Mickey Mouse Shirts, ‘Chip Pringle’ and the Family That’s Supported Alabama Basketball to the Final Four

The Wallaces have travelled thousands of miles cheering on the Crimson Tide this season with one last stop in Arizona for the Final Four.

PHOENIX — Being surrounded by Big Blue Nation turned Chelsea Wallace into a basketball fan, but not in the way you might think.

Wallace grew up in Alabama and attended the University of Alabama. Her freshman year of college coincided with Nick Saban’s first season as the Crimson Tide head coach in 2007. So she quickly became a big sports fan, although her fandom mainly revolved around the gridiron. 

After she and her husband Payden graduated medical school, the couple moved up to Lexington, Kentucky for their residency programs at the University of Kentucky.

“That’s where we got really involved with college hoops,” Wallace said. “Most people when we went there were like, ‘Oh, you’re lucky to be an Alabama football fan and Kentucky basketball fan.’ But once we were there, I was like, ‘No way I can root for Kentucky.’ It was so fun to be up there, but to be an Alabama fan. That’s really where we became more interested in Alabama basketball.”

The Wallaces’ time in Lexington was during the end of the Avery Johnson era and the beginning of Nate Oats’ tenure with Alabama basketball as Oats was working to put the Crimson Tide back on the college basketball map. When the family moved back to Tuscaloosa three years ago and have been involved with supporting the program ever since. 

This year, the Wallaces made a commitment to go to as many games as possible— both home and away. Little could they possibly know what journey that commitment would take them on this season. Along with their young daughters Bennett and Foster along for most of the ride, they traveled from coast to coast supporting the Crimson Tide while only missing one home game all season.

They've lost track of how many games they’ve attended this season, but a rough estimate places the total somewhere between 20 and 25. Perhaps even more impressive than that is the amount of miles they’ve logged in their support.

From the Thanksgiving-week tournament down at the beach in the Emerald Coast Classic to an international trip to Toronto in December. From midweek SEC matchups at Auburn, to a quick exit in the SEC Tournament, to the thrill of March Madness in Spokane and Los Angeles, the Wallaces have been there.

“We saw up close how hard these guys are working, and they don't always get the same acclaim that they deserve,” Chelsea said. “And so we just wanted to always be there to support them. If you just saw this group of guys, you just knew they had it in them to do something like this. So it was really fun to see them blossom when it matters the most.”

And the journey isn’t quite over yet. Saturday in Phoenix, the Wallaces will get to witness a program first for the Crimson Tide — playing in the Final Four. The highlight of the season so far for Chelsea was the win over Clemson in the Elite Eight.

“When we had a stretch when we were a little bit down, it hurts your heart to see those guys a little bit down,” Chelsea said. “To see them smiling again and just be full of energy, that’s what makes it so awesome. It’s fun to be a fan, but it’s just more fun to see them have success because you know how hard they’ve been working. And they’ve gotten maybe some unfair criticism, so to see them succeed and see them smiling again— man, that just warms your heart.”

It’s not just the games themselves that the Wallaces try to go to. If the team is holding a special event or signing, they try to be there for those things as well. And naturally, Chelsea’s daughters have started leaning toward some favorites on the team. 

“My littlest one, my toddler, she loves Nick Pringle. She calls him Chip Pringle,” Chelsea said. “She always recognizes him, always loves to watch him. So we got her a Nick Pringle shirt during the offseason, and she rocks that thing all the time. We always try to make an effort when they have an event to go and support. We went to one signing earlier in the year, and Nick signed my daughter’s cast. We still have that thing saved and put up.”

Nick Pringle with Bennett and Foster after Alabama's Elite Eight win in Los Angeles

picture courtesy of Chelsea Wallace

 Because of their presence around the program, some of the Alabama players have taken notice.

“Mrs. Wallace, she’s the best,” Pringle said on Friday ahead of Alabama’s big game. “She’s got to be our No. 1 super fan. I’ve never seen someone other than y’all [the media] at all of our games. She’s just the best. Her family— that’s just inspiring for the kids as well, just to have something instilled in their family to support. I feel like those kids are going to be Alabama fans for life, especially the way we treat them. They love Aaron [Estrada] as well. It’s just been amazing what she’s been able to do with her family, just to take the time out of her day and come support us.”

After the Wallaces noticed guard Aaron Estrada wearing a tied-dyed Mickey Mouse shirt during warmups for one of the games, the girls loved it so much that they decided to make their own custom tied-dyed Mickey Mouse shirts with Estrada’s name and number on the back. Chelsea likes to change up her game day outfits, often with vintage pieces, but the Estrada shirts have become an outfit of choice for her and her daughters for much of 2024.

“They’ve been around our whole season, but I didn’t really know them until they got the shirts,” Estrada said. “It was really cool— I’ve never had nothing like that happen. Just to see how dedicated and loyal these fans are at Alabama was a great experience for me. 

“I like Mrs. Chelsea a lot. I appreciate her and her daughters and her husband for showing the support to me. She texts me on Instagram all the time, telling me how proud she is of us and our team. I think it’s really cool.”

Sporting the tie-dyed Mickey Mouse shirts with Aaron Estrada on Senior Day

photo courtesy of Chelsea Wallace

Now, the Wallaces will get the chance to support Pringle, Estrada and the entire Crimson Tide team on the biggest stage college basketball has to offer. As a doctor, mother and founder of her own surgical center, there are a lot of ways Chelsea could choose to invest her time and money. But finding a love and passion for Alabama basketball has been well worth it for her and her family. 

“I think, especially those of us who live in Tuscaloosa, it’s easy to take for granted what Alabama athletics does to support our community, even from a small business perspective,” Chelsea said. “Selfishly, the fact that we get something that we can not only enjoy, but that also contributes significantly to our local economy, we’d be nuts to not support it.

“We love these basketball players. We love watching them. We love supporting them. And so if we can help make an investment to have them be successful. I mean, it's a no-brainer for us.”