Roll Tide, Everywhere
"Marcus! You're on the substitution list for this one."
At the coach's words, Marcus listened in silence with the same arrogant expression he always wore.
Unable to read what was going on behind that face, Danny—who happened to be friendly with him—offered his congratulations.
"Oooh, congrats, congrats! Looks like you'll get to see the field next game, huh?"
"Of course. The team's such garbage they'd have no choice but to play me."
"......"
Whether Marcus cared or not, his gaze drifted off to one side.
A freshman running back, starting in the first string the moment he arrived.
And yet the little Asian kid didn't show a single flicker of excitement.
"Tch."
Miscalculated.
He'd never imagined the guy would end up at Alabama.
The negative news coming out of Alabama was already well known. The throne sinking into decline ever since Nick Saban's retirement.
So naturally, Marcus had assumed he'd go somewhere else. He'd wanted to face that guy as an enemy, not a teammate.
"Hm?"
Then, all of a sudden—
As if sensing Marcus's stare, Jaehyuk glanced back at him.
What are you looking at?
With that exact expression, the kid turned his eyes forward again, and Marcus smirked.
Fine. In for a penny, in for a pound.
Hoisting a trophy with the same team wouldn't be so bad, he supposed.
"Marcus."
"What."
"Your family still doesn't know? Season's starting and everything......"
At Danny's question, Marcus paused for a moment before nodding.
"Instead, tell them I said hi."
"Rrrgh, rrrgh."
Danny made the sound out loud as he scratched his head. But knowing at least part of Marcus's situation, he ultimately held out a fist.
Marcus bumped it with his own.
Soon the team meeting wrapped up, and Marcus was the first to leave.
"Hey, Danny!"
Ty Simpson approached Danny, who'd been with Marcus until just now, his eyes flicking briefly toward where Marcus had gone.
"Oh right, you two are from the same neighborhood, weren't you?"
"Yeah. Back then we just knew of each other, though."
Then Danny put on an eerie expression and went on.
"Back home, everybody knew who Marcus was. A real gangster."
"He's a college sophomore. How old were you even talking about when you say 'real gangster days'?"
"Middle schooler? But look at his face, man. Even back then, his face value was never middle-school level!"
"Danny, wait—you're not joking right now? You're serious that Marcus was a gangster?"
"That's what I'm telling you?!"
Danny, who'd been spilling everything, suddenly flinched and added cautiously to Ty.
"You can't tell anyone I said that. I'll die."
"......Then why did you say it at all?"
"It slipped out. Rrrgh."
Ty looked at Danny with something like pity, then shrugged.
"Don't worry, I'm not going around broadcasting it. Besides, Marcus has gone straight by now, hasn't he? If he made it all the way to Alabama."
"That's true. Far as I know, he left his family behind in high school and moved to Wichita on his own. To cut all ties with the gang stuff."
"Well, who wouldn't want one less guy like that around? Everyone just keeps quiet about it—there are a few other ex-gang guys on the team besides him."
"True that. Heh."
Danny said it with an awkward grin.
Ty chuckled at the sight, then jerked his chin toward the door.
"Let's head out too. Game's tomorrow—I'm getting the jitters."
"This season we GOTTA win it all. Otherwise the locals will skewer us and hang us up in front of the school gate?"
"......fuck."
NCAA Division I Football.
And within it, the FBS—the top-tier division.
Ten conferences plus seven independent schools, a hundred and twenty colleges in all competing in one of America's grandest spectacles.
To put it in soccer terms, the Power 4 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC) played the role of the big leagues—the EPL, Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1.
The teams that performed well in each conference then earned a berth in the CFP (College Football Playoff), the sport's answer to the Champions League.
And astonishingly enough—
The broadcasting rights fees and ticket revenue of the FBS were virtually on par with the European soccer leagues.
It was a roundabout measure of just how enormous the college football market really was.
In terms of sheer popularity, college football boasted a fervor second only to the NFL—or, some would say, nearly equal to it.
"Alabama Crimson Tide......"
And at last, the opening day of college football had arrived.
The day before, DeShaun Foster, head coach of the UCLA Bruins, had been reviewing the opposition's roster when he burst out laughing.
"Who knew that promise we booked five years ago would come back around as a windfall."
Non-conference games were, as a rule, scheduled years in advance.
College powerhouses in particular liked to lock in matchups against weaker opponents—easy wins for the sake of the record books.
That's why, five years ago, Alabama had booked this game fully intending to devour the UCLA Bruins.
But the situation had changed since then.
UCLA had transferred into the Big Ten conference and, riding that wave, become a rising powerhouse.
Alabama, by contrast, was mired in a slump. The departures of key starters over the past two or three years had been especially painful.
