I can't say that every single thing in my life has gone according to plan. I can't even come close to saying anything along those lines. I can say that a large part of me is a passionate lover of sports and that, well for this calendar year, everything has been pretty perfect.
The 2008 football season was Alabama's 'come-back' year but ended in great disappointment with a loss to Florida in the SEC Championship and a loss to Utah in the New Orleans Sugar Bowl. However, once the sting of those two fateful losses subsided, the rest was nearly perfect.
Roy Williams and my beloved Tar Heels completely dominated the March Madness brackets and won the National Championship in April of 2009. This was shortly after Nick Saban and my beloved Crimson Tide raked in the top recruiting class in college football for the second year in a row. Living in a town where football is everything and the only other sport that gets a share of the limelight is baseball, I enjoyed the SEC fanhood of watching the LSU Tigers win the College World Series in Omaha.
Fall of 2009 rolled around and Alabama football stole the show with the second straight undefeated regular season. But this time, the undefeated part didn't end in Atlanta against Florida. The words of the taunting 'Rammer Jammer' cheer never fit more appropriately, "...We just beat the hell outta you!" It was pure bliss.
To top of the bliss with even more bliss was being in my Florida hometown and not having to defend Alabama with our tradition and excellence. This time, it was tradition, excellence, and undeniable domination of the Southeastern Conference, it's reigning conference champs, and "Mr. Football" himself. Then came the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Our sophomore running back from Flint, Michigan brought the University of Alabama it's first iron trophy in the program's history. So, no longer can we assume that O.J. Simpson was headed to Tuscaloosa in the white Bronco because no one would ever look for a Heisman winner there. Joke's over.
It gets better, and I think being on Cloud Nine hit me as I was on my cross-country flight to LAX Airport in Los Angeles. The Crimson Tide, for the first time in 17 years, was going to play for the National Championship. Our 13th National Championship. In the Rose Bowl. Against Texas. The stage couldn't have been more perfect!
We won. Number 13. And it was magical! We took another star quarterback completely out of his element because our defense hits harder than anyone else. If anyone tries to tell me that Alabama lacked any prestige or pageantry in that BCS National Championship just because Colt McCoy got hurt, then I'd like to have some very heated, personal words with you. It was no cheap hit. No Gerald Henderson punching Tyler Hansbrough's lights out. No, it was the Defensive Player MVP taking one solid "here's the Southeastern Conference for your Big 12 ass" hit. Texas' back-up quarterback Brantley Gilbert proved to be the next big thing in the subject of quarterbacks and gave Alabama a scare or two. Still, at the end of the game the confetti was flying in MY student section as MY fight song was sung like heaven's angels had opened up the pearly gates. We had died and gone to heaven.
And, to top it all off, the football loving fanbase in Tuscaloosa has always kind of adopted the New Orleans Saints as their NFL team. The state of Alabama has NO pro-teams in any sport whatsoever, so our 3 1/2 hour away French neighbor and her Saints gave us all another solid reason to cheer as they won their first ever Super Bowl against Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts. It's never fun to watch leaders like Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Brett Favre, and Peyton Manning lose a big game, some of them their biggest game, in their respectful careers.... but, this year, if you were a Tuscaloosa resident.... it was VERY fun.
So, there's my year in sports.... blissful, joyful, and allowingly arrogant.
Go Heels, Roll Tide, Geaux Tigers, and Who Dat!
BJJ
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Champions Once Again
Unless you are a part of it you most likely hate it. You hate the never-ending stories we have of Rose Bowls and Sugar Bowls. You probably don't hate the man - the 'Granddaddy of College Football' but you might hate our houndstooth caps and our tendency to worship him and the past. Your favorite color most likely isn't crimson and you might think it's funny that we are slow-talking and stuck on tradition and history.
We love houndstooth and who it represents and crimson and southern drawls. We love college bowl games but we actually just love college football in general. And just as we believe tradition should be cherished we also believe that no matter how good or bad we may be, there is something special about our school and her football program.
Our quarterback explains it simply.
"There's a lot of pride in playing football for the University of Alabama." The past, the present, the future. We, the ones who are a part of it, know this to be true.
Before this past Saturday, the last time the Crimson Tide won the Southeastern Conference title was 1999 when the coach was Mike Dubose. The ten years that have followed Alabama's victory over Florida, coached then by Steve Spurrier, holds a multitude of coaching changes. After Coach Dubose was fired, Coach Dennis Franchione came and left, disrespectfully, for Texas A&M and the Aggies. Coach Mike Price was hired and then fired before coaching a single game for the University of Alabama. Then, amidst NCAA violations and bowl game suspensions, Coach Mike Shula returned to coach his alma-mater. With both post-season and scholarship restrictions applied to Alabama, the former Tide quarterback coached the program to mediocracy. There was the epic 31-3 upset over a No. 5 ranked Florida team in Bryant-Denny Stadium during the 2005 season, but repeated losses to arch-rival Auburn was a factor in Coach Shula's fate at Alabama. See, we at Alabama do not settle for mediocracy. Being a mediocre program is not accepted. Shula was fired and then Defensive Coordinator Joe Kines coached Alabama in the Independence Bowl following the 2006 season which resulted in a loss to Oklahoma State.
