Quick-Fire Quips is a speedy questionnaire where we get to know people who stand out in the State of Alabama! In this episode, Alabama Public Radio host Baillee Majors talks with Crimson Tide super fan, Nacho Alabamo!
Baillee: Hello, Nacho. How are you?
Nacho Alabamo: I'm doing fantastic. Roll Tide!
Baillee: For people who maybe aren't aware of you or have never seen you at a game or an event, could you describe what you wear, how you look, as Nacho Alabama?
Nacho Alabamo: It's a red and white striped poncho, and on the back, it does have one of the old school Alabama elephant in the coming out of the "A." My favorite logo by far, and it says Nacho Alabama, and then I wear a mask. It's a luchador mask.
Baillee: I think a lot of people probably know you, you know from football games, but that's not the only sport that you're into when it comes to Alabama?
Nacho Alabamo: Yeah, I try to, you know, when it's not football season, I'm here for every home game during football season, but in the spring, there's a lot of cool sports that are going on here.
Baillee: Now that introductions are out of the way, let's get you warmed up to answer the questionnaire. And to do that, I want you to say Quick-Fire Quips three times fast.
Nacho Alabamo: Quick-Fire Quips, Quick-Fire Quips, Quick-Fire Quips!
Baillee: Very nice. Some people get a little tongue tied! Here's the first question. What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear Alabama?
Nacho Alabamo: The University of Alabama. I mean, you know Bryant-Denny Stadium honestly. That's where my heart is. I love it more than anything. Coming into that stadium and walking in there and looking around... it just takes my breath away!
Baillee: Okay, I have to know this, are you and Big Al on good terms?
Nacho Alabamo: There was a time that every time Big Al would see me, he would come over, and I would give him my hammer, and he would walk around with my hammer. I still get pictures, but we haven't rubbed shoulders here lately.
Baillee: What is the best dish to bring to a potluck and why?
Nacho Alabamo: Redneck sushi? It's green beans wrapped in bacon, and then you cover it with a mixture of Russian dressing and honey. Cook it for an hour, and it's amazing. That's this one that I bring... I'm not a big I'm not a big vegetable guy, but I can tear up some some redneck sushi.
Baillee: Gosh, it sounds so good! Who was your childhood hero?
Nacho Alabamo: Childhood hero? Wow. It got me going back. When I was a kid, I was wanting to be a writer Stephen King. I read a ton of his books. I loved his writing style.
And then, of course, I went to a lot of sporting things, Jose Canseco and Mark McGuire, you know, the Bash brothers. I definitely looked up to those guys. That was when I was, like, 12 and 13 years old.
Baillee: Do you have any superstitions or irrational fears?
Nacho Alabamo: I definitely have some game day superstitions.
Baillee: Yes, we have to hear them.
Nacho Alabamo: I have to go to the Waysider for breakfast. It's a restaurant that's been here forever, and Coach Bryant used to go there and eat. I have to eat at the Waysider first thing in the morning, as soon as they open. I leave there, and then I head to Strange Brew on University, and I get me a Crimson and White, and that's for home games. It's pretty untouched.
Now go to last year we had the Georgia Game. Game Day was in town. [I was] interviewed and all that stuff. So I didn't have time to wait on a coffee. It just kept bugging me. Then, I got on my scooter and Crimson and White, and of course, we won the game.
Baillee: What do you think you bring to the Alabama game day experience?
Nacho Alabamo: I bring something that is pretty special. You know, I get to take pictures with hundreds, if not thousands of fans, students. I get to be part of the game day experience. And I get to be part of these students lives.
I get to meet some of them, even after they've graduated, after they've had kids, and they come back, "Oh, my God, I got a picture with you my sophomore year. Can you get a picture with my son?"
I mean, I've been doing it seven years, and that, to me, is one of the coolest things. I'm a part of the game day experience, and I'm a part of that person's life, and when they look at that picture with me, they remember their time at the greatest university in the world.
I love this university even though I'm not actually part of it. I love it with all my heart, and I love the students that go here... and it means the world to me. It really does.
Baillee: What is something on your bucket list?
Nacho Alabamo: I admire Coach Saban so much. My bucket list, that would be pretty much at the top, would be to get, get to meet Coach Saban.
Baillee: Here's the last question. What does Alabama need?
Nacho Alabamo: What does Alabama need... what Bryant Denny needs, what The University of Alabama needs... They need to get Nacho on the field during the game!
Ever since Scott Cochran left, you know, they had fourth quarter and they would go, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, let's get fired up!" They don't do that anymore. I'm the guy. I am the guy! I can get that crowd fired up.
All right, new bucket list. That's number one, and then I meet Coach Saban the same day!
Baillee: That's it for today's Quick-Fire Quips, a speedy questionnaire where we get to know people who stand out in the state of Alabama. That was Crimson Tide super fan, Nacho Alabamo!
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