By Shane from Centerpoint
After watching the Alabama Crimson Tide football team physically whip the Texas Longhorns – the second most talented squad in America – an old, yet familiar air of confidence began to envelope me. You know, that winning attitude every Alabama fan carried like a badge during the seventies, a 10-year era when the “Bear” guided the Tide to 100+ victories and several national championships. Alabama’s final two games this year were truly Bryant-like performances. Like Bryant, Nick Saban has the capability to create a dynasty. In other words, if Saban stays 10 years, the Crimson Empire should enjoy another magical run.
Some might say that Saban and Paul Bryant are total opposites. My opinion is far from that. From a football perspective, I believe they approach the game from the exact same mindset.
Back then Bryant had – and Saban now has – a team nobody wants to play.
The Alabama players in the seventies were bigger, faster, and stronger than everybody they played. Bear had an abundance of quality depth at all positions, with fierce competition for playing time serving as their motivation for achieving excellence. Coach Saban has duplicated every characteristic mentioned above. He’s used high-caliber standards to form a unit that matches every aspect of those Bryant–coached teams.
From the day he arrived on campus, Coach Bryant was successful in creating a winning environment. Nick Saban has done the same.
In fact, Nick has lead Bama to an SEC championship and a national title, while delivering an NCAA record-tying 26 wins in the past two seasons. Thinking Bryant yet?
Additionally, Coach Saban has basically out-coached the entire league for two years. He currently “owns” the two teams that Bryant believed were most important. Tennessee is three games under Saban’s thumb, with Auburn now two games back.
His legacy leaves no doubt that Bear Bryant was one of the best recruiters in college football’s storied history. I have no doubt that Nick Saban will stand beside him on the podium when all is said and done.
By the end of next year reality will inevitably sink in for the rest of the SEC. The Tide has risen back to the “elite” status they enjoyed during the reign of the greatest coach of all time.
Teams like Tennessee, Auburn and LSU are about to return to the back of the bus, where they were accustomed to sitting during the Crimson Tide’s glory years.
Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Arkansas will suffer even more than in the past.
Good teams like Florida will have their championship hopes crushed when they move across divisional lines and face the Tide.
Non-conference competition will dwindle as coaches try to avoid a potential loss that could drop their team in the polls.
Truthfully, SEC programs were neurotic during Bryant’s tenure. In those days many coaches entered the SEC with high hopes and ended up with a moving van in their driveway.
Amazingly, Coach Nick Saban has already forced complete overhauls at Tennessee, Auburn, and Mississippi State. He even made the great Urban Meyer quit! Who’s next? Stay tuned! There will be more to come.
In the midst of his dominant reign, Bear consistently kept conference opponents off–balance by keeping their programs in turmoil. Coach Saban seems to have that same effect.
Actually, Alabama’s legendary championship tradition was created before Paul William Bryant took the job, but he took winning to unprecedented heights in his 25–year career.
Saban, by winning the national crown in his third year, has only scratched the surface of his potential at Alabama. He has the ingredients in place to dominate his competition for the next 4-5 years and I see no change on the horizon.
Sure, Bryant and Saban are two totally different personalities from football eras that are literally worlds apart. Yet, they have one trait that forever links them together as one – winning.
Shane writes a weekly column for the Call News and the Capstone Report.
I had to get out of there. I was getting dumber by the minute just sharing the air with those hillbillys.
crimsonite and big red must be 2 queers in lust with each other. these homos get on here and act like they know football you 2 dildos know nothing. as far as bear bryant goes he was a cheater
and a drunk. case closed faggy boys
Bamaborn, you are truly saying with a straight face that he was using the term “back of the bus” simply to infer that other SEC teams would be having a rougher ride and smelling diesel fumes???? You truly don’t think he meant that other teams would be relegated to an inferior and demeaning position, much like black people were in this state prior to the bus boycott??? Of course you know what the term actually implies. You’re just such a freakin’ bammer homer that you can’t even bring yourself to call out a stupid racist comment if it means agreeing with an AU fan and disagreeing with a Bama fan. That is truly pathetic.
P.S. I’ll give you the same challenge as I did earlier. Walk up to a black man over the age of 60 that is a Bama fan and tell him that “Saban is gonna make these other SEC teams return to the back of the bus” and see what happens.
Yes, Julio, with a straight face, I do not believe Shane ever implied racism in this article. I know you would like to demean Shane at any twisting of his words you can dream, but calling someone or their words racist in this context is over the line.
As a BAMA HOMER, I read the article and never saw the racism you see. I woujld not have seen racism no matter the author or his bias to a college. In days gone by I rode more miles on a bus than I care to remember. The back of the bus was always reserved for the under classman. By the way, the skin color was both black and white. Not once was race ever a part of where you sat. You paid your dues to sit in the front, and that is the way anyone that has ever spent time on a bus heading any distances to play football will understand the comment.
By thinking the position of seating on a bus is racist in 2010 is laughable. By noting the thought, is it possible that you are racist?
It sux to be an auburn tiger!
Ohhh, BB, you master of trickery you. Did you just pull the Jedi Mind Trick of turning the tables and calling me a racist?? Wow, that’s really original.
Are you so freakin’ stupid that you don’t even realize that in your pathetic attempt to dream up a justification for Shane’s racism that you gave two different definitions in two different posts?? The first post you said it meant that the back of the bus was a rougher ride and had diesel fumes. Now in the second post you are saying same BS about underclassmen sitting in the back and upperclassmen sitting in the front. Which one is it?? Rough ride and diesel fumes, or upper classmen/under classmen??
