Standing up for what’s right

So much that we could be talking about this week: Auburn and LSU, Tom Osborne returning to Nebraska, Jimmy Clausen getting benched.

But you know what? None of it matters. Not this week. My heart’s just not in it to talk about that crap. It’s all secondary. There is only one topic of conversation that’s important this week.

So, instead, a little story. It’ll be quick, I promise.

God bless my wife, but she asked me on Monday to pick up an Alabama “Roll Tide” hat for her Daddy’s birthday. Being distracted at work and needing to pick up an Auburn hat for her boss, anyway, I said, “Sure, dear,” and hung up the phone. As I was driving to the mall, to my horror, I realized what I’d committed to do. In my narrow little mind, this is like selling weapons of mass destruction to enemy foreign intelligence.

I mean, the Ghost. Touching, and BUYING an Alabama cap. On THIS of all weeks. For a GIFT!!!! This was for the man who threatens to turn my unborn children into Tide fans. Searching in my head for an excuse to not buy it, I couldn’t find one. So, I walked in the mall.

Traitorous thoughts swarmed through my mind. What if somebody I knew saw me with a Bama hat? What if I wrecked my truck and died and that THING sat in the bag next to my lifeless body? What if I got the stench of Bammers on me from being in that university store? What if by me doing this, somehow, the karma of my actions seeped northward to Knoxville and permeated the Vols’ psyche?

What have I done?

As I strolled casually into the store, I picked up the Auburn hat pretty quickly. Hey, man, I don’t mind the Tigers. They’re the furthest thing from the Tide other than the Vols, so we can be cordial when we’re not playing each other.

And then there I was: Standing before the sea of crimson hats, speckled with the plaid of houndstooths and the Got Saban? shirts in between.

I felt like I was in an adult toystore. And it was there I made up my mind. … (Not in the adult toystore, but standing in front of the Bammer gear). I WOULD NOT do this. My wife works close enough to the mall. SHE could buy the hat! I’d have no part of it. I’d not condone this. Even if nobody saw me with the hat, God would know. That was too much for me.

So, I picked up my cell phone. “I’m not buying the hat. I don’t know which one he wants,” I told my wife. “Plus, I don’t want to be seen with that thing this week.” Thank God, my wife understood. Even though she’s an Alabama fan, she owes me bigtime, and she knows it. When we got married, it was either build on my parents’ Tennessee farm or her parents’ Alabama farm two miles away. After war was waged for several years, she put her high heel down. Basically, I’d live there if I wanted to marry her.

(It wasn’t quite like that. We lived in Tennessee the first five years while I chased my occupational dream).

But it sounds better to make an Alabama fan the enemy here, right? Anyway, I walked out of that store with a smile on my face and no Bama hat in my hand. I’d survived one of the scariest moments of my life. I’d stood up to the demons, stared them in the face and made a decision.

I’d never support that Crimson crap. Get used to it. The Ghost don’t back down to nobody. (Plus, my wife gave me permission).

Ghost of Neyland

Hate Speech is Bad Mmmmmmkay? Time to Call Some Folks Out, Again.

Frankly it sickens me to see what the Alabama-UT rivalry has become. It used to be about class and respect. It used to be about two teams laying it on the line for thier respective states in a border rivalry that was second to none.  It used to be about giving the opposing fans a hard time but knowing that to some degree you were the same……that you weren’t a school like Auburn. That you actually had class and respect.

 I found these comments pretty classy………not to mention logical and well crafted. I am sure you will see it the same way.

“When you’ve dominated the way we have, it’s just old hat to beat Bama.” - GON

Interesting. The way some UT fans talk you would think they had actually WON something in the last few years. The facts are that UT has always lived in the shadow of another school. For 70 years it was the University of Alabama. When that rivalry turned (for whatever reason…..I am sure it was only because UT’s program suddenly after 70 years became forever superior to UA’s) in favor of UT, they still found themselves in the shadow of Florida. The result? A massive inferiority complex that manifests itself by trying to make yourself feel better by degrading others. You know what…….I am not the least bit threatened by UT’s “domination.” Why is that exactly? Because I know what real domination looks like. All of there success pales in comparison with ours, and it will be that way until long long after our childrens children have cured cancer, solved world hunger, and flown a manned mission to Saturn.

