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Hey guys, Ryan Martin here! This past weekend my teammates and I loaded up the bus and headed to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Even though the Vols haven’t beaten the Crimson Tide in a long time, this game is still a big rivalry game for us. Knoxville is always one of my favorite places to visit because my best friend lives there and if you can look past all of the hideous orange, it’s a beautiful city! I always have a good time in Knoxville, and this weekend was no different.
Riverboat Cruise
After settling in to our hotel rooms on Friday, we started getting ready for the riverboat cruise! It’s very similar to the one that we do in Tuscaloosa, so everyone felt right at home. The riverboat cruise is a chance for the cheerleaders to lead a few cheers and mingle with some of our fans that made the trip. It’s a really laid back pep rally as we float down the river right beside Neyland Stadium.
Lucky for me, my best friend Katie lives in Knoxville so she was able to come pick me up for dinner. I never get to see her anymore so it was really great that we were able to catch up! Friday night, my team also met up with a few former Tennessee cheerleaders and went line dancing. One of my favorite parts about cheering away games is that we get to experience another college town and get to see their traditions. Katie and I were also able to eat lunch together before the game Saturday and the people of Knoxville could not stop staring at us. They couldn’t believe that a Tennessee fan and an Alabama fan were sitting at the same table! I grew up in Kentucky and now I live in Alabama, so trust me, I hate Tennessee just like I am supposed to, but we know how to put aside our differences until kick off!
Gameday
After eating lunch with Katie, I headed back to my hotel to get ready for the big game with my team. Neyland Stadium is such a hostile environment for people wearing crimson-which is why I love it so much! At the University of Alabama we have found at that when you’re the best, you’re either loved or hated by everyone else! The first quarter of the game started out really close, but with the help of our signs and fans, we rallied back to a big win over our SEC East rivals.
Even though we take a lot of fans and our band to away games like Tennessee, I don’t think they are nearly as exhausting as our games at home in Bryant-Denny Stadium. We didn’t do any pre-game pep rallies before entering the stadium and we didn’t have to do our entire pre-game performance on the field before kick-off. This just means that we had to rely on more “traditional” crowd leading techniques, like using our “Defense” signs!
I had a blast cheering in Neyland Stadium for the last time and it was even better because we left with another victory under our belts! Even though it will be a very different experience, I am looking forward to watching the Tide play there again in 2014. Hope you enjoyed tagging along with me on this sideline report and as always – ROLL TIDE!
The post Sideline Report with Ryan Martin appeared first on .
Hey guys, Ryan Martin here! This past weekend my teammates and I loaded up the bus and headed to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Even though the Vols haven’t beaten the Crimson Tide in a long time, this game is still a big rivalry game for us. Knoxville is always one of my favorite places to visit because my best friend lives there and if you can look past all of the hideous orange, it’s a beautiful city! I always have a good time in Knoxville, and this weekend was no different.
Riverboat Cruise
After settling in to our hotel rooms on Friday, we started getting ready for the riverboat cruise! It’s very similar to the one that we do in Tuscaloosa, so everyone felt right at home. The riverboat cruise is a chance for the cheerleaders to lead a few cheers and mingle with some of our fans that made the trip. It’s a really laid back pep rally as we float down the river right beside Neyland Stadium.
Lucky for me, my best friend Katie lives in Knoxville so she was able to come pick me up for dinner. I never get to see her anymore so it was really great that we were able to catch up! Friday night, my team also met up with a few former Tennessee cheerleaders and went line dancing. One of my favorite parts about cheering away games is that we get to experience another college town and get to see their traditions. Katie and I were also able to eat lunch together before the game Saturday and the people of Knoxville could not stop staring at us. They couldn’t believe that a Tennessee fan and an Alabama fan were sitting at the same table! I grew up in Kentucky and now I live in Alabama, so trust me, I hate Tennessee just like I am supposed to, but we know how to put aside our differences until kick off!
Gameday
After eating lunch with Katie, I headed back to my hotel to get ready for the big game with my team. Neyland Stadium is such a hostile environment for people wearing crimson-which is why I love it so much! At the University of Alabama we have found at that when you’re the best, you’re either loved or hated by everyone else! The first quarter of the game started out really close, but with the help of our signs and fans, we rallied back to a big win over our SEC East rivals.
Even though we take a lot of fans and our band to away games like Tennessee, I don’t think they are nearly as exhausting as our games at home in Bryant-Denny Stadium. We didn’t do any pre-game pep rallies before entering the stadium and we didn’t have to do our entire pre-game performance on the field before kick-off. This just means that we had to rely on more “traditional” crowd leading techniques, like using our “Defense” signs!
I had a blast cheering in Neyland Stadium for the last time and it was even better because we left with another victory under our belts! Even though it will be a very different experience, I am looking forward to watching the Tide play there again in 2014. Hope you enjoyed tagging along with me on this sideline report and as always – ROLL TIDE!
The post Sideline Report with Ryan Martin appeared first on .