Meanwhile, the Alabama Athletics Department searched for the next head coach of the Crimson Tide. Title-hungry and determined, the search dragged on. The Rich Rodriguez rumors and Steve Spurrier rumors hung over Tuscaloosa but were ultimately, and gladly, dismissed when Nick Saban was announced the Head Coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. A perfect guy for the job. A highly pressured job.
Saban's short coaching tenure in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphin's franchise was what followed his tenure as the head football coach at Louisiana State University. While there, he coached the Bengal Tigers to a BCS National Title. The news of Saban's arrival meant a new era of Alabama Football was more promising than ever.
Without any of his own recruits, Saban's first season looked nothing like the two that would follow. The 2007 season held a 7-6 record for the Crimson Tide. Of the six losses, four of them were to conference opponents (Georgia, Mississippi State, LSU, and Auburn). Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminole's met the Crimson Tide at a neutral site in Jacksonville, Florida and sent Saban and his boys back to Alabama with another loss on the season. The most embarrassing loss of the season, and maybe even in the program's history, was to Louisiana-Monroe on Alabama own home field.
And then, the tide turned. Since then, it hasn't stopped rolling.
The 2008 season brought the first undefeated twelve-game regular season in Crimson Tide history. It also brought the first trip back to Atlanta since 1999 to contend for the Southeastern Conference title. Underneath the lights of the Georgia Dome was a battle that featured the two top ranked football teams in the nation, the same two that played in 1999. The winner would receive a bid to the BCS National Title game in Miami, Florida. Defeating Alabama 31-20, the Gators went back to their home state and clinched the title against the Sooners of Oklahoma. Alabama went to New Orleans to play in the Sugar Bowl against the University of Utah. Although Alabama holds the record for the most Sugar Bowl appearances than any other team, the Tide played with no "home away from home" field advantage. The season ended with an upsetting loss, but it only fueled the fire for what was to come in 2009.
Quarterback John Parker Wilson was gone and all eyes turned to Greg McElroy, the junior out of Southlake, Texas. In the 2009 opening game in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome, McElroy proved that another successful season and maybe even conference and national titles were within reach as he led the Crimson Tide in a win over Virginia Tech, and thus gained respect from the title-hungry students and fans.
Fast forward. With another undefeated twelve-game regular season behind them, Alabama returned to Atlanta to contend in the SEC Title game for the second year in a row. McElroy and his offense made their opponent's defense and No. 1 ranking look like a perfect case of "over-rated."
Yet again, Alabama and Florida met for the crowning of the Southeastern Conference's "King" and to answer the most-asked question in college football this year: Which one of these teams will go to Pasadena?
All year long it was assumed that the SEC champion would be one of the contenders in the BCS National Championship game. The assumptions were on point and the question, as of Saturday night, has been answered.
ALABAMA.
Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, and McElroy were unstoppable against a defense who apparently was "the best."
When the scoreboard read Alabama: 32, Florida: 13 the promise was kept. The title was won. The new era of Alabama Football finally became a reality. That turbulent decade was over.
For those of us that are a part of Alabama, we no longer have to seek glory in the past. We have witnessed a return to glory.
A mental preparation exercise that Saban had the team participate in had the team state what they thought Sunday's headline should say about Saturday's game. He asked them this on Thursday.
Colin Peek goes first, according to what he told 'The Atlanta Journal Constitution'. His answer, simple and short, was poetically true.
"Tradition Restored".
Alabama held the record for the most SEC titles before Saturday's showdown. Yet, the ten years between the 1999 and 2009 conference championships made many people discredit that highly honored record. No more discrediting the Crimson Tide because the tradition has, indeed, been restored.
No larger than life man in a blazer and checkered cap stands on the sideline with a rolled-up playbook in his wrinkled hands. Just a man in a Nike polo with a cordless headset and a genius play-calling mind and a gift for assembling top-ranked recruiting classes that are changing the face of the Alabama football program.
A quarterback who plays a simple style of football and does things the old-fashioned way - similar to the quarterback legends who wore the same number "12" jersey like Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler. A standout sophomore receiver, a Heisman Trophy worthy running back, and a nose tackle whose size is as big as his game-winning plays.
