The flag

Wayne Champion wanted a sign.

It was 2000 and UAB had a game scheduled at LSU — Tiger Stadium, 85,000-plus people, national television. Champion had been a season-ticket holder since 1995, back when the Blazers were playing Division I-AA football. He'd been to the first win over a I-A team, at North Texas, when Watson Brown was the coach and Ced Buchannon was scoring touchdowns and the program was on its fast track from Division III to Division I-A.

By 2000, UAB was in Conference USA. The schedule had LSU on it. Champion told his daughter Paige he needed something he could take into the stadium to get on TV.

"I thought I'd get a cardboard and I could roll it up and shove it in my pants," he said.

Paige handsewed a flag instead — white and green fabric, Blaze in the center, "Go Blazers" across the front. She didn't have a computer in 2000, so she sized the whole thing from memory.

It showed up at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 23, 2000. UAB won 13-10 and never trailed in one of the program's biggest wins in its history. The flag has been to every season since — more than 200 games, an average of 10 games a year for 26 years. Champion estimates the family has visited 43 or 44 college football stadiums since 2000, and the flag has made the trip for most of those.

The flag has been soaked in the rain at Mississippi State and drenched at the Independence Bowl win over BYU. A woman sitting next to Champion at Starkville dropped mustard from a pretzel on the corner. When he got home, his wife Elizabeth had one question: "Are you gonna lick the mustard off of that?"

"Nope," Champion said. "It ain't never been washed. I ain't putting it in no washer, no dryer."

The signatures came later — too late, by Champion's own admission. He didn't start collecting them until 2008, when UAB played at Tennessee. He and his wife Elizabeth were at Calhoun's in Knoxville and ran into a group of former players.

"They said, 'Hey, everybody come over here and sign this flag,'" Champion said.

Dozens of names have filled the open space around Blaze since then — Bill Clark, Bryant Vincent, Darrell Hackney, TJ Johnston, Thomas Johnston, Matt McCants, Ced Buchannon, Matt Quinn, Hayden Pittman, Noah Wilder, Jay Southall. Julius Wainwright signed it in the hotel lobby in New Orleans after the Appalachian State game in the New Orleans Bowl. His son Bradley signed it, too — the first father-son signature on the flag.

Someone once arranged for Champion to bring it to practice. The coaching staff gathered the team and explained what the flag was and where it had been. Forty or 50 players signed it that day. One of them walked up on his own.

"He said, 'Could I sign that?'" Champion said. "And I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'I'd be honored to sign it.' So that's what it's about."

Players now know the flag. It's been on television. It's been on the road trips. It's been waved proudly as they walk past at the Blazer Walk going into Protective Stadium.

Former Blazer punter Parker Mullins recognized Champion at fall camp one year. Champion was standing on the sideline and Mullins walked over.

"Hey, Mr. Champion," Mullins said. "You still got the flag?"

Because he didn't start collecting signatures until years after the flag was made, Champion doesn't have many from the 2000 team — the team the flag was born for. Daniel Dixon is on there, and a few others, but most of them have never signed it.

The 2000 team is reuniting Oct. 3 at Protective Stadium for the Samford game. The players will be honored on the field. Dozens of them are coming back. Champion and Liz will be there with Paige and her husband, Shawn — and the flag. They hope to collect more names on this well-traveled piece of Blazer memorabilia.

"I'd love that," Champion said.

Sidebar: The flag (you are here)

The 2000 UAB Season Series

Part 1: Setting the standard

Part 2: The Quest

Part 3: Breakthrough on the Bayou