Tonight the greatest Alabama fan I ever knew passed away

I wanted to write this because I wanted people, even strangers, to know about this wonderful person - and here, I wanted to tell you about how he created an entire family of Alabama fans.

We all grew up cheering for Alabama - long before we were in college, before most of us were even in school, we cheered for Alabama. Why?

My grandfather was the biggest Alabama fan I ever knew. Not because of flashy outfits, or spending the most money, or anything like that. No, it was because he had been an Alabama fan for over 80 years. As a young man he and his brother would watch Alabama games while climbing in trees near the field. All of us grew up loving that same team he loved to watch play.

My grandfather was a soldier in WWII, married his high school sweetheart, and lived to see at least two great grandkids graduate high school and go into college.

Family gettogethers, every month, were routine... we'd all gather on Sundays, and during football season the TV would be playing a recording of the Alabama game the day before.

When I say I think of Alabama fans and class, I think of my grandfather. I cannot think of a greater Alabama fan than that man, who saw as many Alabama coaches on the field as not.