Isn’t it funny how the bammers were all calling everyone related to Auburn (administration, Board of trustees, the fans, etc.) racist when Chizik was hired over Turner Gill last year, and since then, 3 different SEC coaches have been replaced by white guys, and not one word about racism????!!!!
Talk about “twisting facts” to support a thesis, just because you hate a rival school. Fuck You Bammers.
Julio,
For someone to read so much into Shane’s words, how do you not understand the reason for the under classman riding the back of the bus?
By paying their dues on the bus, the rough ride and fumes is what the under classman paid. Just as the uppers did in years prior.
It sux to have the reading and comprehension skills of an aubarn tiger!
and if you don’t get it, we all know you never played a down.
In your twisted racist mind you really thought you had something on Shane.
To bad you did nothing more than out yourself. Being a racist may be part of your idenity crisis.
It sux not knowing who you are, but that
sums up an aubarn tiger!
There’s nothing racist about the back of the bus you idiots. Yall that are belly aching about it are either black and you holler racism everytime you open your mouth while your sittin on the porch waitin for your check or a bunch of bleeding heart liberals that love to holler racism cause its the politically correct way to act or to make yourself feel like youve done something good. Try to get a state job or a civil service job in the state of Alabama good luck if your white cause you WILL NOT GET IT UNLESS YOUR BLACK. Now thats racist you fucking morons !
Somebody agreed with me Carl….
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/-09-Rewind-Counting-down-the-season-s-best-game;_ylt=AmAuv4dHmaRWts2XeNAukkQcvrYF?urn=ncaaf,213964
YO! Just a few thoughts…ITS GREAT TO RETURN TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN! MT. EVEREST NEVER FELT SO GOOD! GET READY FOR THE STATUE! All this and TENNESSEE gets FRANCHIONIED! Life is good & things are back to NORMAL in the World of College Football. THE TIDE IS #1! THE TIDE IS #1! I love it! ROLL TIDE!
Let’s review Alabama’s National Championships.
1925 – Dartmouth was named national champion in 1925. The Houlgate pole was started in 1927 and the Helms pole was started in 1941 – both retroactively named Bama champions. I would say this is untrue title #1.
1926 – Bama tied Stanford 7-7 in a bowl game. The Dickson system crowned Stanford National Champions. The Helms pole, which started in 1941, once again retroactively awarded Bama the title 15 years later.
Untrue title #2.
1930 – Notre Dame was crowned by 6 poles in 1930 as National Champions. Parke Davis, an individual, 2 years later, started his own pole and stated that Notre Dame and Bama shared the title.
Untrue title #3.
1934 – Bama finished 6th in the Dickson pole, the main pole of that era. Two individuals, Dunkel and Williamson, retroactively started their own poles and named Bama NC. Also, the Football Thesaurus, 12 years later, also named Bama national champions.
Untrue title #4
1941 – Bama finished 20th in the main pole of the day. 14 teams had better records, and 3 in the SEC had better records. Football Thesaurus – 12 years later named Bama national champions.
Untrue title #5.
1961 – 1st true national championship
1964 – Crowned NC before the bowl games were played. Bama split the title with an undefeated Arkansas team. Bama lost to Texas in the Orange Bowl, while Arkansas won their bowl game and beat Texas during the regular season.
Split title #2
1965 – 3rd National title, although Nebraska, Michigan State, and Arkansas finished with better records than a 9-1-1 Bama team. The Tide beat Nebraska in their bowl game, while the other 2 teams lost their bowl game.
1973 – The AP named Notre Dame National Champions. Bama lost their bowl game and finished 4th in the AP. UPI (United Press International) named Bama national Champs before the bowl game.
Split title – 4th NC title
1978 – Bama lost to Southern Cal during the season, but claims a split title with the Trojans. SC finished with a 12-1 record versus Bama’s 11-1 record.
Split title #5.
1979 – 6th National title
1992 – 7th National title
2009 – 8th National title
Of course, as everyone knows, all titles are just popularity contests until there is an actual playoff system.
Thanks for clearing that up. Now would you please clear up how many your team has.
YO! Well said, Carl. Here’s a FACT for “Jet777.” ANY TEAM that has been awarded a National Championship from WHATEVER organization will recognize that championship as VALID. As far as the championships from the 20s & 30s are concerned, FOR SURE there is room for debate but the fact remains that certain teams from bygone eras have recieved recognition by knowledgable people. Let the naysayers speak, but HISTORY can’t be changed. It was and IS HISTORICAL what the 1925 team accomplished. That 20-19 win over Washington LAUNCHED Alabama football and Southern football onto the National Scene. It was a different era, but people listened to the radio and read the newspapers. Information was available and NO ONE before that game was played gave ‘Bama a chance in that game. Afterwards when people talked college football, Southern teams weren’t overlooked ANYMORE. More than just a football game was won. Probably the GREATEST accomplishment of the 1925 Alabama Crimson Tide was the RESPECT that they earned for theirselves and an entire region.
Very well said St. Clair. As usual no one wants to talk about the ones that Bama was screwed out of for whatever reason. Some easily put the total at 17, but everyone in the football world, unless they have a bias will agree Bama now has 13.
Make of it what you want, but just as was well put above, you can’t change history, and as I have said on here before, the longer times last, if you don’t learn from past mistakes, things will remain the same. For that reason and many more, Bama can look to earn several more in the coming years.
This is not an ending, just a new beginning.
ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!
Tick,tick,tick………………..
Shane is a racist and we should call for a boycott.
Bear Bryant will never be the man that coach Jordan was. Shug was no drunk, cheater or gambler and womanizer. Dream on bammers. He does represent what the rest of you are. Rednecks who claim they have class.