We’re now some 83 days away from the 2013 college football season. Riding back-to-back National Championship seasons, with three BCS National Championship trophies total added to our illustrious collection in a span of just four years, Alabama fans have much to be happy about.
But like any Auburn fan will tell you (because they have to), it’s not about the championships. Well, yes it is. But almost as important are the moments. Those moments when you never forget where you were when they happen.
• Moments like Paul “Bear” Bryant’s 315th win coming against Auburn in 1981.
• Like Van Tiffin’s kick in 1985.
• Moments like Cornelius Bennett’s sack and Bama’s first win over Notre Dame in 1986.
• Like Thomas Rayam’s game winning block of a Penn State chip shot in 1989.
• Like Phillip Doyle’s kick to sink the Vols and extend the streak in 1990.
• Moments like Langham’s INT to down the smug Steve Spurrier and his Gators in 1992.
• Moments like total domination of the ultra cocky Miami Hurricanes for the 1992 National Championship.
• Like Bama’s improbable 31-7 blowout win in Lee County in 2001.
• Moments like the Tide’s gut wrenching end to the Vol reign in 2005.
• Moments like watching Nick Saban’s feet hit the tarmac live in January 2007.
• Like the 36-0 humiliation and processing of Tommy Tuberville.
• Like every single whipping the Tide has handed the Vols since Saban arrived.
• Moments like dominating Tim Tebow and making him cry in 2009.
• Moments like Bama’s 1st BCS National Championship over Texas in Jan. 2010.
• Like Bama’s 2nd BCS National Championship over LSU in Jan. 2012
• Like making the falsely humble Mark Richt sulk in defeat this past December.
• Moments like Bama’s 3rd BCS National Championship over Notre Dame last January.
Moments like this…
I still have LSU friends who won’t talk about that night. Their struggle with that hurtful memory is simply delicious, similar to my Auburn friends who admit they haven’t watched all or any of the last two Iron Bowls, or BCS National Championship games for that matter.
There are just too many moments to list in regard to Alabama football. And while there have been some we’d like to forget, the number of unbelievable moments of elation and triumph are grossly disproportionate to times of defeat.
It’s why rivals hate us. It’s why ratings for televised Alabama games create a financial windfall for networks and their sponsors. And it’s why we live to experience the next moments playout on the field before our very eyes.
Roll Tide everybody. Bring on 2013.
(Follow ITK on Twitter for Bama news, commentary and smack.)
7 thoughts on “This is why we love Alabama football”
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I love that video and have it stored on my computer.
Rewatching it still almost brings tears to my eyes as I relive that moment and get to see the total elation that other fans experienced, just as I did.
I fortunately remember ever single one of those moments, and while all were moments in time whose memory will always be wonderful, the ’05 Tennessee game will be one of the biggest for me. I recall being physically exhausted after that game. I also remember being sick after the Florida game three weeks earlier because of Prothro. Great win that was never truly enjoyed.
I remember the Prothro game, too. I remember not understanding why he was playing, I remember thinking that there’s a risk someone would get hurt when you’re already up by what I thought was enough points. I cried for that one.
That’s a fantastic video.
Those are some faithful fans that set their cameras up to capture the moment.
My kids get to see me act like that. It’s kind of a glimpse into dad that they rarely get to see.
Have a good day,
BD
I couldn’t agree more.
This is what it’s all about.
I love going to A-Day with 100,000 friends, for free. I love getting together with family and meeting new Alabama fans when the rest of the football season is over.
Every single team has heartbreak, even when they go undefeated. We’ve had our hearts broken even in seasons when we won the national championship. Every team’s fans know that heartbreak.
But not every team’s fans know the highs of winning a national championship. I knew I would probably see Alabama win another title in my lifetime after the 1992 championship. But I never expected anything like this.
And it doesn’t lose any of its fun.
I think everyone else wants it so bad they think they deserve it. Maybe they do? Maybe Clemson or Notre Dame fans deserve to feel the way I’ve felt so many times the past twenty years? Maybe Oregon fans deserve to know what it’s like to carry the national championship west of the Central time zone? Maybe (the) Ohio State University fans deserve an undefeated season that earns them more than a pretty plastic banner in their trophy room?
But to do it you have to do something really special. And Alabama has done a lot of that. It’s one thing to win, but to create the kind of (and sheer volume of) football plays that deserve a 5-second spot in the rest of college football history so frequently to come out with 3 national championships and two SEC titles in 4 years is something nobody else can really relate to.
Maybe Nebraska can? But do Nebraska fans feel now the way I did in 1993 that I would see Alabama win another title in my lifetime? Do fans of teams that have never won in their lifetime revel in the stories from their tuition-paying parents about the championship-winning days and the hopes every season that they might be able to prove themselves against teams like Alabama, Alabama, and Alabama?
Results. Roll Tide.
It’s gonna be funny when Bama has to retroactively vacate all those wins for paying recruits to come after being committed? Flipping occurs, it just doesn’t occur this often without payment. Flipping FL State commits, Auburn commits, Georgia commits, etc
And by the way my favorite games were AU Bama 2010 and A&M Bama 2012. You won’t play for a NC this year rednecks because your OL is young. This will be a great year.