There’s An Alabama Crimson Tide Fan Shop In The Middle Of… Jerusalem?

Shabbat shalom, roll Tide, baby.

You’d be hard pressed to find a fanbase that’s more passionate about their college athletics – specifically football – than Alabama fans. They have a rich history of winning national championships (mostly thanks to Nick Saban), and that has led to the highest of high expectations year in and year out for the Crimson Tide.

If you consider yourself a college football fan, chances are you’ve interacted with an Alabama fan at one point in time. Their fanbase seems to stretch from sea to shining sea. Some might call portion of the wide-reaching, often obnoxious fandom “bandwagon fans.” Regardless, there’s no doubt that there’s a ton of Alabama faithful throughout the world that are always ready to fire their head coach if they lose more than two games in a single season.

There’s even a strong fan presence in the Middle East.

Currently, a post from “CFB Home” is going viral, and for good reason. It highlights a place in old Jerusalem called “The Alabama Shop,” which is a retail shop located in Jerusalem that specializes in Alabama Crimson tide memorabilia. The specialized store, which officially got started in 2000 after Alabama items kept selling more and more in the general retail shop that existed before it, is run by an Alabama graduate by the name Hani Imam.

It’s a little slice of Dixie smack dab in the City of God.

College football is the best.

In an interview from a couple of years back, Hani Imam explained why he started the Alabama-focused store, and how he loves to tell people in the area unfamiliar with college football about the dominant college football powerhouse:

“I am the biggest Alabama fan there is. I love my school. The local ask me questions about what the words ‘Roll Tide’ mean, and I explain, ‘This is a great university and with one of the best football teams ever.’”

I do wonder how he feels about Kalen DeBour’s tenure.

Just stop and think about how wild it is that there’s an Alabama Crimson Tide fan shop in the the Holy City, just blocks from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site that is commonly believed to be where Jesus was both crucified and buried. You wouldn’t think there’d be that big of a market for Alabama merch there, yet the items (that are available in Hebrew, Aramaic and English) apparently continue to fly off the shelves and keep the store open.

All in all, it’s a really quirky and fun story… minus the part where Hani Imam’s store is located in an area where there has been constant war. Back in 2023, when the Gaza War began (it’s still ongoing), many Alabama fans expressed concern for the Alabama shop owner, and reached out to him to see if he and his family would be willing to relocate to Tuscaloosa for the foreseeable future. Imam responded through his Facebook page, sharing this message:

“Thank you all for your concern and prayers. I am in Jerusalem with my family we are all safe and secured. Praying for peace and love for all people. GOD BLESS YOU ALL. ROLL TIDE.”

What a legend. If you wanted to take a virtual stroll through “The Alabama Shop,” you can do so through this video which was posted almost a decade ago:

The post There’s An Alabama Crimson Tide Fan Shop In The Middle Of… Jerusalem? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.