Prepare to be invaded, Tuscaloosa

We’ve been trying to keep this quiet here on The Belt for awhile now, because our original plans kinda sorta fell apart due to a minor technicality involving getting denied press passes on the basis of being an internet blog.

(Which is another discussion for another day.)

But worry not, friends: the Belt will be at the Kent State-Alabama game to take in the sights and sounds of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Thanks to the generosity of Roll Bama Roll, I will be attending the game with their crew on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. I have been assured by Erik Evans, the managing editor at RBR, that the seats will be premium viewing and that the atmosphere will be raucous.

I have also been assured doubly that the tailgate isn’t half-bad, either.

It’s been an ethos of myself and Alan since we started co-managing the Belt to try and deliver the news about #MACtion using different voices and lenses. Since I live in Alabama, I figured that one of the things I could do for the site was go to Tuscaloosa and give a report of what I see there.

So, why is this a big deal?

It’s not every day that a writer of Mid-American Conference sports finds themselves presented an opportunity to go to Alabama for a ball game. We could do the typical post-game recap after watching the game on TV and pulling up the final stats, but it just doesn’t have that... intimacy.

It misses that vibrancy, that electric feeling, that charge that you normally get at games of such a nature.

So, we’re gonna do something different.

Every quarter, we will provide updates on the game from the stadium on Facebook Live and let you ask any questions you might have. We’ll also utilize Snapchat to show you all the excitement of the pre-game and the post-game ceremonies (and of course, the tailgate.) Of course, we’ll also interact with you all on Twitter.

We’re always looking for ways to improve the reader experience and I think that providing a very different glimpse into one of the cathedrals of college football would definitely help towards that.

I hope to interact with many of you on Saturday, and if you’re at the game, don’t be afraid to stop and say hey. I’ll probably be wearing a ridiculous straw hat and the “Get Some #MACtion” t-shirt I got from JGuy Himself during MAC Media Days three years ago.

ROLL FLASHES!