Alabama Rolled Out the Crimson Carpet and Won Me Over

I took a road trip over the weekend (more on that soon) and found myself in a hotel near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Thursday night.

Before I left town Friday morning, I decided to do a little sight-seeing and ventured down to the Alabama campus.

I must say, the campus is absolutely beautiful. Obviously, the structure that stands out is legendary Bryant-Denny stadium, home of Nick Saban's back-to-back national football champs.

I stopped by the stadium to take a peek and realized that I had no idea how to find Coleman Coliseum, home of Alabama basketball. I flagged a student down to see if he could offer some assistance. Not only did he offer assistance, he chatted for five minutes or so to make sure that he had given me exact directions.

So, I took a left on Paul W Bryant Dr and found the basketball arena. The door was open so I went in for a peek...

Soon after I entered the arena, an older lady quickly rushed over in my direction.

"Darn, she's about to turn me away," I thought to myself. "Oh well, at least I got to see the court."

"Honey, you look lost," the lady said. "Can I help you find something?"

I explained that I was just passing through and was hoping to get a picture or two of the arena for my website.

"Welcome to Alabama and of course," she replied. "Just walk right down that tunnel and go down on the court if you'd like."

I pulled out the camera and took several shots around the court. About that time, I received a text from a friend who noticed my Facebook picture of the court.

"Noticed you're at 'Bama," the text read. "Go to men's basketball office and see if Coach John Brannen is in his office. Great guy. Just introduce yourself."

Sure, why not?

I wasn't able to find the basketball office on my own so I asked a gentleman who walked across the court if he could point me in the right direction.

"Sure my man," he said. "Let's hop on the elevator and I'll take you right to it."

The guy welcomed me to Alabama, took me to the basketball office and handed me off to a lovely lady named Brenda.

I explained my situation to Brenda and she informed me that Coach Brannen had stepped out for a few minutes but would be back. While I was hanging out, I got into a conversation with some folks in the office.

"We just love Kentucky basketball fans," one lady offered up. "They are always so great to talk to at the SEC Tournament. We think UK basketball fans are a whole lot like Alabama football fans. They are knowledgeable and respectful for the most part."

After 15 minutes or so, Coach Brannen returned. I introduced myself and was really expecting nothing more than a handshake and an opportunity to drop off a business card. To my surprise, he led me to his office and started up a conversation on everything from basketball to his time at Morehead State to his wife, who happens to be from Jenkins, Kentucky.

Besides being married to a Kentucky girl, John has several other ties to the state, which gave us plenty of food for conversation.

As mentioned, John started his college career at Morehead State before transferring to Marshall. He also spent time on Travis Ford's staff at Eastern Kentucky University.

Additionally, John's brother, Grant, is the head coach at Newport Central Catholic (the 27-2 All A State champs). He was nervous for Grant that day as NCC was about to face then-undefeated Covington Holmes that night (Catholic ended up handing Holmes their first loss in a double overtime slug fest).

After finishing up with a great chat about SEC basketball, including his thoughts on Kentucky (he expected a loss at Florida but said the Cats "will be just fine this season."), we said our goodbyes and I headed to the interstate to continue my journey to Mississippi.

I have to admit, the folks in Alabama won me over with their hospitality. Each person I met during my two-hour visit to campus went out of his/her way to be overly nice. To be perfectly honest, I have been cheering for the Crimson Tide in their last two games and will continue to do so in every game. Well, almost every game...go Cats, but Alabama has certainly gained a fan.

Roll Tide?!?