“I hate Bama because they think that people hate them because everyone is jealous of their rich history. When really other team’s fans hate Alabama because they act like they are the cream of the crop in college football, when they are no longer relevant” VttW

No longer relevant, eh? The facts would disagree but you are free to believe what you want. Who is more news worthy in college football than Alabama? Who generates more interest? Who has a more national following? Perhaps Notre Dame. That’s it boys and girls, and WE ALL KNOW THAT. The same ones acting as if UA isn’t relevant were using that same argument to say we would fail in the latest coaching search. Whoops. We hired one of the most highly regarded college coaches in the country.

“I hate Bama because they think Nick Saban is going to make Alabama the powerhouse they were back in the day. Nick Saban split one national title and all of the sudden he is the best coach in the country. He has proved less than Phillip Fulmer, Urban Meyer, and Steve Spurrier, but Bammers think that he can dominates these coach’s teams. Check out his record” VttW

LOL. What a joke. LSU won a MNC on the field by winning the championship game. Here’s what else kills me…..do people really think that Alabama fans think they will never lose a game again once Saban establishes himself? Absolutely not. We will, however, expect to compete for and win Mythical National Titles. Why? It’s all we have ever done. No one has proven on the football field what the University of Alabama has……….oh and one other thing………anyone that thinks Nick Saban can’t help Alabama reach it’s goals doesn’t know very much about football.

“I hate Bama because all they talk about is their 12 national championships when half the fans can’t remember but one of them. That one came in 1992 when they were paying players to come there, and their best player should not have been on the field because of two DUI charges. Alabama has a great history, but in the present they are lower tier team in the SEC and the past isn’t going to change that.” VttW

I will give VttW a pass for originally insinuating that it was Jay Barker who commited the DUI’s. What else does he have wrong? “….in 1992 when they were paying players to come there.” This is false. Just plain false. Let’s keep (get) our facts straight. How about this? “….thier best player should not have been on the field because of two DUI charges.” David Palmer, the culprit in perspective, was suspended for both of those occurences. I could go on a diatribe about what taking away football would have done for a kid like Palmer, but you wouldn’t understand. Compassion, forgiveness and second chances are out of place in today’s society. Thank God they are still available. Oh yeah…..there is one more…….”in the present they are lower tier team in the SEC”…….LOL…..actually we are tied for the lead in our division. Your point still remains, I am sure.

“I hate Bama because of their infatuation with Bear Bryant, even when most of the fans never saw him coach. They treat him like a god, but really he was just a really good coach for a program that got all the players because they were one of the few teams that got national recognition.” VttW

Coach Bryant doesn’t need me to defend him as a coach. He has more MNC’s on his own than UT does as an institution. It is sad to see younger UT fans try to belittle THE preeminent coach in the history of college football. Classy, huh? Jealous ravages the soul guys. Be proud of what your team has done (which is plenty by the way) and let UA be what it is…………..

“I hate Bama because they’re our biggest rivalry, and we are not theirs.” VttW

Auburn. By the way…….let’s see if Fulmer can survive losing to Alabama for a couple of years (as he has survived losing to UF) before we completely shelve the idea of Alabama not being UT’s biggest rival. That, and talk to someone born before 1980……….in other words, the majority of UT fans.

“I hate Bama because they name all their plays. The catch, the run, the hit, the strip, and rocky stop. We beat you 10 out of the last 12 years. We don’t come up with names for the plays that won all of those games.” VttW

Our plays are named because people actually care. Football isn’t a business to us……….it is our pride and joy…..our first born son…..it is what we do.

“Black Warriors. Sounds like a Tuscaloosa gang. The only thing your sorority girls are better at in Alabama are contracting STDs and applying makeup.” GON

There is no comparing UA women to UT. This is hierarchcy…..Ole Miss (large drop off) Alabama (large drop off) Tennessee (large drop off the face of the earth) Auburn.

“And listen, I have no problem with Bama fans pulling for Bama. It’s the idiocy and smug blindness that develops once you mature into a full-grown Bama fan that I can’t stand.”

 I ask you fellow readers……who is actually idiotic and smug? The results are in UT fan, and you lose.

Boomtown Madman

 

A Truly Special Week

The UT boys got a quick start on the hate this week (worried?). I’ll get to the good stuff later, but right now, here’s one Alabama man’s feelings about the rivalry.

