In the South, football is a given.

Even if you don’t know the rules of the game or have never played yourself, there aren’t many places you can go on Friday and Saturday during the fall without hearing about which teams are doing well and which teams are going head to head.

Staunch supporters wear their colors no matter what and fair-weather fans flame out on online forums to show their distaste for how the season is going.

Armchair quarterbacks and coaches shout their own plays from the stands and children know how to answer the question “who are you for?” almost before they can walk. (The answer in our house is the Trojans.)

My son, due in January, even has a Trojan onesie waiting on him in case there’s need to wear it for a bowl game.

And people everywhere know about the passion that Southerners have for the game. Even if outsiders think it’s silly, they are still fascinated with the culture and tradition of tailgating and cheering on favorite teams.

That’s why I’m excited that one of my best friends is visiting us from Los Angeles this weekend. She’ll be attending her first football game – ever. Katie, the maid of honor at our wedding last August, is a Trojan by default. She loves the city and enjoys the people here, even though it’s very different from her home where she’s a blonde surfer girl.

We’ve got Katie a Troy shirt and a necklace with a Trojan head on it waiting in the guest room where she’ll be staying and there are already plans to hit up the Downtown Troy Tailgate Saturday before we head over to Tailgate Terrace and the Alumni House.

Katie is pretty excited, too, that her first game will be in the South – where we really know how to celebrate gridiron tradition and fun.

So, if you see us walking around on Saturday, be sure to give Katie, a Trojan recruit, a big “Hello” and teach her your favorite Trojan cheer.