We are still the only SEC team to have 2 gamewatch locations in the chicagoland area! We are looking forward to another GREAT season of Alabama football! Hope to see you all out on Opening Day, September 4th. at 6pm when we take on San Jose State. Bring your shakers and lets watch the TIDE roll once again!! ROLL TIDE

Should you have any questions feel free to send an email to our website (attn: Kim Landego–SW Suburbs).

Drink specials:
Complimentary Bud Light drafts*
$3 Negra Modelo drafts
$1 well drinks
*exclusive to SEC Young Alumni for this event

Come join fellow SEC young alumni (35 and under) as we celebrate the upcoming football season! Please RSVP to Jenny Weigle jennyweigle@gmail.com.

There will be 3 videos total published to this blog, below is part 2 of the 3 part series.

I am disappointed but not surprised that the Coach Saban statue won’t be ready for the San Jose State game on Sept. 4. Laura said that when she went down to T-Town last week, she heard it was number 1,893 on his list of things to do but it would have been really cool for it to be done by the opening game. I just hope it’s finished by the Ole Miss game so I can see it.

You know who the definition of a coward is? Our former gov. Rod Blagojevich. Here is a guy that couldn’t keep his big yap shut for 2 years, he gets a chance to defend himself and then says nothing until he is outside of the court room, where he once again says how innocent he is. The fact that I voted for this fool twice makes me sick to my stomach. [Ha ha, I only voted for him the first time! -Laura]

As you all know, I have a one-month-old daughter, so you would think that I wouldn’t take sports as seriously as I used to, because there are more important things in life, right? Well, you would be dead wrong. Having grown up in Cincinnati, and with baseball as my favorite sport, my Reds are having their best season in the last decade. When two weeks ago they blew a 6-run lead for the 2nd time this season in the 9th inning, Shana had to come down and take Maya away from me because I was yelling at the TV so loud, she thought I would scare her. I can’t imagine what I will be like if the Tide is losing to the Vols or LSU later this year.

If you watch one show on TV, make sure that it is Mad Men, which starts up again on Sunday night. It is always the smartest, most character-driven show on TV.

If you watch one more show on TV, make sure that it is the Woman of Demolition Derby, which I stumbled across last night. Need I say more…

You have to love LSU football coach Les Miles. Not only can he not coach or keep time but, he is also now weighing in on the BP oil spill. Here are his comments from a radio interview on Tuesday: “Well, it uh, the impact is more of a … you know … anything, anything along the … the uh … the … shore and those issues are very serious issues and there … the impact is on the … the uh (long pause) you know, what is, the natural resource of our country, uh, but ah … I don’t know that it’s, I don’t know exactly, uh, to what extent it’s being handled well and managed or mismanaged I have no idea. The only thing I know is it’s very sincere and it’s, it’s uh, it affects more than Louisiana and it affects (muffled pause) … the ocean.” Thanks for clearing that up, coach, and enjoy being the next football coach of Michigan when both you and Rich Rod get fired after the season. [Michigan won't hire him. Unless Jim Harbaugh turns them down. -Laura]

So the SEC media days were this week. With all the talk about agents and who went to party with who in Miami, it is amazing that any football talk got done. I love Coach Saban, and he is right about plenty when it comes to the agents and players, but at some point when do we start treating the players as men? These guys know what the rules are, and I think any current player knows what is going on at USC with Reggie Bush, so please, Coach, let’s tone it down a little and start putting some of the blame back on the players. It takes two to tango. And if any of the current players took money from agents, no matter how good they are, they should be kicked off the team and made an example of because all that proved is that they put themselves ahead of the team. And please, enough with the “woe is me” college athlete who doesn’t get paid. You know what they get? A free education, no student loans, and spending money for meals, etc. When I was at Bama, I worked at the book store and as a ref at the Rec center for spending money. I came out of college with student loan debt just like most of the rest of you, so please, enough with the players getting paid nonsense. OK, I feel better now. [Coming next week: a counter argument about the billions of dollars the universities make off the backs of those players. But also how, while that may be true, players can't in reality get paid, because while the Alabamas of the world could afford it, the majority of universities couldn't, effectively ending athletics at those universities. -Laura]

And last but not least, I know I am a bit of a music snob, I’ll admit it. But the other day, I was out to lunch with a couple of my co-workers who are younger than me, and the great Eric Clapton/Derek and the Domino’s song “Layla” came on at the restaurant we were at. My friend Jenna says, “Man I hate this old stuff, play something current.” When I asked her what she wanted to hear, she mentioned Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, or Katy Perry. Now my question to you is this: In 40 years will anyone know any of the music from those three singers? Maybe MAYBE Lady Gaga; she at least has some talent. As for the rest I’d rather listen to Les Miles talk about the BP oil spill.

Till next time, RTR,

Marc

Just a few bits of new this week. I was in Tuscaloosa last weekend for the Chapter Leadership Workshop, and I forgot how hot it is down there in the summer. Chicago may be hot and humid, but Tuscaloosa is hot and really humid. I also forgot how cold it is inside of buildings. I spent half my time sweating and the other half freezing. But I did learn a lot of things that will make our chapter better. Watch this space, and our website, for news on a variety of Alabama-related topics.

Speaking of our website, did you know we have an RSS feed? Subscribe to it and receive any blog updates automatically. We are going to start using the blog more for communications and event reminders, so click on “RSS – keep up to date” to sign up.

Classic Game Viewing Party
Saturday, July 31 at 3 p.m.
Houndstooth Saloon

1992 National Championship: Alabama vs. Miami

Need I say more? Okay, I’ll say this: when’s the last time you saw that game? Exactly. Maybe, if that was before your time, you’ve never seen it. So come on out and get your Saturday night started early. (FYI, the Cubs are away that day.) The Houndstooth will be offering drink and appetizer specials. Plus, you can renew your chapter membership and get this year’s awesome t-shirt. Seriously, the t-shirt is really great.

Baron Huber and Corey Reamer
If you missed it, Baron and Corey visited our chapter on July 13 and were fantastic – friendly and full of great stories about Nick Saban, being a part of Bama history, and making Tim Tebow cry. Check out our website for videos of their speeches.

SEC Flag Football Tournament
Saturday, August 21. We have gotten better every year, making the semi-finals last year, I believe. Let’s get a great team together and follow up those SEC and national titles with this one! (No fancy rings if we win, sorry.)

If you are interested in playing, please email Laurel Stepp, laurel.stepp@mindspring.com. She will be sending full details to all interested parties in early August. The cost is tentatively $25/person, which covers the fee the chapter gets charged to participate, plus donuts, snacks, water, and beer during the tournament. That price will come down the more people we have on the team, so sign up and bring your friends! (Especially athletic friends.) In addition, chapter members will get a discount.

That’s all I’ve got today. A new edition of Marc’s Random Thoughts below.

RTR,

Laura