Superfan - Alabama: Emily Pitek
Superfan - Alabama: Emily Pitek

By Jenni Carlson
Published: May 31, 2008

Picking out Emily Pitek at Alabama softball games is easy.

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"All you've gotta do,” she said, "is listen.”

She has a husky, booming voice — the product of being the fourth of five siblings — and she's not afraid to use it. If a cheer or a chant goes up from the Crimson Tide section, Pitek is probably leading it.

Until a couple years ago, Pitek had never watched softball. The Buffalo, N.Y., native arrived at Alabama as a soccer player, but a pair of anterior cruciate ligament tears ended her career.

Pitek started attending women's sporting events, looking for an emotional pick-me-up.

She fell in love with softball.

"It gave me something to cheer about when I was down in the dumps,” she said.

She refuses to miss a game, even if that meant skipping her own graduation recently.

What happens now that Pitek has graduated remains to be seen. She might stay in Tuscaloosa, or she might move.

"I'll always be around for big games,” she said.


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Related Topics: Sports, Softball, Soccer


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