When a summer storm hit Tuscaloosa on Saturday, it damaged a landmark, instantly familiar to Alabama football fans. The national championship wall at Rama Jama’s, a restaurant that has been open in the shadow of Bryant-Denny Stadium since 1996, fell down during the severe weather.
The restaurant announced the loss on Facebook.
“Today’s storm took down a (piece) of Tuscaloosa history,” the post read. “We lost our national championship wall today.”
Rama Jama’s shared a photo of workers helping to remove the mangled sign. On Sunday, half of the wall, built into the wooden back fence of the business was completely down
The national championship wall commemorated each of the Crimson Tide’s 18 titles. It also included quotes from the likes of CBS Sports and Southern Living Magazine praising the food at Rama Jama’s.
The wall also prominently displayed a list of times ESPN broadcasted from on site, including a showing in Todd Blackledge’s “Taste of The Town” segment. Rama Jama’s sits near where television networks park their broadcast trucks on Alabama game days.
The restaurant is known for its burgers and breakfast options. While the national championship wall might have fallen, the Tuscaloosa staple’s Crimson Tide spirit remains, with the interior and exterior both dripping in Alabama colors and memorabilia.
Rama Jama’s is a hugely popular place to eat on game days in Tuscaloosa. The line to get in often stretches nearly to the street, and merchandise is usually available for purchase out of a tent on the property.
The restaurant made it into an ESPN written feature on the retired Nick Saban, who now works for the network. Longtime Crimson Tide trainer Jeff Allen said that he’d joked with Saban that the longtime coach would now have time to step over to Rama Jama’s for a burger from his office in the stadium.
“Yeah, what is that place?” Allen said Saban asked. “Has it been there for a long time?”
“Yeah, Coach, for decades,” Allen replied.
After Alabama’s most recent national title, Rama Jama’s went all out in creating a menu item to mark the occasion. The restaurant introduced its Rama Jama’s National Championship BLT, which includes 18 strips of bacon, one for each championship.
