Snow and Football

It’s snowing today, which may not seem abnormal to most people, but when you live in the South, it is very abnormal and people start to panic. And panic, is not an understatement. As soon as the weather folks start predicting snow, there is a mad dash to the grocery store to buy bread and milk; you know – the essentials. I never understood why bread and milk are the two most popular items to purchase upon the prediction of snow.


When I woke up at 5:30 this morning, there was no snow on the ground and in fact it had not even started snowing. I arrived at work at 7:00 and still, no snow. But almost an hour later as folks started pouring into the office, I heard them all talking about the snow, and I don’t think it’s stopped yet. I honestly don’t know because I never see the outside until I either leave for lunch or leave for the day.

Already people have started leaving work to get home and hunker down with their bread and milk. It’s understandable, the leaving that is. A lot of people here commute from long distances and have to cross mountains or bridges to get home. If you live in New England, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but when you live in North Alabama, it is a big deal for a few of the following reasons:

1. We don’t have snow plows in Alabama
2. We do have salt trucks, but they don’t work as well
3. As a result of #1 and #2, roads close quickly
4. As a result of #1, #2, and #3, there’s a mad dash for folks to get home and the roads get jammed with cars and people down here don’t know how to drive in the snow and then they start having fender benders which causes rubber-necking which causes more fender benders which causes road rage which causes more finder benders.

You get the point. Snow in the South does not make for good driving conditions, which is probably why people run out to buy milk and bread – they don’t want to be without while they are stuck in their homes. But, my question is still, why milk and bread? Why not milk and doughnuts or soda and bread?

Truth be told I actually made a run to the grocery store yesterday at lunchtime. I figured it would be a good time to beat the crazed crowds and I was right. It wasn’t too crowded and I got a few things I needed in order to make meals over the next few days in case I can’t get out to the stores – including, wait for it…. milk and bread! In my defense, I drink a lot of milk and drank the last of it yesterday morning and I had not bought any bread in two and a half weeks. But I also bought some other things like chicken and hamburger meat and chips and dip!

Snow, you gotta love it! And yes, I plan to leave work early today to avoid point #4 mentioned above.

In other news, did you hear that Alabama is playing for the National Championship tonight? If you live here and didn’t know it then you must have been in a coma for the past few weeks or even months. The last time Alabama won a National Championship (in football) I wasn’t even able to drive! It was 1992 and I was 15 in 1992! Granted the game was actually played in January of 1993, but I was still 15! The point being I could not legally drive a vehicle by myself when Alabama last won a National Championship.

One of the things that I love about living in the South is that EVERYONE gets fired up about football. Well, almost everyone. But, around these parts there are “Roll Tide” and “Go Bama” and “Dehorn the Longhorns” and “Beat Texas” signs everywhere you look. Why would you not want to live in a place that loves football? I’ve lived in New York and North Carolina and neither of those places loves football as much as the state of Alabama. It’s just nice to know that I’m surrounded by fellow football lovers. And since kickoff starts in about nine and a half hours, I’d better head home because with the snow, it might take me that long to drive the 12 miles to my house.

Roll Tide, baby!