#ItMightMeanTooMuch: Why the 2018 season just means more for these Alabama fans
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Stephen Widener watched his grandfather, Tommy F. Abney Sr., sleep through the first half of the SEC Championship. They sat together in Widener’s parents’ house just south of Charlotte. It was the same place they’d watched every Alabama game together during the 2018 season.
That wasn’t entirely by choice, though.
Abney moved from his home in coastal Alabama to Widener’s parents’ place because he was in the final stages of lung cancer. Widener and his family took care of him and did whatever they could to surround him with a peaceful atmosphere. While Abney mostly wanted his room to be quiet, there was an exception to the rule — Saturdays watching Alabama.
On Championship Weekend, Abney couldn’t muster the strength to stay awake for the first half of the Alabama-Georgia game. That was probably best after Alabama fell behind by two scores for the first time all season.
The second half, however, was a different story. Abney was awake when it counted. He and every other Crimson Tide fan got to watch Jalen Hurts’ Hollywood ending play out. Hurts replaced Tua Tagovailoa — Hurts was one of Abney’s “guys” — and avenged last year’s National Championship first half by beating Georgia to clinch a 13-0 start to the season and, ultimately, a Playoff berth.
With the game in hand, Abney leaned over the Wideners’ dad and whispered the words he had said more times than he could count.
“Roll Tide.”
That was the last Alabama game that Abney got to watch. He died of lung cancer five days later.
He didn’t get to see Tagovailoa come up short of winning the Heisman Trophy the following Saturday, though Widener said “he would be mad as a hornet to see Tua get robbed.” That was Abney’s other guy.
Abney was able to see the Sunday after the SEC Championship when Alabama got matched up against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. In the same way he wanted to see Hurts avenge last year’s National Championship performance, Abney was looking forward to Alabama avenging the 2013 Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma.
He died before he could see that play out. Fortunately for him, his beloved Crimson Tide rolled to titles in five of his last nine years on earth. And if Alabama does win it all this year, he’ll have watched at least the majority of the Crimson Tide’s title runs in six of the last 10 years.
For Widener and his family, they’ll watch Alabama with a different perspective than they’ve had in years past.
This Playoff run will be about watching the team that Abney taught them all to love; the team that Abney loved as a boy until his final days, when he still watched them religiously.
And yeah, Widener said, the hope is to blow past Oklahoma and crush Clemson. Why assume it’ll be Clemson? As Widener put it, “We all know that Notre Dame is a joke that’s about to meet reality when Dabo (Swinney) comes calling.”
Whether that happens or not, Abney’s story is one worth remembering this time of year, not only because the holidays are upon us and we should cherish the time we have with loved ones. If Alabama does roll to another national title, it’ll be easy to question how special it really is at this point. If Saban does win it all for the sixth time this decade, he’ll probably be talking about a recruiting trip before he even gets off the podium.
The 2018 season won’t just be another year for everyone, though. As fortunate as they are with their team’s success in the Saban era, there are Crimson Tide fans that this does — for lack of a better phrase — just mean more to.
For a sport that essentially promotes division and debate, it has a special way of unifying people at the same time. There’s a reason that it’s all some want to consume in their final days instead of thinking and talking about what’s coming. And while this column is usually reserved for a once-a-week ribbing at the fanatic nature of the SEC, today is not that day.
Whether you’re dealing with loss or you’ve been blessed with good health this holiday season, consider this a reminder — you can do a whole lot worse than being surrounded by loved ones watching college football.
Especially if you’re an Alabama fan.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
