Alabama state senator wants to ban kickoffs before noon

Are political debates about college football kickoff times going to be an annual thing now?

Less than a year after Minnesota's governor took issue with games kicking off before noon, a state senator from Alabama has taken up the cause. Sen. Trip Pittman (R), Montrose, said the following in a senate session on Wednesday.

"I think going forward it's important that the managers of the universities across this state start to consider the fans," Pittman said via AL.com. "The reason for this could be two fold. For one, Auburn doesn't play well before noon."

We will now take a pause in this blog post so you can read that quote again. And again. Yes, part of Pittman's stated reasoning for banning pre-noon kicks was because of the almost-loss that Auburn had Saturday against Jacksonville State (the game started at 11 a.m. Central). The comments also came as Alabama's senate was set to debate on a budget for the fiscal year. A fiscal year that begins in October. Even if he was partially joking, the timing of the proposal is inappropriate.

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The site also reported Pittman said early start times affected attendance numbers. While that may be a valid concern, it's something that the Alabama state legislature shouldn't be talking about, don't you think? Thankfully, Pittman was put in his place by Sen. Paul Bussman (R), Cullman. While we know the Alabama legislature loves its football, this is a bit extreme even when you don't consider the fact that government programs and use of taxpayer money was a higher priority on Wednesday.

"We have a ridiculous ability to come into this chamber and talk about football," said Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman. "I'm ashamed to be in this body right now."

Pittman's measure thankfully didn't get a push, so don't look for Auburn or Alabama to be banned from playing early games at home anytime soon.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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