Few things in Alabama elicit the excitement of high school and college football. Most people have been involved in one or both, whether as a bumper-sticker-sporting supporter, active alumnus, lounge-chair fan, season ticketholder or one of those devious guys who goes for whichever team is winning.

Some people are closer to the game, working the sidelines as cheerleaders, trainers, managers, coaches or officials.

And then there are those who spent time on the gridiron running between those white-painted yard lines on meticulously groomed green fields across the state and around the nation. Their time with the genuine pigskin separates them from the crowd, often defining the direction of the remaining days of their lives.

Here’s a sampling of Alabama Power employees who reached the collegiate level of football (or beyond) and their memories of the game, in their own words:

Paul Boschung

  Retired

  University of Alabama

  Left tackle defense/strong tackle offense

  1966-70

Memorable moment

Paul Boschung during his days playing for the Bear. (Contributed)

Oct. 4, 1969, Alabama vs. Ole Miss is generally considered “the night major college football went prime time.” Early in the game, Ole Miss was driving deep into Alabama territory. Down near the goal line, the Ole Miss running back fumbled and I recovered the ball. Both teams were on their games that night and it seemed as though the last team to possess the ball would win the game. Late in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss was driving into Alabama territory, it was fourth down and inches to go for Ole Miss, when I sacked Archie Manning 3 yards deep in his own backfield. Alabama took over the ball and eventually won the game.

How my football experience helped me at work and in life

Alabama Power retiree Paul Boschung today. (Contributed)

During my four years at Alabama, Coach Bryant talked to his teams about many things having to do with life after football. Three things in particular have stayed with me over the years and have meant a lot to me in both my personal and professional life. He talked to us about character, honor and integrity. These things have been an important part of my life since then. Every morning when my feet hit the floor, I thank the good Lord for giving me another day, and almost immediately my thoughts turn to those words: character, honor and integrity. I have discovered over the years that the person who values those things will have no difficulty, regardless of circumstance, in making the right decision.

Wesley Britt

  Governmental & Corporate Affairs

  projects manager

  University of Alabama

  Offensive tackle

  2000-2004

  Team captain, SEC Good Works Team, SEC All-Academic, Jacobs Blocking Trophy, All-American 2004, All-SEC 2002, 2003, 2004

Memorable moment

It was the Third Saturday in October my junior season and, of course, that meant we were playing the fabled Alabama-Tennessee rivalry. After starting 34 consecutive games, early in the first quarter I suffered a broken tibia and fibula after a Vols’ missed tackle landed on the back of my left leg.  While lying on the field in front of 100,000 silent fans, I could not stop thinking about my teammates and how incredibly blessed I was to have had the opportunity to play the great game of football for one of the most tradition-rich teams in all of sports. Coming from humble beginnings in Cullman, Alabama, this little country boy had gotten to do something that most children dream about all their lives … and I was grateful. I did not know if I would ever be able to return to the gridiron, and if football wasn’t in my future — if I never played another down in my life — I knew God had another plan for me, and it was a lot better than any plan I had scheduled out for myself. Those few moments certainly helped me put things into perspective.

Post-football, Wesley Britt, pictured with his family, is a projects manager for Alabama Power. (Contributed)

Doctors attend to Wesley Britt as he is transported from the field after breaking his tibia and fibula during an Alabama-Tennessee game. (Contributed)

Wesley Britt during his stint with the New England Patriots. (Contributed)

How my football experience helps me at work and life

Football has armed me with a transferable skill set, which I rely on daily, both at work and at home with my wife and children. To be successful in football or business, you must work seamlessly with a diverse team to accomplish a common cause, and I was fortunate to learn this at a young age. The best teams I was a part of were made up of very different individuals who valued and respected each other’s strengths and backgrounds. Among many other things, the sport taught me the importance of being adaptable, setting goals and working diligently to accomplish them.

As an offensive lineman, if I did not do my job every play my teammate could be injured. … I was my brother’s keeper. Through 100-degree three-a-day practices, losses, being fired from two NFL jobs and injuries, I learned how to overcome and grow through adversity. Having four head coaches in four years taught me how to embrace and thrive amid organizational change. To be successful at football, you must be very disciplined and practice self-improvement every single day. This same principle transfers directly as I strive to be a great husband, father, friend and professional. Team sports taught me the value of surrounding yourself with great people, as we are only as strong as our weakest link.

Though it was through many arduous circumstances, I am grateful to the sport, my coaches and teammates for teaching me the value of integrity, hard work, loyalty, accountability and commitment to excellence.

Marcus Powe

  Tuscaloosa engineer

  Alabama A&M

  Defensive end

  2006-10

Memorable moment

My most memorable game was during my sophomore year in college after finishing my redshirt year. I was mainly on our special teams that year until we played against one of our archrivals to get to the championship game. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was actually third- or maybe fourth-string on the depth chart, and I wasn’t expecting to play that game. I was in deep conversation with one of my roommates, who also played football, at the time wishing and hoping that our opportunity would surely come for us to play. All the players who were in front of me had gotten injured. Before I knew it, I heard my defensive line coach call my name three times. The first time I was thinking it was an accident. The second time hope was building up. The last time I knew it was my chance to go into the game. When I got in for the first play, it ended up being just a regular stop. The second play was my opportunity. The coach called for a twist among defensive ends. As the ball was hiked and we proceeded to execute the play, I ended up getting past one of the opposing team’s offensive linemen with my eyes locked in on the quarterback. I acquired the sack, but I heard the fans cheering long afterward. I stood up and saw that I had caused a fumble and one of my teammates picked the ball up and returned it for a touchdown. Sad to say, we lost the game, but that was one opportunity and play that I will never forget.