The Alabama Crimson Tide has redeemed themselves. Although we have new coaches, new faces behind the masks of our crimson helmets , and new renovations and expansions to our stadium, we've restored our tradition. We've redeemed ourselves against the Florida Gators and we've relived our days of glory.
"Pride Restored"
"Class Remained"
"Glory Returned"
"History Relived"
"Excellence Regained"
Headlines or not, we're back. We reside among the best and we return to the level of the most elite. We show no sign of regression because of Coach Saban and "The Process."
One thing is for sure after Saturday's win over the University of Florida,
"Champions Remembered".
-BJJ
roll tide roll
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Rematch Week
The week of rematches is finally here. In neither case has absence made the heart grow fonder.
The other rematch this week comes on Saturday as the two top ranked football teams meet for the crowning of the SEC Championship. The Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide will meet in a rematch of last year's conference championship game. The 364 days since their last battle has not been a time of fond hearts and bittersweet separation. The Alabama boys have wanted another shot at Tim Tebow and the boys from Florida since the second the game ended in the Georgia Dome last year. The two teams have been equally talented and successful in their regular seasons this year just as they were last year. Two of the best offenses in the nation, two of the best defenses in the nation, two of the best coaches in the nation, and two potential Heisman candidates. The rematch will be a story played out in true Southeastern Conference fashion that we will want Eli Gold, Alabama's famed radio broadcaster, to tell us for years to come. Out of sight, out of mind? No and no. Just because the two teams haven't seen one another on the grid iron this year doesn't meant that they haven't had their eyes on eachother all year long. It's been talked about and anxiously awaited for since Florida and Alabama have traded places amongst the rankings and held their opponents in defeat for twelve straight weeks. This rematch is almost too good to be true.
Only when two lovers are separated does that deem true. And the saying, "out of sight, out of mind", does not apply to the rematches that this week holds.
Not when Tom Izzo and Roy Williams both shared the sideline at Ford Field in Detroit this past April in the national title game. That game, too, was a rematch of the Big 10/ACC Challenge earlier last season. This time they meet in Chapel Hill at the Dean Dome where Dickie V says North Carolina's sophomore point guard Larry Drew will "be the key factor in tonight's game." The eleventh ranked Tar Heels have not forgotten the ninth ranked Spartans just because they are out of conference foes and not part of the elite Atlantic Coast Conference. The loss to Syracuse proved that conferences like the Big 10 and Big East are not too far behind the ACC when it comes to powerful and highly ranked teams. Izzo and his boys in green and white haven't forgotten the loss to Williams' Tar Heels in neither last year's Big 10/ACC Challenge nor last year's national title game. The Challenge's games are already exciting but with a team hungry for vengeance and full of experience visiting the home court of a young but talent-packed reigning champion, we are certain this game will be one for the books.
The other rematch this week comes on Saturday as the two top ranked football teams meet for the crowning of the SEC Championship. The Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide will meet in a rematch of last year's conference championship game. The 364 days since their last battle has not been a time of fond hearts and bittersweet separation. The Alabama boys have wanted another shot at Tim Tebow and the boys from Florida since the second the game ended in the Georgia Dome last year. The two teams have been equally talented and successful in their regular seasons this year just as they were last year. Two of the best offenses in the nation, two of the best defenses in the nation, two of the best coaches in the nation, and two potential Heisman candidates. The rematch will be a story played out in true Southeastern Conference fashion that we will want Eli Gold, Alabama's famed radio broadcaster, to tell us for years to come. Out of sight, out of mind? No and no. Just because the two teams haven't seen one another on the grid iron this year doesn't meant that they haven't had their eyes on eachother all year long. It's been talked about and anxiously awaited for since Florida and Alabama have traded places amongst the rankings and held their opponents in defeat for twelve straight weeks. This rematch is almost too good to be true.
Enjoy the best of the best this week. College basketball and college football - the beginning of one season and the ending of another - but either way, revenge and redemption are looming.
As always, Go Heels and Roll Tide!
-BJJ
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Blind Side
The movie that is captivating the hearts of football fans everywhere, especially in the South, really is something extraordinary. Undoubtedly, the story of Michael Oher and his football career is moving in itself. Yet, Michael Oher and The Tuohy family's journey together is way bigger than football. It's more valuable than a national title game or a Monday Night Football game, and it's worth more than any Super Bowl ticket.
