If You Said Goodbye to Me Tonight, There Would Still Be Music Left to Write

Congratulations to Mr. John Middleton for correctly naming "Your Song" by Elton John as the Wednesday Song of the Day. Mr. Middleton's derisive and utterly contemptible pro-Chelsea F.C. comments were purposefully ignored in the name of tasteful restraint on my part.

Now that I have returned to the Land of the Bear after a festive holiday weekend in the Pines, let's check the tally sheet:

• Were mountains of stuffing/dressing consumed? Yes.


• Did turkey comprise a portion of at least 90% of my meals in the last 3 days? Yes.


• Did I thoroughly enjoy the Cowboys-Jets, LSU-Arkansas, and Tennessee-Kentucky games? Yes.


• Did I actually see my father sit on the couch and watch a large segment of Singin' in the Rain on Wednesday night? Yes.


• Was I one of the shopping-addicted Americans that ventured forth from my post-Thanksgiving food coma to waltz through the doors of a Kohl's department store at 4 a.m. on Friday morning? Absolutely not. I would rather live in a world where Nickelback actually sold over 6 million copies of their last album in the United States. Wait, what's that? Ladies and gentlemen, it seems I have just been informed by the research department here at Running Down a Dream that my deepest fear actually took place. Repent, my friends, for the end is coming sooner than any of us thought.

All in all, I was thankful for a little time to wade through a very enjoyable read, Warren St. John's Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Journey into the Heart of Fan Mania. The book chronicles St. John's season following the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team through the literal vehicle of the RV caravan of hardcore fans that accompanies the Tide wherever they go. More specifically, the title of the book is taken from a chant familiar to the 'Bama faithful, which provides the cap to big wins by their favorite squad.

I'm not going to become a supporter of the Crimson Tide anytime in the near future, but it's hard not to laugh (and cry) at the devotion of their fans that St. John captures in his tale of fandom taken to its extremes.