Experiencing 2005: This is actually happening

I went to graduate school at the University of Alabama in the late 1990s. I was not a college football fan growing up, because it just wasn’t part of my family narrative. My uncle loved the Bears, so we’d go to their house to watch games on Sundays. And my dad played college basketball, albeit briefly, so I practically grew up in a basketball arena. College football just wasn’t on the menu. But all I heard when I told people I was moving to Alabama was, “Oh, the football! Football, football, football.” So, I figured, when in Rome, and my first week on campus, bought my strip of student tickets for the season.