Damn, Tim! Welcome to RTF!
Where are you from and how did you get here? Slef E. [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "tim ammons" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "RollTideFan-The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 9:17 AM Subject: Re: [RollTideFan] If ewe haven't seen it.. > Damn! > Started out with goose bumps and now im in tears. > That was beautiful. > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > forwarded message: > > Greetings Bama Fans! > It's UT Week in TitleTown ladies and gentlemen. > > You know the best thing about Daniel Moore paintings? > Even though they do a beautiful job capturing the > moments most associated with the game they represent, > they also evoke memories of the moments leading up to > these plays that were often as big (if not bigger) > than the actual game winning plays themselves. > There's no 'Goal Line Stand' if Don McNeal doesn't > appear from nowhere to stop Penn State receiver Scott > Fitzkee at the one two plays earlier. > There's no 'Kick' from Van Tiffin if Greg Richardson > doesn't drag the Auburn defensive back halfway across > the field in an effort to get out of bounds to stop > the clock. > There's no 'Block' by Thomas Rayam in Happy Valley if > Tide defenders don't stop Blair Thomas inches short of > the goal line moments before. > > The funny thing about plays like these is that when > they happen, when you're there in the stands and you > see them, or when you're at home watching the game on > television, they seem so large, so defining, that > you're sure you'll be singing the praises of the men > responsible for years to come. But those thoughts are > brief. They get caught up in the wave of emotion that > follows when the field goal is good, or blocked, or > the touchdown scored, or the end zone protected. It's > the kicker or quarterback that gets carried off the > field, and rightfully so, but it's the guy that made > the touchdown saving tackle, or the key block to open > up the hole, that makes Alabama football so damn > wonderful. > > So damn wonderful. > > Football is a team sport. It is a drama that is played > out over the course of an hour, but it's made up of > quick moments that turn goats to heroes. > It's moments like these that etch the names of Alabama > football players in the aura and tradition that makes > this program so special. > > I bring all this up because I was thinking about Stacy > Harrison earlier today. > > Do you remember Stacy Harrison? > He played defensive back at the Capstone in the early > 90s. Wore #1. He was a solid performer. Not that big. > Not that fast. At the beginning of the 1990 season he > had taken his share of heat, just like every other > player that wore Crimson and White. Bama had a new > coach and had lost three games (by a total of eight > points). The games they'd won were not that impressive > (victories over Vanderbilt never are). The offense was > too conservative, the defense couldn't stop anybody. > In fact, they couldn't even stop a high school team > (insert Lee Corso reference here). Alabama was > expected to roll right over and die against a superior > team from Knoxville that year. The coach would be run > out of town, Bama would suffer a losing season. All > hope was lost. > > Somebody forgot to tell Stacy Harrison. > With :48 seconds left in a 6-6 ballgame Tennessee > lined up for what would be a game winning field goal. > > Bama had blown yet another game. > Somebody forgot to tell Stacy Harrison. > Somebody forgot to block Stacy Harrison. > > The painting shows Phillip Doyle booting the game > winning field goal, but if you look closely, standing > on the sidelines you see #1, and you remember. You > remember that winning big games in big settings is > about big time players stepping up and making big time > plays. It's about never letting down, never taking a > play off. It's about holding the block for one second > longer than you usually do or laying out for that pass > that's usually out of reach. It's about patience and > pride and determination. It's about wrapping up. It's > about staying focused. It's about respect. > > And it's about guys that fight hard enough, stay with > it long enough, and believe in themselves and the guys > around them enough that they find themselves in the > right position, at the right time, to make the tackle, > or get out of bounds, or block the kick. > "I was determined to block that field goal. There was > no way I was going to let Alabama lose." > No way. > No way. > > All Alabama did after that game (a game that was > supposed to mark the end of life as we know it) was > win 35 of their next 39 ballgames. > This is the Third Saturday in October. That means > something folks. It meant something to our > grandfathers. It meant something to our fathers. It's > sacred. It's pure. It's beautiful. It's Crimson and > Orange. It's Bryant and Neyland. It's Alabama and > Tennessee. > > And I love it. > I love it. > I love it so much I can't stand to think about it > because all I want to do is get up, hand in my > resignation, fill up the gas tank, put on my 'Nothing > Sucks Like A Big Orange' t-shirt and make that > wonderful drive down the road to the most beautiful > campus in the land, walk to the Quad and yell at the > top of my lungs: I HATE TENNESSEE! > And I'm going to die if it doesn't hurry up and get > here. > > This is a chance to make things right. It's a chance > for some guy in a Crimson jersey to put disappointing > seasons and losses behind him and do something. > It's why I'm sitting here thinking of Stacy Harrison. > It's a chance to become part of Alabama lore. > We need to let Tennessee know what it means to play > Alabama. > > It's about tradition. > It's about memories. > And it's about the future. > I can't wait. > I can't freakin' WAIT! > > In case your not fired up enough already I offer the > following example of what it means when Alabama plays > Tennessee. It's a quote from Tennessee lineman Bull > Bayer about Bama All-American Bully Van de Graaf who > lined up opposite him in the 1913 Bama-UT game: "His > ear had a real nasty cut and it was dangling from his > head, bleeding badly. He grabbed his own ear and tried > to yank it from his head. His teammates stopped him > and the managers bandaged him. Man was that guy a > tough one. He wanted to tear off his own ear so he > could keep playing." > > Oh My God! Somebody call a doctor! I'm about to have a > stroke! > > I'll meet you on the Quad in two hours. > > I HATE TENNESSEE. YOU SHOULD TOO. > > ROLL DAMN TIDE! > > > ______________________________________________________ > RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List > > "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" > > To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- > ______________________________________________________ > RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List > > "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" > > To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net > ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
