Beautifully written by Jeff Cooper! Take the time to read it all. It's GREAT!
========================================================================== THIS IS ALABAMA FOOTBALL! It is Wallace Wade. It is Paul "Bear" Bryant. It is not Bill Curry. It Is The Rose Bowl. It is hearing Keith Jackson call an Alabama game. It is Watching George Teague running down Lamar Thomas in the 1993 Sugar Bowl, then rewinding it and watching it again. It is hearing the first notes of "Sweet Home Alabama." Sorry UAB & Auburn, but that isn't your song. It is the desire to beat Auburn at any competitive event that exists. It is the houndstooth hat. It is having enough pride to fight for your school but having enough class not to. It is cheering the same amount for a first down on 2nd & 6 As on 4th & 1. It is watching Cornelius Bennett give Notre Dame QB Steve Beuerlein a concussion on that October day in Birmingham in 1986. It is determining whom you are going to date & marry by which team they swear allegiance to. It is watching The Bear on the Jumbotron in Bryant-Denny Stadium and almost seeing him leaning against the goalpost. It is opening a day at the Bryant Museum & still not seeing everything. It is cool crisp autumn Saturdays where you can smell football in the air & feel it with the slightest breeze. It is watching The Bear get #315 against Auburn (how appropriate). It is watching The Bear get #323 against Illinois. It is hearing Paul Kennedy call the play-by-play as Van Tiffin kicks the 52-yd game winning field goal against Auburn in 1985. It is knowing all year long how many days until the start of the season. It is driving down Colonial Drive to see Bryant-Denny Stadium, not the sorority girls, although some may disagree. It is getting chills up & down your entire body whenever you hear anything about the 1993 Sugar Bowl & the pride you feel because on that night, TRADITION RULED. It is hearing Coach Bryant's voice & having all the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up because you know that no matter what he said, it was something special. It is hearing The Million Dollar Band play "Yea Alabama" and knowing it just doesn't get any better. It is imagining hearing Penn State QB Chuck Fusina ask Alabama linebacker Barry Krauss "How close is it?" & hearing Barry say "About an inch, you'd better pass" right before 4th down during The Goal Line Stand in the 1979 Sugar Bowl. It is almost coming to tears whenever Alabama loses to Auburn or Tennessee. It is The Kick. It is The Goal Line Stand. It is The Desperation Block. It is purposely not wearing any clothes with the colors orange & blue. It is the 3rd Saturday in October. It is not needing an alarm clock on game days. You sit straight up in bed long before it goes off, knowing its game day. You can sleep after the bowl game. It is walking into the stadium with the feeling that Alabama will win the game, simply because that is the way it is supposed to be. It is saying "Offense wins games, defense wins national titles." It is the Bear Bryant "A." It is walking into the stadium hours before the game just to be there. It is walking into another school's stadium & having those fans hate you because you're a Bama fan. It is the pride that a father has when he brings his children to a game so they may cherish the tradition. It is beating LSU in Baton Rouge. It is hearing the crunch as a crimson clad linebacker takes down a running back dressed in orange & blue. It is the pride you take in being EVERY team's rival. It is pulling for any team that's playing Auburn. It is pulling for any team that's playing Tennessee. It is hoping that the stadium blows up when Auburn plays Tennessee. It is knowing that the SEC Championship is a birthright. It is being respected, & feared at the same time. It is holding up four fingers at the end of the 3rd quarter. It is knowing what "Mama Called" means. It is having 20 SEC Championships. It is having 12 National Championships. It is more than I can ever mention in these few paragraphs. It is class. It is tradition. IT IS ALABAMA FOOTBALL. ----- THIS IS AUBURN FOOTBALL !!!! It is Bobby Lowder It is Terry "Tiny" Bowden. It is not Bear Bryant. It is the Poulon Weed-Eater Bowl It is hearing Bob Kesling call a 10:30am game. It is watching Pat Dye running down Terry Bowden in the 1997 season, then hearing him do it again for half of the 1998 season. It is ommy Tubberville saying "Wild horses would have to drag me away from Ole Miss." It is hearing the first notes of "Money Talks." Sorry Tennessee & Miami, but that isn't your song. It is the desire to beat anybody at any competitive event that exists in Div II. It is the dunce hat. It is having enough pride to fight for your date but not having enough class to leave your sister alone. It is cheering the same amount for a first down on 2nd & 6 as on the ref's yellow flag. It is watching Gabe Gross give Alabama DL Kindal Moorehead an ESPN highlight on that November day in Birmingham in 1998. It is determining whom you are going to date & marry by which county it's legal in. It is watching Tommy Tubberville on the field in Jordon Almond Stadium and almost seeing him selling used cars. It is spending a day at the Lovelace Athletic Museum & still not seeing anything worth keeping. It is cool crisp autumn Saturdays where you can smell excuses in the air & feel it with the slightest breeze. It is watching Pat Dye get another tie against Syracuse. It is watching Buster Brown call his daddy at half time. It is hearing Jim Fyffe call the play-by-play as "1st and 10, now the give to Bo who goes off tackle for 7 yards" is followed by" that brings up 2nd and 8". It is knowing how many days until the start of the next season when of course "this is the year we really do it". It is driving down Colonial Drive to see the cow pastures, not Jordon-Almond Stadium, although some ride horses. It is getting chills up & down your entire body whenever you hear anything about the 1993 NCAA Investigation & the pride you feel because on that night, 60 MINUTES aired quality TV. It is hearing Coach Bowden's voice & having all the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up because you know that no matter what he said, it was obnoxious and way too fast to be interpreted by human ears. It is hearing The Auburn Band play "War Eagle" and knowing it ought to be better than this. It is imagining hearing Auburn QB Jeff Burger ask Auburn running back Bo Jackson "Why did you run to that side?" & hearing Bo say "What?" It is almost running out of toilet paper whenever Auburn lucks up against Bama or Florida. It is The Kick (what Lowder did to Bowden). It is the lawsuit. It is the payoffs cuz. It is purposely not wearing any clothes with designer names. It is watching bowl games at home. It is not needing an alarm clock on school days. You sit straight up in bed long after it goes off, knowing it doesn't matter. You can sleep after the bowl game cause you didn't play in it. It is walking into the stadium with the feeling that the refs will save the game, simply because that is the way it is supposed to be. It is saying "Offense wins games, defense wins national titles", but wishing either one would show up. It is the Basket Weaving "A." It is walking into the stadium hours before the game, just to have indoor plumbing. It is walking into another school's stadium & having those fans laugh at you because you're an auburn fan. It is the pride that a father has when he brings his children to a game so they can see what happens when you don't prepare. It is beating LSU when Curly Hallman was coach. It is hearing the click as a blue and orange clad receiver is taken down by Lee County's finest. It is the pride you take in being EVERY team's homecoming. It is pulling against any team that's beaten you. It is pulling for any team that's not playing you. It is hoping that the stadium doesn't blow up 'cause some tailgater accidentally set a building on fire before kickoff. It is knowing that the SEC Championship is somebody else's fight. It is being respected, then exposed, then pitied at the same game. It is holding up four fingers at the end of the 2rd quarter in confusion. It is knowing what "Money Talks" means. It is having 5 SEC Championships in 107 years. It is having more NCAA investigations than National Championships. It is more than I can ever yawn about in these few paragraphs. It is funny. It is sad. IT IS AUBURN FOOTBALL. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Jeff Cooper is a Management Information Systems student in the University of Alabama's College of Commerce & Business Administration with way too much time on his hands. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ______________________________________________________ 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
