PHOTO CREDIT: ALLEN ROKACH Bama fans get serious about making a run for the SEC championship.

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Weekly Editor's Blog: To the Victor goes the Spoils

I had an "ah-ha" moment at the Alabama-Vanderbilt game at Dudley Field in Nashville on Saturday. The Crimson Tide rolled over the Commodores 24-10, but that's not the score that mattered most. This is the one that really counted: Alabama 11, Vanderbilt 0.

That's the number of college football national championships each university claims.

Winning is the bottom line in big-time college athletics these days, and those who win reap the benefits. Winning teams make more money for the university. Winning coaches have more job security. Winning football programs have larger stadiums, larger bands, and more fans who turn out to see if they'll win again.

Few teams have more loyal (or more hungry) fans than Alabama. With less than an hour until the game started, Bama's crimson-clad supporters were flooding the stands. They cheered during warm-ups. They cheered when Coach Nick Saban scratched his head. They booed when the Commodore mascot threw himself on the ground in front of the departing team and then cheered wildly when a Tide player happily jumped over him instead of going around.

By contrast, many of the Vandy followers didn't show up until after the game started. Tide fans outnumbered them about three to one. More students were partying on nearby fraternity row than were cheering on the Commodores inside the stadium.

I was feeling a little sorry for Vandy until I met a young fan from Tullahoma, Tennessee, who was taking a break from the heat and eating a slushy by the concession stand. He sported a spiky gold wig, a pair of khakis, and his tennis shoes. His face and body were painted black and gold, and he had a huge gold "U" tattooed on his chest. (His buddy sported the corresponding "V.") Of course they were disappointed that Vandy didn't win, he said, "But it's just fun to come to a game here. We have a great time."

So maybe it's not the score that matters after all.