I support the University of Alabama's football team, The Crimson Tide.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3-RlA4-RNc&feature=related"]YouTube- Alabama Fight Song[/ame]
Our chief rival is the cow college on the other side of the state, Auburn University. We play every year in the Iron Bowl. Here is a link detailing that rivalry
http://collegefootball.about.com/od/rivalries/a/riv-ironbowl.htm
How did I, someone who falls asleep watching almost any other sporting event get pulled into watching college football? Well I'll tell yah. First of all my folks are both Bama fans, my mother's folks are both Bama fans(grandpa passed away last year), my father's mother could care less..and his father when he was still alive was a Bama fan but also really loved watching the Army/Navy game every year. I would be termed a very laid back Bama fanatic...I get a bit venomous during the actual games sometimes, I'll give verbal jabs at fans of other SEC teams. To a true southeastern conference fanatic, there is no tougher hard-nosed physical football tradition played than SEC football. Then there is the historic tradition that I've come to respect. Also of great importance is a college football program's influence on the lives of the players, a good program will instill a sense of honor, respect, and discipline in these young men. It should also ensure that when they leave the program, they have received a proper education.
The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide is who brought respect to the southeast back in 1926 and proved to the rest of the country that southerners could indeed play football.
http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-stories/2010/01/alabamas_1926_win_in_rose_bowl.html
The 1925 team featuring Allison "Pooley" Hubert and Johnny Mack Brown.
Their coach-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Wade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allison_Hubert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mack_Brown
The next iconic member of this long standing tradition is Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.
He was known for his ability to instill discipline and honor in young men, and also he was one hell of a strategist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Bryant
This past year the Crimson Tide went undefeated and won a national championship. The last time they managed to win a national championship was 1992, there have been many bad years for the Crimson Tide since then. We've been through more coaches than you can shake a stick at since the Bear retired. Its not easy to watch your team suffer through defeats under shaky leadership. In 2007 we finally got a coach that was worth a damn since Gene Stallings retired in 1996, the new coach is named Nick Saban.
In the three years that he has been head coach, Saban has revitalized our team into the Crimson Tide of our golden years. He built our offense to focus on a power running game that beats opposing teams defenses into submission, and when they stack their defenses to stop it we have a pretty damn good passing game as backup. He built our defense around the professional level 3-4 defensive package-That's three very large down linemen, allowing for more versatile backfield coverage to change and cover the run or the pass as necessary. He is a very strict disciplinarian, damn good strategist, and boy does he play some head games with the other team.
One accomplishment that I am the most proud of being able to witness from this past season's football team, is that the University of Alabama has its first Heisman Trophy winner- Mark Ingram. Most of the Heisman Trophy candidates tend to be quarterbacks, understandably so due to the impact they can have on their teams offensive progression not only as a leader but also as a pure athletic player on the field. It is not unheard of for a running back to win this trophy, but it is fairly rare.
Some highlights
Mark Ingram #22- Halfback(Powerback)
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKhTrxk4Nss"]YouTube- Mark Ingram(#22)- Official 2009 Heisman Highlights[/ame]
Rolando McClain #25- Defensive Captain
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMeP7eoXuU"]YouTube- Rolando McClain Highlights[/ame]
Terrance Cody #62- Defensive Lineman
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcdJMpgyEWk"]YouTube- 2009 Terrence Cody highlight.mp4[/ame]
Javier Arenas #28- Defensive back and Kickoff/Punt Return
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkhf296k4AQ"]YouTube- agent28[/ame]
SEC Championship Vs The Florida Gators
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZLnvy7IyDY"]YouTube- 12/09/09 Best Highlight - #2 Alabama vs #1 Florida SEC Championship[/ame]
National Championship Vs. The Texas Longhorns
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lw3V9rH8xU&feature=related"]YouTube- 2010 BCS National Championship Highlights Alabama vs Texas[/ame]
I know this turned out to be an excessively long post filled with photographs and links of videos, but its difficult to completely express only with words why I feel so passionate about this particular team. Family started the ball rolling, learning the tradition and history built a strong amount of respect for it, and finally once I saw some truly awesome athletic achievements on the field I can't help but continue watching for them to happen again. Not only do I gain enjoyment out of following my team's progress, but this has become a wonderful common ground between my father and I, we always have something we can talk about. Finally the sheer amount of strategy involved makes it a wonderful sport to observe.