Thanks to that, Coach Foster rated his chances in this game sky-high.
"They're starting a freshman at running back? Heh. Fine, their starter transferred out, but still—how do you hand the job to a freshman? So the rumors about Alabama's struggles were true after all."
Looking over the rest of the depth chart, the roster was dotted with underclassmen as well.
A highly unusual lineup.
The only real concern was Ryan Williams, maybe?
With a quarterback who wasn't much to write home about, simply shadowing Ryan would surely keep the opponent from finding any rhythm.
That said, caution was still warranted. Anyone good enough to get into Alabama was, at minimum, a nationally ranked prospect.
And besides, from Alabama's own lofty standards, a 9-4 record was something to be embarrassed about—but from where UCLA stood, that same record looked like a fine season.
They were simply viewing the same thing from different vantage points.
But somehow—
Coach Foster brimmed with confidence that he would win this opener.
Why?
An Alabama roster weaker than last year's 9-4 squad. Meanwhile, UCLA had pulled off a massive roster overhaul.
Their defense in particular had grown remarkably deep, which meant they should be able to weather Alabama's signature relentless offensive waves without much trouble.
"Landiing Gary Zamond was a stroke of genius."
Gary Zamond, an elite inside linebacker.
Through a connection of an acquaintance and a dazzling offer, UCLA had pulled off his transfer.
His production over the past two seasons already ranked among the top college linebackers in the nation.
Foster hoped for nothing more than another dominant year from him.
'Too bad for Alabama's freshman.'
Starting as a true freshman meant he must have been a hotshot prospect in high school.
But that wouldn't carry over to the college game.
And certainly not against Gary Zamond, a top-ranked college linebacker. Not even close.
"He's about to find out what it feels like to have both hands and both feet tied."
Coach Foster smiled.
And then—
the next morning broke.
"WOOOOAH!!"
Jaehyuk's family had landed at Birmingham Airport on the flight he'd booked them and arrived in Tuscaloosa. After spending the night in a pre-reserved five-star hotel, they stepped outside to find the streets awash in a crimson wave.
"Roll! Tide!"
"Roll Tide!"
'Roll Tide' banners hung from every corner of the city. Not only that—shops, restaurants, even most of the cars on the road sported 'Roll Tide' decals.
"This is insane, INSANE!!"
"Wow. This is actually something else."
Eunbi and Minhyuk couldn't take their eyes off it. It was far more fanatical than anything they'd seen at that Oklahoma State game before.
It felt like a festival in full swing. And because it was a home game, the heat of it was beyond description.
Poot-poot-poot! Poot-poot-poot!
Pooooot!
Everyone—young and old alike—marched down the streets in uniforms of white and crimson. The march's destination, naturally, was Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama's home field.
An officially listed capacity of exactly 100,077—one of the largest stadiums in America.
But what was even more staggering was that every single one of those hundred-thousand-plus seats sold out, every game.
"These people are really going to watch the game our Jaehyuk plays in......?"
"When you put it that way, I honestly can't believe it."
Jaehyuk's parents were equally struck dumb by the sheer scale of the street procession—it was far bigger than they'd imagined.
The family did like football, but only ever from a casual fan's perspective. They watched on TV whenever a game was on; they could count their in-person games on one hand, and that Oklahoma game was pretty much their first taste of college football.
They followed the crowd along, and thankfully—crimson clothing having been prepared in advance—they blended right in. In the distance, the colossal stadium came into view.
"Ohhh yeah!"
"Whoa!"
Minhyuk and Eunbi were already buzzing. At some point the two of them had started humming along with the chants and fight songs echoing from every direction.
The parents, on the other hand, were worried sick.
"Do you think Jaehyuk will do well?"
"I just hope he isn't nervous. Oh dear, now I'm the one getting nervous."
As they drew near the stadium, the crowd grew thicker still. On one side, crimson tents stretched out in rows like a sprawling campground.
The smell of barbecue and street food drifted from every direction. People drinking beer. Kids throwing footballs back and forth.
To these people, an Alabama game was quite simply a part of life itself.
Kickoff was still hours away.
But the family decided to get inside before the crowds swelled any further.
Presenting the tickets Jaehyuk had sent ahead, they entered—and the full panorama of the enormous stadium, built to swallow a hundred thousand people, unfolded before them.
"It's unreal......"
"Big bro is really going to play HERE?!"
The two of them immediately started filming. Footage for social media—and bragging rights for their friends.
Midway through filming, they noticed something and shouted to their parents.
"Mom! Mom!"
"Dad, look over there!"
Startled by the sudden commotion, the parents turned to see where the kids were pointing—at some random spectator.
