Raised for much of her childhood on her family's multi-generational NW Alabama dairy farm, Cheryl Prince is a proud 1972 graduate of the University of Alabama. She recently retired in the wake of the summit tenure of her lengthy professional career—Corporate Director of Quality for the worldwide construction and engineering operations of Gilbane Building Company.
Across the ensuing half-century since her UA graduation Cheryl has been an enthusiastic and active 'Bama alumnus. It’s been “Roll Tide” all the time at our house (notwithstanding my 1985 better-late-than-never undergrad degree from the University of Tennessee). Her late Dad O.L., a huge Tide fan, instilled in her an indelible love for and knowledge of sports, particularly collegiate and pro football.
Across the ensuing half-century since her UA graduation Cheryl has been an enthusiastic and active 'Bama alumnus. It’s been “Roll Tide” all the time at our house (notwithstanding my 1985 better-late-than-never undergrad degree from the University of Tennessee). Her late Dad O.L., a huge Tide fan, instilled in her an indelible love for and knowledge of sports, particularly collegiate and pro football.
While an undergrad in Tuscaloosa, Cheryl came to know the legendary Bear Bryant as well as 'Bama grad and New York Jets star QB Joe Namath, for whom she worked at his local “Bachelors III” restaurant.
In March 1974 we met at Joe Namath’s Restaurant in Birmingham, Joe's thriving downtown headliner entertainment / dinner showroom. Cheryl was working as the show reservations manager while biding her time waiting to return to Tuscaloosa to begin graduate school. I was then the guitarist for Seattle-based Grammy nominee Merillee Rush (“Angel of the Morning”) during a couple of her national tours. We’d had a tour date fall through while in Atlanta following a gig in Miami Beach, and a booking agent got us a last-minute stint at Namath’s in B’ham following the departing Lou Rawls.
Cheryl came up to give me a phone message as I was preparing to go onstage.
In March 1974 we met at Joe Namath’s Restaurant in Birmingham, Joe's thriving downtown headliner entertainment / dinner showroom. Cheryl was working as the show reservations manager while biding her time waiting to return to Tuscaloosa to begin graduate school. I was then the guitarist for Seattle-based Grammy nominee Merillee Rush (“Angel of the Morning”) during a couple of her national tours. We’d had a tour date fall through while in Atlanta following a gig in Miami Beach, and a booking agent got us a last-minute stint at Namath’s in B’ham following the departing Lou Rawls.
Cheryl came up to give me a phone message as I was preparing to go onstage.
Smartest, kindest woman I ever met. I Am Not Worthy.
Across our many years, the kids and I have all had our laughs at Cheryl yelling at the TV (sometimes reaching DefCon 5) during Alabama football games when the Tide were performing erratically. And, in recent years an interesting new phenomenon has emerged:
Across our many years, the kids and I have all had our laughs at Cheryl yelling at the TV (sometimes reaching DefCon 5) during Alabama football games when the Tide were performing erratically. And, in recent years an interesting new phenomenon has emerged:
Cheryl is a walking Wikipedia of Alabama alum now actively on NFL teams’ rosters. We’ll be watching a game, and she’ll just start in talking about this former 'Bama player or that on the field or sidelines, in knowledgeable detail. Cracks me up. "Like, how do you know all this stuff?"Which, of course, has gotten me off and running joking about calling the NFL the “AAFL.” For the past six years, Alabama has contributed the most players to the NFL. There have been 58 Tide alum across the league in the 2022 season. 391 Alabama players have gone on to be NFL draftees since the draft began—most of any Div I school.** (then there's also the extensive collegiate and pro coaching talent that passed through the Tuscaloosa sidelines. And, how about the CFL and newly resurrected "USFL"—The United States Football League. I'm sure Google & Siri can quickly get us all of those relevant data.)
** A bit of data. There are 1,118 NCAA collegiate member schools: 363 Div I, 313 Div II, and 442 Div III. The NFL is comprised of 32 teams, with a total of 1,696 players across the league. I'm sure we can readily find how the players distribute, by alma mater and position, etc. BTW, I've not yet checked, but there are likely also a small number of NFL players who either attended NAIA colleges or no college at all. They all make for good stories.
SO, WHAT MIGHT PORTEND?
"AAFL" podcasts? (I been known to do a podcast or two.) With a wide-ranging topical blog? Live streaming call-in shows? (YouTube/Zoom?) Players' & coaches interviews? Partisan sports fans love to vent at every opportunity.
The tech is increasingly inexpensive, mobile, and less demanding. e.g.,
Recall the recent Apple ads—"Hollywood in Your Pocket"? Well, we may be fixin' to see. I just upgraded my phone to the top of the line, an iPhone 14 Pro Max with a terabyte of capacity. I already have studio quality mobile audio boards and booth mic headsets. This stuff would all fit in an overhead bin rolling carry-on case (I've already done this).
You could do most of this from a home "studio," but you could also easily go remote.
HMMM... OK...
Sponsorship prospects? Seriously? A number of obvious forefront candidates leap straight to mind.
The spread of online sports book apps is on fire these days. Below, Ohio licensed vendors alone:
Just about every state is ramping up to get in on this. to wit, we now live in Baltimore.
"A total of 36 states have legalized sports gambling since 2018 and another three could get in the game this year. Here's where the action is across America."—Forbes
How about Utah? LOL. Nope, not ever.
Not that there are no legit concerns with online sports gambling. But, hey, at least it's not Crypto-Ponzi (Crypto hucksters need not even bother pitching me). Whatever the relative value proposition merits of online sports gaming, it does not thus far look to be fraudulent. Gambling addiction per se is a separate—and fairly well clinically understood—issue.
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MERCHANDISE, ETC
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| You've not lived prior to having ya some Dreamland. |
The products and services sponsorship potential is probably pretty varied, moreso than I've even thought of at this early stage.
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| Above: Where I get my haircuts. |
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'eh?
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UPDATE
Squatted a Twitter handle. Didn't cost anything.
Also, squatted "www.The AAFLreport.com"
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So, is this yet another crazy, impractical BobbyG idea? Perhaps. I wouldn't bet my remaining IRA balance on my aggregate entreprenuerial prognostic acumen. And I would stipulate without reservation that it's a quasi-"satirical" relative "niche" thing, in the broader context of the barstool sports addict online engagement-commentariat ecosystem. The sector overall seems to be extremely busy these days. e.g., click through these.
Search YouTube. There's a huge scroll of findings.
Whatever the fundamental arguable merits of an "AAFL" social media initiative, they certainly don't unilaterally rise or fall on Cheryl as the face and voice. Nonetheless, her 'Bama story is what it is—factually unembellished. And, IMO, it is compelling in this regard. But, that's just me, hardly a disinterested advocate.
Thoughts?
BobbyG, that "Damn Yankee!"
OCTOBER 2023 UPDATE
Changed my mind. Disregard all of the foregoing.
Notwithstanding that I'm likely leaving serious money
on the table, I eventually gave up on the idea, after drilling down
deep into more detail about the increasingly morally hinky aspects of
wildly metastasizing online sports gaming (and online and casino gaming more broadly). Cheryl would never have any part of it, I am
certain. I dropped any further mention of it with her and family and
friends. Money isn't everything.
Prior related riff on my other blog.
LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE...
Lotta money. Fuck it.
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