The sign said it all to the visitors and to the returning students, "Welcome back!"
Yes, a lot of changes are made in a span of one year, but here in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, the wait is over since that dismal Tuesday afternoon back November 2016. That is when University of Alabama-Birmingham football coach Bill Clark blew his whistle and dismissed his football team for what he thought was the last time.
After hours of deliberation, the people who do all the thinking and who are responsible for collecting and spending the funds made the painfully and agonizing decision that they all said, that there decision was for the good of the school.
They decided that the football program at the University of Alabama-Birmingham was expendable and decided that they would turn out the lights, lock up the doors, and that UAB football would be a fleeting memory.
The months slowly melted away and these people watched the parade known as college football pass them by, taking plenty of notoriety and a surplus of funds to be deposited into the bank.
After a year sabbatical, please remember this is the same group that decided that football had no future in the city of Birmingham, did an about face and reestablish the Blazers' football program.
There really is no good explanation or reason given for the suspension of football operations. Those people with the answer to the questions for the curious UAB football fan were too busy to give any answers.
Now all of that can be water under the bridge because this program has been raised from the dank, cold grave, given a breath of fresh air and a brand new life.
Per the National Football Foundation. there are 777 sponsored football programs. including the seven new teams that will be making history this fall by taking the football field for the first time. The University of Alabama-Birmingham is not a stranger to the fast-pace world of NCAA college football.
What should not be a surprise is that the same people who had no problem in pulling the shroud over this football program are waiting with growing anticipation for the arrival of the football program.
They are ready to reach into the revenue pie and grab a great big slice of their favorite kind of desert, the money pie!
Make no mistake about it, in the state of Alabama, they do take their football serious and whether it is a high school game, Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, or even NAIA, the football that is played in the heart of Dixie is a profitable and serious business.
Football fans that follow the Blazers should be ready for a long and rough ride that is waiting just ahead of them this season and understand that just reaching acceptability of decent football is some time away.
Blazer football fans will be a shining example of dedication toward the game because their patience will be tested to the limits watching players going out onto the field, playing the game to their best ability and making mistakes along the way that will evolve into the making the Blazers into a football success.
"I guess I am cautiously optimistic," coach Clark said about his roster. "We've really started holding guys accountable."
History will be made hopefully under a clear-blue Alabama sky along with a warm golden sunshine, on Saturday, September 2, 2017j when the Blazers unlocked the door and roll out the welcome mat against Alabama A&M University starting at 2:30 PM CT at home inside the historical Legions Field.
When the electricity is turned on, the lights will flicker before the bulbs illuminate the field, there will be plenty of fans in their seats watching the pregame activities and when they conclude the warmups, there will be plenty of waves to players and coaches, it could bring some tears of joy to the eyes of many UAB football fans.
There should be a sense of accomplishment and pride for all of those people who are responsible for the resurrection of a proud University of Alabama-Birmingham football program.
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