The Legend Of The Alabama Shirt

At this point it looks more like a rag than it does a shirt.

The hole for the neck is wearing badly, and there is big hole right just below the tag in the back. There are several other smaller holes further down. The print on both sides has faded quite a bit, although you can still make it out. Each time I wash it I’m afraid it will simply disintegrate.

Still, I have no plans to throw it away.

I’m speaking of my Alabama concert t-shirt, which I bought in Milwaukee in 2003 during Alabama’s farewell tour. It cost $25 and I know I’ve gotten more than my money’s worth out of it.

It’s just had too many adventures to throw away. The first was when I met my friend Sean during that trip, where we’d both bought the same shirt at the concert. There was a whole group of us and we stayed in a hotel that night. We had two rooms, and Sean and I were in the same one, even though we really didn’t know each other at that point. As it turns out, the other people in our room woke up early and left for home, leaving only us two to wait on the people in the other room.

Having nothing better to do we turned on the TV and watched the last hour of a John Wayne movie. This turned out to be disappointing because during that time there was absolutely no violence. I think that’s why I haven’t watched a John Wayne movie since. I mean, you don’t watch John Wayne for character development. You watch it for good old fashioned western entertainment, which includes gunplay and fistfights, and this movie had none. It’s John Wayne and your telling me the last hour is nothing but dialog? Aaarrrgghhh!

After the movie we were bored so we both donned our Alabama shirts. This was the first indicator that we both didn’t mind acting and looking like total morons all in the name of fun. So, completely matching, we bought what turned out to be horrible root beer from a vending machine and took a stroll around the neighborhood. Nothing exciting happened there, except we almost got eaten by a dog.

Then it was time for breakfast so we bought muffins from Perkins. This of course led to us sitting down on the curb outside of Perkins, where we ate muffins and waved at passing cars just to see who would wave back.

Ah, the memories.

The shirt has been through a lot since then. I’ve recently put it into semi-retirement, to prolong its life-span, but it still has a place of honor on the floor or wherever I happen to throw it.

So here’s to you, faded old Alabama t-shirt! May the memories continue to be made! And please don’t give me a rash or anything from being so old.