I trekked out there originally on a fact-finding mission. The SEC tournament has a colorful set of corporate sponsors -- you've already heard me extoll the virtues of Dr. Pepper and Chik-Fil-A -- but none perhaps as active here as Texas Pete. The hot sauce purveyor sponsored its second-annual Texas Pete's SEC Baseball Cookoff earlier today, crowning Mr. Cary Hill, an avid Alabama fan and perpetual RV-er, Grand Champion of the grill. Mr. Hill was unavailable for comment when I came upon his RV site in the parking lot, as he had already left the campground for the game, but his family gave me a warm welcome, and sent me back to the stadium with three bottles of Texas Pete and an invitation to return after the game to sample the award-winning ribs. These are the kind of invitations you just don't turn down!

Other impressions from RV-land:

*Not only do these SEC folk know how to play some baseball, but darn if they don't know how to travel in style. These RVs are more than just mobile homes, they're mobile castles, fan sites, gigantic billboards to their school affiliation. People travel with their pets (dogs, cats, birds, fish) and their families (grandparents, grandkids, cousins, hangers-on) and when their team's not on the field you can generally find them sitting in collapsible chairs under a sun tent in front of their RV, often watching the current game on a satellite-portable TV.

*RV-ing to the tournament is not for the faint of heart or the poor of planning. The City of Hoover's hospitality tent staff informed me that the 150-some campsites (with full power, water, sewage hookups) were completely booked for next year's tournament as of Tuesday the 23rd. It'll cost you $250 a site, and you can only book up to four RV sites in one call. Lucky for the Hill family -- their "group" travels with only four full size campers.

*Most entertaining trailer from my quick walk-through: Site 1 of the White Zone, a South Carolina camper with no comparison. The auxiliary car on this RV (for short jaunts around Hoover) was a convertible old Beetle, with SC magnets all over it and a giant stuffed Gamecock sitting in the backseat. Best of all? The real, live Gamecock on a leash in front of the campsite, looking somewhat dejected after Carolina's tournament-ending 16-10 loss to Georgia. My sources tell me a similar live bird runs around on top of the SC dugout at home games. Could this be the same Gamecock? No owner was in site to confirm or deny this rumor.

*These people know how to beat the heat. Hot outside? Duck into the air-conditioned mobile home. Hot inside? Step outside for a cold one. Too hot to walk to 50 yards to the stadium? Take one of the golf carts zipping back and forth, graciously provided by the City of Hoover and the Chamber of Commerce. Golf carts = always awesome.

Rib Report to come...For now, Alabama and LSU just got started, and the Met is rockin'