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in apparently what's becoming a series of GREAT front page articles on crimpson tide faithful....

is baby saban getting one for christmas?

Lighting up the Tide

Alabama fans show support with signs in front of their homes

Daily photo by Brennen Smith

Alabama fan Larry Leathers, right, with son Richie and grandsons Brody and D.J.

By Ronnie Thomas

FLORETTE — He has been in Bryant-Denny Stadium once.

He was among about 40,000 football fans watching Alabama’s 30-20 loss to Auburn on the stadium’s JumboTron in 1989, in the teams’ historic first meeting on the Plains.

In 1979, he cheered at the only Alabama game he ever attended, a 3-0 win over LSU on a rainy night in Baton Rouge, La. The Tide streaked to a 12-0 record and another national championship.

The Vietnam veteran spent a dozen years in the Army. And for the past 12 years, he has been a carrier for The Cullman Times, giving him little opportunity to attend games.

But never doubt Larry Leathers’ loyalty to Alabama.

Became fan in 1961

He became a fan in 1961, while sitting in study hall at Holly Pond High School, reading a newspaper article about the upcoming season. It yielded Bear Bryant’s first championship team.

A bright-burning big red A at the front of his doublewide mobile home on Alabama 67, south of Eva Road, marks his Crimson Tide paradise.

Leathers, 61, bought three of the signs from Chris Jetton of West Point. He gave the others to sons Richie, 28, of Hartselle and Jason, 26, of Lacey’s Spring.

Another son, Larry Wayne Jr., 42, of Huntsville, didn’t get one. He’s an Auburn fan.

Jetton, a paint mixer at an auto parts manufacturing company in Cullman, said he made Alabama and Auburn signs for himself and, as a joke, placed them in his yard among Christmas decorations.

“Word got out, a newspaper story ran, and Larry called the same day,” Jetton said. “And I thought he was joking.”

It appears Jetton is laughing all the way to a cottage industry. To date, he has made 25.

“Twenty-two Alabama,” said Jetton, 43, a Tide fan, “and three Auburn. Apparently most folks like Alabama.” (yes...that HAS to be the reason)

And when it comes to the Tide, Leathers also is a handyman. Seven years ago, he bought a brown 1985 Jeep Wagoneer and transformed it into his Bama Buggy. He replaced the engine. He used a blowtorch to heat the old paint. He scraped it and spray-painted the vehicle crimson and white.

He adorned it with magnetic Tide logos and at the rear placed hot dots, used on mailboxes to reflect the numbers, to spell out “Roe Tahd.” He also installed a remote-control horn that plays the Alabama fight song. During football season, he parks it near the sign, making sure passing motorists know the depth of his dedication.

Take a further leap into Leathers’ crimson world. The last circular block leading to the steps of the front porch deck commemorates Alabama’s undefeated 1992 team, which sparked the Tide’s last national title.

When he and his wife, Nancy, bought their doublewide in June 2005, it came with red carpet throughout. During transport, wind tore away drywall in the dining room. They replaced the drywall but were unable to find a match for the wallpaper print, so she painted that section of the wall red. (red,crimson..same thing right?)

She bought her husband a red recliner two years ago to relax in the color while watching their 52-inch television. For Alabama games, he spreads a Tide rug before the TV he bought in 1983, when Bear Bryant died. He also hangs Bryant’s photos on the wall.

Leathers, who earned a General Education Diploma at Jacksonville State University, also maintains a Bama Room. There he keeps all sorts of Tide memorabilia — books, caps, elephants :roflol: and more photos of Bryant. Hanging above a red Bama rack a daughter, Tonya Watwood of Athens, gave him is a framed puzzle of a grandfather and grandson watching an Alabama game.

Leathers said his 5-year-old grandson (why does that number sound familiar?), D.J. Leathers, commented, “That’s me and Poppy.”

Bama Buggy ride

Saturday morning, as a warm-up for Saturday night’s Iron Bowl at Auburn, the two will climb into the Bama Buggy and take a 22-mile ride around the area. It’s one they’ve taken before. And all the time, D.J. will be pressing the remote, unleashing Alabama’s fight song from underneath the hood.

Later in the day, as customary when the Tide is on television, family members will gather on the back deck for a cookout, including D.J.’s 2-year-old brother, Brody, who is “sort of” named after former Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle.

“We just liked the name,” said his father, Richie Leathers, who will bring barbecue if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

Watwood, 33, is a Tennessee fan, while her sons, Kirk, 14, and Jesse, 12, back Bama.

“She didn’t come when we played Tennessee because she thought the Vols would win,” Leathers said. “Everybody knows if you don’t yell for the Tide, silence is the word. But it’s all in love. We don’t get up and fight one another.”

Making signs of support

Chris Jetton uses steel round bar to make Alabama and Auburn signs.

He shapes and welds it into the letter forms and attaches lights. He uses rebar at the center to support the signs, normally 8 feet wide and almost 8 feet tall.

He orders rope light — basically a transparent rubbery material encasing clear bulbs — off the Internet in 150-foot spools. Obviously, for Alabama, he uses red.

“The Auburn (AU) sign is more complicated because it’s two letters,” he said. “I use blue rope light for the A and a regular strand of orange mini-lights for the U. I’ve found that the only time you can buy a regular strand of orange mini-lights is at Halloween.”

Jetton said on average, Alabama signs range from $150 to $200 each and Auburn signs from $200 to $250.

“A lot depends on the size and the kind of lights a customer wants,” he said. “I can make the signs from 2 feet tall to 10 feet tall. And the cost of the lights could go from $5 to expensive LED lights, with a spool costing $590. But I can’t imagine anyone wanting to use that type light on the signs.”

For information, phone Jetton at (256)-739-4369.

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A bright-burning big red A at the front of his doublewide mobile home

"that the awful symbol was the effect of the ever-active tooth of remorse, gnawing from the inmost heart outwardly, and at last manifesting Heaven's dreadful judgment by the visible presence of the letter."

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A bright-burning big red A at the front of his doublewide mobile home

"that the awful symbol was the effect of the ever-active tooth of remorse, gnawing from the inmost heart outwardly, and at last manifesting Heaven's dreadful judgment by the visible presence of the letter."

:lmao::lmao::lmao:

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  • 10 years later...

I ran across this today.  10 years after my dad died.  3 months after this paper article was published.  Do you clowns know what a big deal this was for my dad? He was a paper carrier, not in the paper. You people are jerks who only care to make fun of people you know nothing about.  

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25 minutes ago, Notyourfan said:

I ran across this today.  10 years after my dad died.  3 months after this paper article was published.  Do you clowns know what a big deal this was for my dad? He was a paper carrier, not in the paper. You people are jerks who only care to make fun of people you know nothing about.  

Sorry for the loss of your dad. This is an old, old thread, and I don't recognize any of the posters in it. They are long gone.

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2 hours ago, Notyourfan said:

I ran across this today.  10 years after my dad died.  3 months after this paper article was published.  Do you clowns know what a big deal this was for my dad? He was a paper carrier, not in the paper. You people are jerks who only care to make fun of people you know nothing about.  

Sorry for the loss of your dad. Now, this is an Auburn board. Did you expect remarks about an Alabama fan to be all roses? Why did you come here and dig up a ten-year old thread when it could have been simply left alone?  Troll much?

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2 hours ago, Notyourfan said:

I ran across this today.  10 years after my dad died.  3 months after this paper article was published.  Do you clowns know what a big deal this was for my dad? He was a paper carrier, not in the paper. You people are jerks who only care to make fun of people you know nothing about.  

giphy.gif

 

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