Six friends from Los Angeles who share a passion for the Dodgers set out for what they had planned would be a multi-day trip to catch some SEC football, with a few NFL games along the way,
What they weren’t expecting when they bought tickets to the game this weekend months ago was to find themselves in the middle of one of the wildest weekends in college football, thanks to a last minute decision that took the to the NLDS on their way to the University of Alabama.
While they might not have a name, this group of friends decided to make a few different memories on their trip to the south, which was only supposed to entail a college football game before heading back to Los Angeles for Monday Night Football.
Once they found out their beloved Dodgers would be playing in the same city they were flying into, plans changed very quickly.
As I stepped out of vehicle near the Alabama ‘Walk of Champions’ that leads you right into Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, I just so happened to notice a group of guys wearing Dodgers gear getting out of the fan behind me.
My instinct, once they started taking pictures in front of the stadium, was to inquire about what they might be doing around Tuscaloosa wearing LA gear as they looked at the home of Alabama football in amazement.
Boy, was I glad a decision was made to ask about their perceived stop.
Gil, Falo, Joe, Mike, Rudy and Bernie had a story about what brought them to Tuscaloosa, and I was in for a welcomed surprise.
This wasn’t the first time the group had attended a college football game together, having made their way to Notre Dame last year for the USC matchup. Then, the group followed it up by driving to Detroit for a Lions game, putting a bow on their 2025 trip and the College Football-NFL crossover weekend.
But this year, the squad had something else in mind.
“We decided, let’s go to an awesome college game, cause we live where USC, UCLA and Oregon play,” another member of the group explained. “But we wanna go to the SEC, Big Ten or something…This year we decided to do an Alabama game. We looked at this game three months ago and said ‘let’s do Alabama/Georgia, maybe they’ll be top-ten teams.
“So, when we were getting ready to come in, we’re all Dodger fans. The Dodgers are playing against Atlanta, in Atlanta, on the day we arrive. So, we flew into Atlanta, got our rental car, went to the game last night, then we drove here last night and we have a VRBO here. We’re gonna stay until Sunday morning..”
But, the craziness of this sports whirlwind of a trip does not end in Tuscaloosa.
“We’re gonna drive back to Atlanta, because we’re leaving out of Atlanta on Monday, and go to the Sunday night football game between the Falcons and Baltimore.”
I’ve heard of folks attending a college football game on Saturday, then making it to an NFL matchup on Sunday, but this entire bonanza just feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity to make memories with a core group of friends.
What started out as a trip to Tuscaloosa, turned into a wild escapade that saw them preparing to attend four games in six days.
“It was a pre-planned event, this trip down to Alabama,” Gill told OutKick on Thursday. “Falo put it all together, and just by chance we just happened to be flying into Atlanta, coinciding with the day the Dodgers would be playing the Braves.
“So, we jumped on tickets (to NLDS) yesterday before boarding our plane, knowing we’d make it to the stadium in time.”
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They even decided to include Mookie Betts into their trip, thanks to a little AI.
Why was Georgia versus Alabama the choice for this group of friends?
Well, it also came down to wanting to experience an SEC football game.
“We just like big games, that’s all we’re looking for,” Falo mentioned about the trip. “We’re all retired, and we wanted to experience them. We have the time to do it, the SEC and we just so happened to get lucky.
“We’re playing golf, playing pickleball today (Thursday). Saturday we’ll go to the Alabama-Georgia game, then Sunday morning the Falcons game, then Monday we’re flying back to Los Angeles and we’re gonna go straight over to SoFi Stadium to watch the Rams play the Bills.”
It was at this point in the conversation where my brain was trying to process exactly what I was hearing. The type of retirement that many people would be envious of, these group of friends were experiencing in real-time.
A rental house on Lake Tuscaloosa awaited them for the weekend, while they roam the Quad after Hurricane Isaias passes through the area, with only good times in front of them.
“I guess we’re Alabama fans now, Roll Tide,” another friend mentioned. “I’m a USC diehard, not the one in Columbia (South Carolina Gamecocks). I want to go to every SEC game in the South, that’s kind of my goal.”
If there was one way to enjoy the retired life, this group seems to have it figured out with their new tradition, which ultimately just brings them together.
This time, it just so happens that Mother Nature is also a part of the chaos, as Hurricane Isaias churned in the Gulf.
What were they looking forward to the most over the next few days as we inch toward kickoff between Alabama and Georgia?
“The crowd, the atmosphere, that’s why we’re here,” the group started answering aloud.
As for the one thing they need to learn before kickoff, the words to “Dixieland Delight” will be figured out before kickoff, or at least by the time this group heads back home to Los Angeles.
“We know the cuss words.”
God bless, college football.
