By By Adam Robinson – sports editor
While Christmas has now been over for about a month now, I just got to use one of my Christmas gifts over the weekend.
Every year, since the 1987 game I have been told, my father and I attend the Senior Bowl in Mobile at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
So I guess you can say it is kind of a tradition now. Every Christmas we get the tickets in our stocking and we look forward to it every year.
If 1987 was my first game, we have been going every year for 22 years. I have seen many college guys play in the senior bowl that have went on to make names for themselves in the NFL.
Also during these games, I have met a lot of NFL coaches. Ones I remember are Dennis Erickson when he was with the Seattle Seahawks, and Tony Dungy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (he is currently with the Indianapolis Colts.) Players I have met are Stan White from Auburn and many other numerous players in cluding Brodie Croyle when he played in the game a couple of years ago.
While I still enjoy going to the game, meeting the players has changed for me. My mom and dad and sister have been to many fan frenzy days where you go and meet the players. Before you could go down and meet them and do more with them. Now you can still do that, I guess, but they have cards now with their pictures and signatures on it.
My dad and I are usually the ones who just go to the games and he would always take me to the Adam's Mark downtown to meet the players when theyarrived. Even though the hotel is no longer the Adam's Mark- it is now the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel, it will always be the Adam's Mark to me.
There I would get more autographs, uniform items like gloves, towels and autographed pads.
I remember when it used to be the Delchamps Senior Bowl. It has since been the Food World and now the Under Armour Senior Bowl.
The end zones used to be painted red and white checkered for the south and blue and white checkered for the north. Parachutists used to jump from planes and land in the middle of the field with the game ball. And then there was the wave.
You have your one crazy fan that only comes to the game every year to be the one who gets credit for starting the wave