An Irish Couple's Thoughts on First Alabama Football Game

It's not Gaelic football or hurling, but Eddie and Fiona McKenna find out firsthand about what Crimson Tide football is all about.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Slab of ribs from Dreamland? Check.

A sampling of grits? Yep.

Fire off a Smith and Wesson .500 Magnum? Of course.

The only box left to check off for Ireland’s Eddie and Fiona McKenna’s Southern experience was to take in an Alabama football game.

It got marked off the list Saturday after the couple, from Waterford, Ireland, watched the Crimson Tide hang on to beat Arkansas.

The McKennas traveled 4,000 miles — or about 6,500 kilometers in their case — to tour the region during their vacation abroad, making sure to immerse themselves in the Southern culture.

“What better way to do that than to experience an Alabama football game,” Eddie said. “It lived up to the hype.”

Crimson Tide fans disagreed with the 24-21 outcome.

“I said to the guy next to me, ‘This is a really great game, and a lot closer than we expected.’ He said, ‘Screw that, we’re not looking for a close game,’” Eddie said.

The Irish couple discovered Alabama football online through Reddit. Eddie posted about wanting a college football and tailgate experience. They were overwhelmed with the response of the Crimson Tide community. They were invited to numerous tailgates and homecoming events, and even got a few greetings of ‘Roll Tide.’

“The pageantry of it all was excellent,” Eddie said. “The Walk of Champions, the band on the pitch, the team coming out of the tunnel, the bomber flyover—everything was so impressive.”

They also got to experience “Dixieland Delight.”

“We had our pompoms out and were shaking them,” Fiona said of the fourth-quarter tradition. “We didn’t know what was going on, but we joined in anyway.”

In Ireland, soccer is not the biggest sport. Gaelic football and hurling are more their speed. Gaelic football is a combination of football, soccer and rugby. Hurling is a mix of all that plus field hockey. Trying to explain the rules of both is like trying to explain football to the McKennas. You just have to experience it to get a sense of what’s going on.

“I just had a couple of questions on the finer points of the rules,” Eddie said of the Alabama vs. Arkansas game. “When the other team was punting the ball, the guy who was receiving the ball would run it sometimes and other times he would take it and nobody would tackle him. I wasn’t really sure why that was happening, it was explained to me from the guy behind me.”

It was just one game, but the McKennas picked up on the deep passion Crimson Tide fans have for football. They’ve been accepted as honorary members of the Alabama football community, and are already getting a feel for the tradition and the rivalries.

“I understand it’s Tennessee Hate Week,” Eddie said. “I watched a clip of some student and how much he hates Tennessee. It was very funny. It really sums up the spirit of it all.”

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