National Title rematch for fear that it would stifle the Tide and once again cause a devastating loss.
My revelation came during the fourth quarter, with roughly 5 minutes left in the game and seemingly no hope for Alabama. I sprang up from the sofa and ran to the bedroom where I ripped off Tigers Bleaux and yanked on the first t-shirt I could get my hands on - a black Voodoo Ale t-shirt my husband bought me on our trip to New Orleans 3 years ago. Hearing screams from the living room, I dashed back to where my friends were watching the game in time to see Bama start what was likely their final drive of the game.
My friends said "Did you seriously change shirts?? Superstitious much??"
I explained what had happened, but they still looked at me like I was insane.
Magically, miraculously, and amazingly, it was at this exact moment that the Tide turned for the better. The offense started clicking; AJ McCarron and Kevin Norwood seemed unstoppable as they moved the ball down the field, getting first-down after first-down. After what seemed like years, T.J. Yeldon ran the ball into the end-zone for the touchdown that would put the game away. We watched the final seconds tick off the clock, screaming and jumping up and down, eccastic over the Alabama win.
Okay, so it was only me that was jumping up and down.
Regardless, it was an amazing final drive to win what was otherwise a horrific nail-biter of a game.
It was my Unlucky Shirt's fault.
I apologize profusely to anyone who may have been the victim of game stress and I can assure you that the offending shirt has since been burned, it's ashes spread on the Holy Ground of the EWTN Catholic Network station in Birmingham, Alabama.
Anyone who thinks I'm crazy needs to see my current favorite commercial: the Bud Light "Labels Out" superstition commercial that clearly states----
"It's only crazy if it doesn't work."
