No, the pope did not visit the Walmart in Tuscaloosa, AL, on Friday or the Academy Sports in Birmingham on Saturday. There was just a large enough crowd gathered at each location to suggest that he did.
The thousands of people who passed through the two stores were there to have their picture taken with the BCS coaches’ trophy days after Alabama won it for the third time in four years. Even with BCS titles becoming old hat for the Crimson Tide, its legion of fans won’t miss out on an opportunity to be photographed with another one.
And so the countdown begins until Alabama’s 2013 season opener against Virginia Tech. There’s no such thing as an offseason in Tuscaloosa.
