Crimson Commentary: The life of a hardcore fan

If you're a hardcore fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program, the season, while exciting, has the potential to pose some hardcore stress that can be, at times, an equal to the fandom itself.

For the novice and casual Alabama fan, the entire football season, and the entire football fandom, is literally reduced to the three or four hour period of the actual game. Once the clock strikes zero, the love for Alabama football is placed in a box, and then reopened just in time for opening kickoff the following weekend.

Us hardcore folks, well, our "gameday" doesn't end when the lights go out in the stadium. The "season" for the hardcore fan is essentially a nonstop "grind" of fandom that will never expire until we exit the earth.

AJ McCarron reminding you that Alabama is still the best team in College Football #RollTide pic.twitter.com/THoTCHaFbd
— The Game (@TheGameWDGM) October 7, 2013

So where's the stress and anxiety? The "professional fan" is always "on" when it comes to following Alabama football, and due to that reason, the collection of news, the expression of opinion(s), and the pontification of current and future events is as certain as death and taxes.

When the "concerns" and anticipation of an Alabama football related issue impacts your day-to-day life, you're officially a professional hardcore fan. When you stop your day on a random Tuesday morning to load a live video stream of a recruit giving his verbal commitment to Alabama, yeah...you're a professional fan. The examples are endless, but the point is quite clear.

With the evolution of social media, most notably Twitter, the hardcore Crimson Tide fan is always in a race to read the latest practice report, latest injury report, latest recruiting update, latest pundit opinion, and quite obviously, the latest "troll" by some less than impressive "expert" of the game. The constant rumors, rival fan innuendo, and just the basic "formula" of turning something minuscule into a "doomsday" prophecy, is what keeps the hardcore Alabama fan on edge, yet at the same time, very much excited.

Saban's response to my sign during his press conference: " Sounds like a good deal to me!" #RollTide #STAYSABAN pic.twitter.com/LhYD5IH0Vs
— Hannah Stephens † (@Hannah_Alabama) October 27, 2013

The Alabama "professional fandom" is as prevalent as a beauty mark. Granted, the obsession could cause you to lose your marriage, jeopardize your occupation, and potentially pose a personal health risk, but whatever...right? Alabama football is forever, and forever is quite a long time.

Cheers to the unabashed hardcore fan. Wear your stress and anxiety with pride, and keep rolling with the Crimson Tide!

Now, please return to Twitter to check for the latest updates. Will Alabama be able to focus on the LSU Tigers now that Nick Saban has officially announced his departure for the University of Texas?

Lulz...