"What? What is it?"
"Look at that person's jersey! The number on the back!"
Number on the back?
Sure enough, an Alabama fan sitting nearby was wearing a jersey emblazoned with the number 21.
Twenty-one......
Twenty-one?!
"That's Jaehyuk's number!!"
"Right?! Someone actually bought a jersey with big bro's number on it! And he hasn't even played a single game yet!"
"Is he Asian? Huh? No—he's not even Asian. Someone who's not Asian bought our Jaehyuk's jersey?"
And so, surrounded by the swelling sea of a hundred thousand fans, Jaehyuk's family launched into a game of "spot the 21."
"There's one over there!"
"Another one over there!"
"Wow, there really are a few scattered around!"
Unexpected fans wearing Jaehyuk's jersey. The sight filled the family with a proud warmth they couldn't quite explain.
And then, at last—
people began filing into the empty seats beside Jaehyuk's family.
But what were the odds.
The person who happened to sit down right next to them was wearing—of all things—Jaehyuk's jersey.
"Gah!"
"Hm? Hello there?"
The Black man in the neighboring seat waved cheerfully at a startled Eunbi. Then he struck up a conversation.
"Oh, are you folks Kim Jaehyuk fans by any chance?"
Assuming they were Asian fans of the player, perhaps. At that, Minhyuk blurted out without a moment's hesitation:
"That's our brother! Kim Jaehyuk is our brother!!"
"Huh? WHAT?! You're Jaehyuk's family?!"
The man's eyes went wide, then lit up with joy. He immediately jabbed his companions, shouting in excitement.
"Hey! HEY! Jaehyuk's family is here!!"
"Jaehyuk? Oh, that player you kept talking about?"
But for some reason, his group's reaction was lukewarm. Apparently, among his whole crew, the only actual Jaehyuk fan was this one Black man in the jersey.
"Haha, wonderful to meet you! Imagine running into Jaehyuk's family in the seats right next to us! It's an honor, truly."
"No, no, we should be thanking YOU for cheering for our brother! I'm Kim Eunbi."
"Derrick Bevan. Pleasure's mine."
"By the way, how did you find out about our brother? Today's his first college game."
"I saw the scrimmage footage. The one against the North Carolina Tar Heels—the return touchdown! Whew, ever since then I've tracked down every tape from his high school days too! Kim Jaehyuk is the real deal!"
The moment those words ended—
the players of both teams streamed onto the field.
A light service for the fans. Soon the players were warming up on the turf below.
"Ooooh!"
Jaehyuk's family scanned the field with hungry eyes. Where could he be?
"There he is!"
Jaehyuk stood out at a glance. Being the only Asian on the field, he was impossible to miss.
"Oppa!! We're here!!"
"Jaehyuk, you big oaf!!!"
Unfortunately, the crowd was far too loud for the siblings' voices to carry.
And yet—
how on earth did he notice, Jaehyuk found their seats anyway.
He gave a small wave, then went back to his warm-up.
"Whoa, he saw us!"
"Jaehyuk spotted us!"
"Amazing! Sharp eyes on Jaehyuk too!"
Before long, the stadium was packed to the brim. Not a seat to spare—some spectators were even standing. Nearly a hundred and ten thousand people had poured into the stadium.
And finally, with kickoff only minutes away, the players filed back into the tunnel.
Skweeeee—!
"WHOOOAAAA!!"
"ROLL! TIDE! ROLL! TIDE!"
"ROLL! TIDE! ROLL! TIDE!"
"ROLL! TIDE! ROLL! TIDE!"
Tens of thousands of voices thundering as one. The chant roared up from every throat in the stadium and sent chills down the spine.
In the ever-rising heat of the moment—
the lights went dark.
Then crimson floods swallowed the stadium from every side.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
With the marching band's thunderous fanfare—
the Crimson Tide players exploded out of the tunnel.
""WHOOOAAA!!""
"Roll Tide! Roll Tide!"
The players roared as they burst onto the field, bellowing war cries as if to draw strength straight from the stands.
Overwhelmed by the sheer force of it all, Jaehyuk's family barely remembered to breathe as they soaked in the moment.
And last of all—
the number 21 glowing bright on the back of the final player to emerge.
Redline, cutting through the deluge of screams and roars.
Somewhere along the way, a visor had been fitted to his helmet.
A red visor.
At that impossibly cool sight, Derrick beside them screamed at Eunbi:
"REeeedliiine!! REDLINE'S HERE!!!! HE PUT ON A RED VISOR TOO!! THAT'S SO DAMN COOL!!"
NCAA Football.
Jaehyuk's first college season—his first official FBS game, the season opener—was about to begin.