The student superfan knew how to stand out in a crowd. To become "Fluff," the Alabama basketball zealot beloved by the Crimson Tide faithful for his colorful antics, each game day Luke Ratliff dutifully slipped on his armor — a custom-fit dark plaid sport coat, an Alabama pin on the right lapel and a pair of white Nikes. Usually, a couple of Budweisers helped him step fully into character.
A year ago, when the NCAA welcomed 68 teams to Indianapolis for a March Madness unlike any other, with all 67 games staged in a "bubble" to minimize travel and exposure to COVID-19, Fluff was not going to miss it. Heck, he had attended every road game all season as the pandemic played on unchecked throughout the Southeast.
"I'll do anything for my head ball coach," Fluff liked to say of Alabama's Nate Oats.
