Alabama will play with vengeance, seeking to take back the SEC crown they let slip through their fingers in the final quarter of last year's title game. Florida will play to defend the title that was not-so-easily won in last year's game against the title-hungry Crimson Tide. Mark Ingram will run the ball with hopes of chasing down the first Heisman Trophy in history to be won by an Alabama player. Tim Tebow will play in another conference title game with hopes that his 'lifetime achievement' can somehow sway Heisman voters to award him the trophy that he apparently thinks was 'robbed' from him by Oklahoma's Sam Bradford last year. The Crimson Tide faithful will pour into Atlanta thirsty for the conference title and a hunger for revenge, redemption, and a plane ride to Pasadena. The distinguished sort of pride that Alabama fans are known for will pour out into the "Rammer Jammer" chants and "Yea, Alabama" songs. Every person traveling down I-20 from Tuscaloosa to Atlanta will bring with them the pride of having the more SEC conference titles and more National titles than any other school in the conference, along with the friendly hatred for the Gator Nation. This 'Nation' will travel up I-75 from Gainesville to Atlanta with the general pompous attitude that is tied to their fanhood just as the infamous jean shorts are. I, given my bias, seem to think that their overconfidence results from envy of the Alabama program and fear that Nick Saban is building a dynasty that just might be the doom of Urban Meyer.
Knowing that no Florida fan would ever admit it, I can at least assume that there is an anxious chill on the spines that hide underneath orange and blue t-shirts. If Tennessee had them biting their nails earlier this season I can only imagine the fear that Saban puts in them. If a win over Arkansas in 'The Swamp' came down to a desperate field goal I can only imagine what they think of Terrence Cody. If Steve Spurrier's running backs could break through the Florida defense I can only smile at the damage Heisman front-runner Mark Ingram can do. The lack of a blowout score against the Bulldogs of Mississippi State must be humiliating after the high-scoring show that Greg McElroy, Julio Jones, and Mark Ingram put on in Starkville this past weekend. If there were any reason for Florida to NOT fear the momentum that seems to only accelerate with each Alabama victory while propelling the Crimson Tide closer and closer to the program's first conference title since 1999 I would admit it, yet I find unable to find one. The turbulent decade for Alabama's football program was filled with trying times in regard to NCAA violations and a whirlwind of coaching changes. Yet, as Coach Saban was found to be the key to getting things back together the Alabama family is also finding that history does in fact repeat itself. Alabama met Florida in the Georgia Dome last year just as they will this year. Alabama won it's last SEC title in the Georgia Dome in 1999 - against Florida. Fancy that.
As disappointing as the loss to Florida was last December, most Alabama fans were just as much grateful because we were finally headed to a BCS bowl game in our other favorite dome in New Orleans. However, this year the excitement that is felt while celebrating momentous victories in the student section is more in celebration of what is yet to come rather than the 60 minutes that was just played out in front of us. Whispering plans for Rose Bowl pageantry in Pasadena without 'jinxing' the possibility accompanies the thrill of watching our in-state rival lose on any given Saturday. The fight song seems to get a little bit louder at a certain part - "Remember the Rose Bowl, you'll win then!" Hotel rooms in Atlanta and Buckhead for December 4th through the 6th were being confirmed only hours after the SEC West was won. Personal rivalry with friends in Gainesville heat up. The feelings that come with being a top-tiered team is a little bit sweeter because it can be assumed that Charlie Wiess and Pete Carroll wish they were in Nick Saban's shoes. Not to mention the fortune and luck that is felt to be a fifth-year senior who gets an extra year of highly glorified football. In a nut shell, there's no denying the fact that, no matter how cliche to our mascot it seems, the Tide certainly has turned.
So, on December 5th in Atlanta, Georgia the two best teams in the nation will face-off in an epic battle to contend for the national title. Whether traveling East on I-20 or North on I-75, the place they intersect will determine what road is next. As far as the road to the National Championship is concerned, it is up to the old-timers and the new kids on the block to determine which one is destined for Pasadena.
The Rose Bowl, with all it's pageantry and glamour, is where Alabama can finally find undoubted redemption or where Florida can find a repeat of last year's crown. Just as the then-ranked No. 2 Gators said last year before they beat the then-ranked No. 1 Crimson Tide, "the rankings don't mean anything," I know who I would put my money on in Atlanta next month. The now-ranked No. 2 Crimson Tide.
If you're the under-dog you have nothing to lose, right? According to the 'Gator Nation' who seems to manipulate every scenario into their favor, right.
Roll Tide Roll!
-BJJ
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