How my football experience helps me at work and life

Football has taught me numerous things, but there are three that stick out that I carry with me on a daily basis:

1. Take advantage of your opportunities once they are presented and be dedicated to them.
2. No matter how tough the situation, continue to work and never give up. Be persistent.
3. When on a team, a person should realize there is no “I” or “You” in TEAM. I have said it before and I will continue to say it: “Together Everyone Achieves More.”

A lot of times things may not be going the way you would wish for them to go or you may fail trying. Learn from the situation, dust yourself off and keep pushing on. You never know when your big break may come.

Quentin Riggins

  Senior vice president Government and Corporate Affairs

  Auburn University

  Linebacker

  1986-1989

  Team captain, All-SEC 1988-89, second team, All-American 1988-89, 2009 SEC Football Legend

Quentin Riggins in action with the Auburn Tigers. (Contributed)

Memorable moments

Four-year letter winner at linebacker. Accumulated 398 tackles (200 solo, 198 assists) during career, which ranks fifth in Auburn history, while helping the Tigers to SEC titles in 1987, ’88 and ’89. Played one season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League, and covered Auburn Football for the Auburn Network from 1991 to 2015.

How my football experience helps me at work and life

Quentin Riggins today. (Contributed)

Don’t be afraid of hard work; football in our region is such a tradition and it’s something that if you understand that you use your football opportunity to get an education and play for your favorite school, and on the flip side of that if you stay out of trouble and graduate, the opportunities will come for you to have a successful career after football.

The confidence Alabama Power had in me confirms that I was a student-athlete, and not just an athlete.

Courtney Rose

  Farley Nuclear Plant OPS shift supervisor

  Auburn University

  Defensive Back

  1996-2000

  SEC Defensive Player of the Week vs. Ole Miss in 2000

Courtney Rose playing strong safety for Auburn. (Contributed)

Memorable moment

In 2000, we played our in-state rival, the Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama, in Bryant-Denny Stadium for the first time in 99 years. Despite the long-heated rivalry between the two teams, this was only the third meeting in Tuscaloosa. The first two games were played in 1895 and 1901. Auburn won both contests: the first game 48-0 and the second game 17-0.  Nov. 18, 2000, was a cold and dreary day in Tuscaloosa. Sleet was falling and the temperature was in the mid-to-high teens. A lot was at stake for us – first and foremost bragging rights for the next year and a chance to go to the SEC Championship to face the Florida Gators. We won the game 9-0 that evening, and despite the cold and bitterness of the day, it seemed as if the sun had come out by game’s end. We won the SEC West, shut out Alabama in its home stadium for the third time in a row, and made sure the Crimson Tide fans heard about it for the next 364 days.

How my football experience helps me at work and life

I’ve been playing football since I was 9 years old. The one thing that football taught me is that you cannot get any more out of life than what you put into it. If you want to win a championship, then you have to prepare, practice and train on a championship level. The same thought process applies to life, family and work. And, last but not least, if a team is going to be successful, each team member has to make the success of the team a priority, and make individual goals secondary. Selfishness is like a disease to teamwork. I apply the same thought process in life.

DeWayne Taylor

  Birmingham Division Accounting Services manager

  University of Louisville

  Running back/strong safety

  1996-2000

Memorable moment

DeWayne Taylor carries the ball for the University of Louisville. (Contributed)

My most memorable moment was breaking the Baldwin County rushing record for most yards (311) in a game. It was my junior year; we were playing against Williamson High School at the historic Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile. Williamson had one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, Tee Martin (who went on to quarterback the University of Tennessee to a national championship). There were numerous scouts who had come to the game to see Martin play. But that night I was discovered. After continued success on the field and in the classroom during my junior and senior years, it landed me many scholarship offers.

Those opportunities allowed me to obtain a great education at the University of Louisville, to become a better man and father, and experience a successful career at Alabama Power Company.

How my football experience helps me at work and life

DeWayne Taylor today is accounting services manager for Alabama Power in Birmingham. (Contributed)

I played football from the time I was 6 until I was 22 years old. Sixteen years of football cost me a broken hand, a broken toe, two torn quadriceps muscles, a sprained medial collateral ligament and countless other bumps and bruises. Nearly all of these injuries came during my college years. Despite the injuries and pains, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything in this world. The life lessons I have learned shaped my character and made me the man I am today: a man who is accountable for himself, to his family and to his co-workers; a man who understands the importance of discipline, working hard, competing, leading and following; a man who exemplifies integrity, sacrifice and the ability to accomplish something bigger than oneself. These are all character traits I strive to pass along to my son as well as other young men and women who I am blessed to influence. My years of playing football have had a tremendous impact on my life and have successfully prepared me to be a servant leader at home, in my community and to my teammates of the Birmingham Division.

Spencer Williams

  Eastern Division market specialist

  University of North Alabama

  Fullback and linebacker

  1985-1987

  Division II national runner-up 1985

Memorable moment

Spencer Williams is a market specialist for Alabama Power. (Contributed)

It was a hard-fought game with West Georgia near the end of the season. We were tied for first place. Down by 3 points, we threw a Hail Mary pass downfield, which was intercepted. As we began to walk toward the bench, we noticed the opposing player was trying to run it back instead of downing the ball and ending the game. One of our receivers laid a lick on him and my roommate scooped the ball and scored with 00:00 on the clock. I still wonder if that guy was ever allowed back on campus.

How my football experience helps me at work and life

Football taught me the discipline to work toward a goal and to take pride in all that I do. In a hot August practice, it can be tough to stay focused on a game three weeks away. Hard work always pays off if you stay focused on your ultimate goals.