Unlike most sports movies that shed light on racial controversy and social classification, 'The Blind Side' doesn't take place in segregated 1960's America, it takes place in today's world. This remarkable story is about sport and society, racism and rarity, faith and family, and hope and hardwork. To put it simply, when the credits roll and pictures of the real Tuohy family and Michael Oher are shown, you feel one thing - inspired.
Athletic ability and being part of a sports program can lead to personal visits by all-time great coaches, a higher education, sometimes even professional league careers, but this movie reminds us that the most important of all things is self-discovery.
Whether we are white or black, rich or poor, an honor student or below average, we all must discover the person we are through our life experiences. The experience that is shared between the Tuohy family, a well-to-do white family, and Oher, a then young and homeless African-American student from a broken home, is about self-discovery and teaches many of the valuable lessons of life.
A lot can be learned from the exceptional life of Oher. Hard work on the practice field. Discipline in study. Persistence in life's turbulence. Appreciation for life's rewards. Protection for the ones we love. Admiration for the ones who love us back. Never give up, never quit, the sky's the limit. With God, all things are possible.
Because the plot is so special, the appearances of some of college football's best coaches, the Oscar-worthy acting of Sandra Bullock, and the Southern handsomeness of Tim McGraw, aren't the big deals in 'The Blind Side.' It's the inspiration and own self-discovery that you experience as you witness the coming together of Memphis' projects and high society and the story you'll want to tell your children or grandchildren one day.
After this moving story, though, you will hope that stories like the one of Michael Oher are far more common by then.
Roll Tide!
-BJJ
Unlike most sports movies that shed light on racial controversy and social classification, 'The Blind Side' doesn't take place in segregated 1960's America, it takes place in today's world. This remarkable story is about sport and society, racism and rarity, faith and family, and hope and hardwork. To put it simply, when the credits roll and pictures of the real Tuohy family and Michael Oher are shown, you feel one thing - inspired.
Athletic ability and being part of a sports program can lead to personal visits by all-time great coaches, a higher education, sometimes even professional league careers, but this movie reminds us that the most important of all things is self-discovery.
Whether we are white or black, rich or poor, an honor student or below average, we all must discover the person we are through our life experiences. The experience that is shared between the Tuohy family, a well-to-do white family, and Oher, a then young and homeless African-American student from a broken home, is about self-discovery and teaches many of the valuable lessons of life.
A lot can be learned from the exceptional life of Oher. Hard work on the practice field. Discipline in study. Persistence in life's turbulence. Appreciation for life's rewards. Protection for the ones we love. Admiration for the ones who love us back. Never give up, never quit, the sky's the limit. With God, all things are possible.
Because the plot is so special, the appearances of some of college football's best coaches, the Oscar-worthy acting of Sandra Bullock, and the Southern handsomeness of Tim McGraw, aren't the big deals in 'The Blind Side.' It's the inspiration and own self-discovery that you experience as you witness the coming together of Memphis' projects and high society and the story you'll want to tell your children or grandchildren one day.
After this moving story, though, you will hope that stories like the one of Michael Oher are far more common by then.
Roll Tide!
-BJJ
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Live Mascots
Being as a real elephant is a very far stretch of the imagination for me and my student body, I still can't help but give a little gratitude to the schools that do carry this sort of tradition. No, maybe they don't have 12 National Title banners waving atop their stadium, but they do have a tradition of having loyalty that can only come from having one's own pet. Some are strange, some are mean, and some are nothing short of regal.
Even if it is nearly impossible to have an elephant stomping the sidelines at Bryant-Denny Stadium I must remind you of one thing.... we did once have a 'Bear'.
I've ranked my favorite animal mascots below:
1. Uga VII - The English Bulldog (University of Georgia): His predecessor once took the acclaimed "Oldest Rivalry in the South" to a new level when he bit an Auburn player. "Good boy!" God rest his soul. My appreciation for tradition, class, and Southern football at it's finest is why I rank Uga VII at the top of the list. (Uga VI was not only cool for biting an Auburn player, but was even cooler for being the all-time winningest mascot).
2. Bevo XIV - Texas Longhorn Steer (The University of Texas): His original name was "Sunrise Studly" and attended George W. Bush's second inauguration. Not only loyal to the students in Austin but also loyal to the former leader of the free world makes Bevo XIV a.k.a. Sunrise Studly a much admired mascot. "Hook 'em Horns!"
3. Mike VI - The Siberian-Bengal Tiger (Louisiana State University): An Indiana rescue facility donated Mike VI to LSU in 2007 after his predecessor died. Whether I go to a rival university or not, it is pretty damn cool that his first year on the job he was part of a BCS National Championship. Come to think of it, that might be a selling point on this whole real-life elephant idea in Tuscaloosa.

