Next weekend, I will be attending my first University of Alabama football game during the regular season in nearly two decades.

I’m scheduled to attend Alabama’s next two home games at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa: Texas A&M (Sept. 22) and Louisiana-Lafayette (Sept. 29).

The opportunity to occasionally attend Crimson Tide contests was one of the reasons I chose to move to Selma and work at The Selma Times-Journal. Having weekends off three times a month, I’m in the position to attend games.

The last regular-season game I attended was in 2001, when the Crimson Tide defeated Mississippi State 31-24. At that point, Alabama was limping toward a 6-5 season and landing a berth in the Independence Bowl.

I grew up around Alabama football, a place where football season never ends.

My first encounter with Alabama came during the 1970’s when my late uncle worked at the Egghouse in Tuscaloosa. I often accompanied him on deliveries to Alabama’s campus. I met coach Bear Bryant and former Alabama quarterback Joe Namath on two different occasions.

During my 26-year journalistic career, I always kept up with the Alabama football program through stories and columns while working at The Biloxi (Mississippi) Sun Herald from 1992 to 2018.

In that span, Alabama has won six national titles. I covered the national title wins over Miami in 1992 and LSU in 2011 at the New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast had major contributors on those squads: defensive lineman Vann Bodden of Moss Point, nosetackle Terrance Cody of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, wide receiver Kevin Norwood of D’Iberville and defensive end Isaiah Buggs of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

I even wrote about area players from Bear Bryant’s national title teams in 1964 and 1965: linebacker Jackie Sherrill of Biloxi and fullback Steve Bowman of Pascagoula.

When I arrived in Dallas County, I expected to see more Auburn contingent here. Selma is about an hour away from Montgomery. The state capital is about 45 minutes from Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.

To my surprise, the county is painted mostly in crimson and white. Dallas County Probate Judge Kim Ballard’s office is virtually an Alabama football shrine.

It’s good to live in Alabama again, especially in an area where all I see is crimson and white.