Monthly Archives: September 2009

Saturday was once again another Alabama football game, and another victory. This week marked the first SEC (Southeastern Conference) game for Alabama. I woke up on saturday to heavy rain, we have been having a lot of rain lately, as you may have heard. So I went out and bought a poncho for the game. The rain quieted down about two hours before game time, so I thought I might be safe from getting drenched. Then about 45 minutes to game time it starts to pore like I have never seen before. We walked over to Bryant-Denny Stadium getting rained on the whole way. We arrive at the stadium and walk up to our seats, which is in the student section first come first serve. Once the game started the rain broke and it lasted for the rest of the day. The game was awesome as per unsual. We played Arkansas and beat them 35 to 7, you could say we roasted the hogs with crimson flame.

One of my friends Cheryl Jones wanted my to make a wish list of items that I miss from home for a care package. I don’t really need anything, but I guess if you want to send something I will tell you my likes and dislikes. But don’t feel like you have to send me anything because to be perfectly honest I have everything I need.

My Likes:

Anything Sour , Mike and Ikes, Red liquorice, cookies; snicker doodle is my favorite type, beef jerky, brownies, anything homemade.

My dislikes:

Anything cheesy.

My address is:

Chase Helzer

P.O. Box 861063

Tuscaloosa, AL

35486-0009

The following is from RollTide.com:

GAME 4: ALABAMA (3-0, 0-0 SEC) 
VS.  ARKANSAS  (1-1, 0-1 SEC)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 26 •2:30 P.M. CT • CBS Check local listings

West Coast Time 12:30 P.M. CBS

BRYANT-DENNY STADIUM (92,012)

• TUSCALOOSA, ALA.

THE GAME: The University of Alabama football team opens Southeastern Conference play with a visit from the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game concludes a three-game homestand for the Crimson Tide and is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CBS will televise the game to a national audience with Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson calling the action. Eli Gold and Phil Savage and Barry Krauss will have the radio call on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.

Nick Saban

HEAD COACH Nick Saban: Alabama head coach Nick Saban (Kent State, 1973) is in his third season with the Crimson Tide. He was named the school’s 27th head coach on January 3, 2007. Saban has compiled a 113-50-1 (.692) record as a collegiate head coach with a 22-8 (.733) mark at Alabama that includes 3-0 record this year. He captured his 100th career win and coached his 150th game as a collegiate head coach during the 2008 campaign. In 2003, Saban led LSU to a 13-1 record and the BCS National Championship. Overall, Saban has coached three conference championship teams (1990 Mid-American, 2001 SEC and 2003 SEC) and nine of his 12 teams have played in post-season bowl games with Tide appearing in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. Saban is one of two (Bob Stoops) current Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to coach for at least 10 years and not suffer a losing season.

RANKINGS: Alabama was ranked fifth in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ preseason polls. It was the highest preseason ranking for the Tide since the 2000 season when they opened at No. 3. Since the preseason poll the Tide has moved up to No. 3 after an Oklahoma loss on the opening weekend and a week three loss for Southern California. The Crimson Tide garnered three first-place votes in the AP poll this week after receiving two in both of the first two rankings.

ARKANSAS SERIES: Alabama leads the series 11-8 after a dominating 49-14 win over the Razorbacks last season in Fayetteville. The Tide has now won two straight in the series and three of the last four contests. Arkansas’ last visit to Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2007, resulted in a dramatic 41-38 Alabama victory when John Parker Wilson found Matt Caddell for a four-yard touchdown pass with eight seconds remaining in the game. Alabama has a 4-4 record against the Razorbacks at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

NEXT GAME: Alabama will play its first true road game of the 2009 season on Saturday, Oct. 3, when the Crimson Tide visit Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium. The kick off is scheduled for 11:21 a.m. (CDT) and will be televised by the SEC Network with Dave Neal, Andre Ware and Cara Capuano calling the action. Alabama leads the all-time series 34-2-1 following a hard-fought 17-14 win in Tuscaloosa last season. Saturday marks the Crimson Tide’s first visit to Kentucky since the 2004 season when the Tide posted a 45-17 win.

This week we played North Texas, it was over before it started. I was surprised that NT scored at all. Since I’m a Junior Transfer, I cannot get a season package. Instead I get to chose from two different ticket blocks. I picked block A, which has Florida International, Arkansas, and LSU. There is a student lottery for the other games. I signed up and was able to receive one ticket for North Texas. The tide beat North Texas 53 to 7. We also moved up in the AP ranking to number 3, because USC lost to Washington. Next up is Arkansas at home; I will be attending to cheer on my Crimson Tide.