4. Mach 1 - Falcon (Air Force): The bird can fly up to a speed of 200 mph. If that's not appropriate for the Air Force then get back to me when cheetahs learn how to fly.


5. Rameses XVIII - Horned Dorset Sheep (The University of North Carolina): It's a Ram, they're the Tar Heels. It's like the whole elephant thing when we're the Crimson Tide. Listen, I don't love these two schools because of their mascots or the fact that they confuse most people - it is what it is. Rameses XVIII got the job in Chapel Hill after his father was killed by a vicious headbutt by his very own brother. They paint his horns Carolina blue, and on very special occassions, his testicles have been known to sport a spray-paint job of the same color.


6. Traveler VIII - Andalusian Horse (The University of Southern California): This regal, white horse got it's name 'Traveler' from General Robert E. Lee's famous horse in the Civil War. Despite the hatred for Southern Cal football you can find in the people in my neck of the woods, it is somewhat charming of the West Coasties to remember our beloved Confederate General and his Andalusian Horse.
7. Renegade - Appaloosa Horse (Florida State University): As a tribute to the famous Seminole Tribe of Florida, Renegade and his 'Chief Osceola' made their debut appearance against Oklahoma State in 1978. Although I have never witnessed a football game inside Doak Campbell Stadium I can only imagine the feeling that swoops over their student section as they hum and wave their fists in tomahawk spirit as a flaming spear is planted at midfield by a charging Renegade and Chief Osceola. Even cooler, the recent debates in the United States regarding Native American mascots being 'offensive' to the Native American culture are not applied to FSU - they have
consent and total support from the Seminole Indian tribe.
consent and total support from the Seminole Indian tribe.8. Tusk II - Russian Boar (The University of Arkansas): Razorbacks love Tusk II just as much as they love to sing, "Woooo! Pig Sooie!" Tusk I, his predecessor, was shot and killed by an angry farmer when the boar escaped the animal exhibit and rampaged some very precious countryside. It's always been said, they're a little backwards up in Arkansas. (I kid, I kid!)


