As a frequent visitor to southern Alabama – and being a foreigner to this part of the country – I have learned that there are two things that the folks here take seriously: football and auto racing.

Last night’s victory by Alabama over Texas in the BCS championship football game provided evidence of that as far as football is concerned. On a morning talk show on one of the local Mobile radio stations, callers occasionally end their conversation with a "Roll, Tide, roll!" exclamation, a reference to the University of Alabama football team. Seems like they had not won a national championship for some years, so last night’s victory was a big event. They even printed up special t-shirts in Montgomery overnight with the final score on them and then got them to Mobile in time for stores to open, so someone in Montgomery had a late night (or an early morning). "Roll, Tide, roll!", but just be careful who you say that to right before the annual "Iron Bowl" game between Auburn and Alabama!