At some point during your freshman year, you probably found yourself wondering—what are those crimson backpacks I see everywhere?
The bag in question is almost always those crimson backpacks with the neatly embroidered “A” and Nike logo that all the student-athletes carry on campus.
There’s a certain level of respect that students have for anyone wearing the crimson backpack. The sight of one is usually met by a brief one-over as onlookers attempt to figure out which sports team they might belong to. They wonder if the athlete is on the football team, and if it would be weird to ask. Naturally, no one ever does.
One thing we tend to forget is that these people are not only athletes, but also students. That’s why the backpacks are so important. They remind us that these athletes aren’t toting their bats, balls or uniforms in their backpacks. Instead, they’re heading to class to do what most of us do on a daily basis—except they’ve probably eaten, practiced, showered and gotten something useful done before 8 a.m.
This is the biggest reason we respect our athletes at Alabama. They work hard both on and off the field. They freak out about math exams and all the little things too. I can speak from experience; I was on the rowing team this past season but most people probably wouldn’t know that by just looking at me.
First off, I don’t look exactly like a die-hard athlete. I wear baggy shirts, leggings, minimal makeup and a guaranteed grumpy look on my face every Monday. I’m blonde, 5’4″ and typically avoid class discussions. But, I represented Alabama as a member of the novice rowing team this fall. We weren’t issued our gear until the end of the season so no one in my classes knew I was an athlete until I got that crimson backpack at the end of October.
Oh, how things changed. Suddenly, strangers would start conversations with me solely about my athletic involvement. I got a lot of stares too, and I mean nearly everyone stares at you when you have a crimson backpack. It’s a slightly uncomfortable situation to be in when you walk everywhere on campus.
This interest in our athletes is why we wear the players’ jerseys to the games. And for most of the girls on campus, we can’t help but stare at some of the tall, attractive and un-surprisingly fit athletes we see walking around, sitting in our classes and riding the bus.
The baseball player with the dreamy, contemplative stare who you see by the Ferg everyday is not deeply contemplating his upcoming game: he’s avoiding your stare and everyone else’s! At least that’s my theory.
Most of the ladies who went to see the Breaking Dawn Part 2 premiere first tweeted about how they saw A.J McCarron at Cobb theaters that night, then as an afterthought proceeded to rave on about how much they enjoyed the movie.
We’re obsessed! We’re smitten! Those crimson backpacks make any Bama fan drool with both fascination and genuine respect. We all realize and appreciate that student-athletes carry both the weight of maintaining their grades while staying fit and preforming well. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is glad that at least we get to carry that weight in our stylish crimson backpacks.