The Big Game

My first Alabama home football game was exciting. The game was at 6 pm but its all day party. Some even camp out the night before. The quad and pretty much anywhere else there is an open field, people are camped out. For  the weekend this campus turns into tent city, complete with red and white christmas lights, blow up Big Al’s and almost every tent has a plasma TV with a Dish that has a Alabama cover. It’s one big Alabama party, about 150,000 strong. Some don”t have tickets to the game they watch the game on the quad with their plasma’s. It’s a site to see, nothing else like it, I’ve been to college football games in California but nothing compares to SEC football fans.  We played Florida International University which is apparently in Miami, had to look it up. We beat them 40 to 14 , which keeps us a 4 in the nation. All and all I had a great time, here at Bama we know how to party.

South end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium construction

South end zone

construction worker working

Renderings of what it will look like finished

This is what 101,000 look like

I wonder if this is from ’84

Alabama is adding on to Bryant- Denny Stadium. Some say 92,000 is big enough, but I say no way let’s make it 101,000. By next year that is how big the stadium will be. Fifth largest in the country and second in the SEC. First home game is this Saturday were playing Florida International, never heard of them so it should be a killing. Good game to get more experience for our new Quarterback McElroy. It will be my first time at Bryant-Denny, I will take pictures and post them after the game.

Roll Tide!!!!!!

Hoover High School From MTV’s “Two-a-Days”

The front of the high school

The football stadium

The Hoover Field

Me and Nanny had breakfast at a Waffle House

Friday the 4th was my twenty birthday, My Grandma Nanny came to Bama to help me celebrate. She flew in on Thursday late afternoon. It was great to have some family to turn a year older with, and who better than Nanny.  Thursday Night I took her to one my favorite burger stops in Tuscaloosa , “Mugshots”. Friday we stopped at the Waffle House for breakfast, we both loved the waffles. I would liken the Waffle House to a Nations in California. Then I took her around campus, she was taken back on how huge UA is. I think her favorite was Bryant-Denny Stadium. I had to show her our super Walmart, we did a little of shopping. Saturday we planned a busy day. First we made another stop at the Waffle House. Then off to Hoover, Alabama we went. If you watch MTV you probably remember a show called Two-a-Day’s. If not it was about the trials and tribulations of the Hoover High School football team. When we were in Hoover we stopped at the Riverchase Galleria Mall. Which is run by the same company the West Valley Mall, GGP. But the Hoover Mall is a much larger mall. With two hotels connected to the inside of the mall. So if you fill like staying the night in a mall hotel, Hoover is the place to do it. The next stop was Hoover High School, very nice campus. Its on a large lot of land, the drive up to the high school is wooded. The town of Hoover is very nice, a good place to live. Nanny is making some curtains out of Houndstooth for the window in my room. We went all over Hoover trying to find a fabric store that had Houndstooth. We came up empty so we thought maybe we should try Tuscaloosa, first stop, they had it. We felt real stupid after that. Since game time was nearing we couldn’t make the curtains, so she will sew them at her home and send them to me. We both thought Applebees would be a great place to watch the game. So for the first half we were there. Game time was approaching and it looked as if we were leaving. The sound in the restaurant was not working on the ABC channel. But luckily they got it to work. The game was a excellent opener. If you missed it Alabama played Virginia Tech at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. It was the first start for new quarterback Greg McElroy.  Close game until the very end, which makes for an exciting contest. At the half Nanny and I headed out. She dropped me off to watch the rest of the game with my roommate. She wanted to go back to her hotel room to get packed for an early flight the next day. The second half the Tide put a stop to the VT Hokies. The final score was 34, 24 Bama. Which puts us at 1 and 0 record and with Oklahoma lose a move in the ranking to number 4.  At the end of the game my school does a little cheer to remind our competitor what just happened. It goes like this:

Hey Hokies!  Hey Hokies!  Hey Hokies!

We just beat the hell out of you!

Rammer Jammer, Yellow Hammer. Give ‘em hell Alabama!

I had a great Birthday weekend, thanks to Nanny and the Crimson Tide!   Thanks Nanny !!!

The first meeting was in the Ferg’s Theater

The poster as you entered the theater

UA’s College Republicans Chairman Alexandra Bruce

The Speaker Dr. Robert Bentley

The Alabama Moon as I was walking back home

The elevator for my building, I’m on the 4th floor

Windows of my apartment, mine’s the one with the lights off.

The meeting started at 7p.m. There was about 150 to 200 people there, which coming from California really surprised me. But that’s to expected in the great state of Alabama, one of the reason that drew me to UA. The Chairman spoke first she introduced the speaker which was Dr. Robert Bentley, who filled in for Alabama Representative Greg Canfield . Bentley is running for Governor of Alabama. The current Governor, Bob Riley has termed out. He told about himself, then did a town hall like question and answer. It’s very interesting to be from California and not having a dog in the race. You can sit back and just take it all in, see how a different smaller state operates. In California it seems that nothing can get done. The big government model used by California verse the small government model in Alabama. But one is a constant in both states everybody hates taxes.