9. Ralphie IV and Ralphie V - Buffaloes (Colorado University): Both are female and split time on the sideline at the Buff's home football games. In Ralphie IV's first appearance she broke free from her harness and trampled one of her handlers. I am hoping no serious injury was caused because I find it a little humorous. 

10. Smokey IX - Bluetick Coonhound (The University of Tennessee): This hound dog got the job in 2004 and is still part of the Volunteer's gameday tradition - even bringing Smokey to away games. In 1955, Smokey II was kidnapped by a group of students from the University of Kentucky. In 2006, Smokey IX was accused of biting Alabama receiver Mike McCoy after the player fell on the then 3-year old coonhound in pre-game warmups. Tennessee denied this being true. The dog is cool and all, but you know whose side I am on.

11. Tom II - Bengal Tiger (The University of Memphis): In remembrance - Tom II was recently put to sleep at the age of 17 after being diagnosed with cancer. His name, derived from the Tigers Of Memphis, is very beloved in the western Tennessee city. 

12. Judge Joy and Sue - Black Bears (Baylor University): The first bear on campus was won by a local businessman in a poker game. I thought they played Texas Hold 'Em with money, especially in Texas. With the names 'Judge Joy' and 'Sue' I disregard the nature of the animal and assume that Paul W. Bryant was the more scary 'Bear' on a sideline. 

13. War Eagle VII - Golden Eagle (Auburn University): The eagle was born in 1999 at the Montgomery Zoo and at six months of age was moved to Auburn to participate in pre-game festivities. No one really knows why the Auburn Tigers don't have a Tiger like LSU and Memphis, but no one really cares either. Although I have a deep dislike for all things Auburn, I must admit that the soaring eagle is a unique tradition for "those people".
14. Bill XXXIII - Goat (The United States Naval Academy): In 1893 the first 'Bill the Goat' appeared. The live goat is represented at football games by costumed midshipmen. Over the years 'Bill the Goat' has been kidnapped by many different schools. Some of which are: The Air Force Academy, The Army, and Maryland. 

15. Raider, Ranger II, and General Scott - Mules (Army): The mules were adopted by Army to counter the infamous Navy goat. At football games the mules are ridden by Army Officers.

So, what do you think of this walking the sidelines of Bryant-Denny Stadium? I don't know, I think we'll just stick to the old, traditional ways that we're used to!

Roll Tide Roll!
-BJJ
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Titles And Such
We won't know who will claim the Southeastern Conference's throne until night falls in Atlanta on December 5th. When the Georgia Dome is split into a Civil War between the nation's two top-ranked football teams and their fans and 60 minutes of football is played with the kind of tenacity only found in a game that holds so much at stake. When those tenacious 60 minutes are over, one team and it's fans will start planning for a trip to the Bayou to play in the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the Sugar Bowl, and the other team and it's fans will start planning for a trip to the City of Angels to play in the BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. This, of course, being said with the assumption that the faulty BCS points system not make some very large mistake.
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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