Like many on this blog, I grew up in a very rural area near the Alabama - Tennessee state line. I lived in and attended school in Alabama, but went to church in Tennessee. I also grew up in a divided household. My mother and a large majority of her family, are UT fans, while my father was and most on his side are Alabama fans. I have one sister that is an Alabama fan, and two sisters and a brother that are fans of the Big Urnge. Seeing that I was blessed with the brains in the family I, of course, chose early to root for the Tide. Probably the main reason for my allegiance was my father’s intense love for Alabama. My mother told me that when I was as young as two or three, I would sit with Daddy or in the floor in front of the TV and watch an entire ballgame and not move. He died in an accident in 1983. I was nearly eight years old. Since then it has seemed that I am not only cheering for myself, but for him, also.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As most of you know the third Saturday in October is reserved for one game and one game only.  It’s Alabama vs. Tennessee.  That alone should get any college football fan excited, especially if you pull for the Tide or the Vols.  It’s the time of the year where best of friends become bitter enemies, even if it is only for one day.  It’s bragging rights, it’s tradition, it’s magnitude, it’s huge.  Every year seems to have it’s own story line, it’s own excitement, it’s own ramifications.  This year is no exception. 

Tennessee comes into this Saturday’s game with a  4-2 record (2-1 in the SEC) and ranked 20th in the nation.  Alabama will enter Saturday’s game with a 5-2 record (3-1 in SEC play).  It’s been a year of ups and downs for both squads.  Tennessee opened the season at California and, quite frankly, were taken to the woodshed by the Bears.  After a win over Southern Miss, Tennessee traveled to the dreaded Swamp (I’ve actually been there and to be completely honest, I was not impressed at all with the noise or atmosphere) to play SEC East rival Florida.  You can ask Ghost of Neyland how that game went, but I’ll save you the time and say, not so good for the Vols.  However, after losing two of three, the Vols have bounced back by beating the Dawgs as if they were Michael Vick themselves and a good road win at a stengy Mississippi St.

For Alabama, the trend of the year has been consistency, or lack there of.  The Tide started the season strong, scoring on their first play from scrimmage in the first three games.  With wins over Western Carolina (big shocker, I know), a better Vanderbilt team, and a thriller with Arkansas, the Tide then went on to lose to Georgia at home in overtime and Florida State in Jacksonville.  The past two games for the Tide have been heart-attacks waiting to happen as they almost blew a 23 point lead over Houston, which came down to a jump ball in the end-zone that was picked by Simeon Castille to preserve the win, and a last play drama against Ole Miss that was ruled a catch and then eventually overturned by officials allowing Alabama to escape Oxford with the W. 

One thing is for certain for Tide and Vol fans, Saturday’s game is crucial for the remainder of the season.  Both Alabama and Tennessee control their own destinies in SEC play.  The only drawback of this year’s game is the fact that the game is to kickoff at 11:30 am and will be televised on Lincoln Financial Sports (see Kentucky’s win over then #1 LSU for the reason).  Since a few other writers for this blog have expressed their feelings towards Lincoln Financial Sports games, (or as some of them still refer to it as Jefferson-Pilot Sports) I’ll express my feelings towards it too.  The way I see it, Lincoln Financial Sports games are a major program back-hands (that word is slightly edited) to the face games.  Honestly, who wants to get up at the crack of dawn to get their pre-game started.  I know I don’t, and as a student without a guaranteed good seat, it really sucks.  What are we now, the Big 10?  I think not.  And, for the television viewer, the game can not be any worse to watch.  The commentators are terrible, the camera angles are horrible (except for the last play against Ole Miss), and trying to pick out which players are on the field is dang near impossible. 

Now that I got my 2 cents in about Lincoln Financial Sports or JP Sports, which ever floats your boat, I’ll address the Vol nation.  Being the classy individual I am, representing a classy university in Alabama, I won’t talk too much smack.  However, Tennessee is a program I hate in a state that I hate going to.  It bothers me that I live so close to Tennessee.  I hate the fact that Tennessee fans constantly attack Alabama fans with the issue of ”class,” with the issue of National Championships, with the issue of getting in trouble for paying players, with the issue of player arrests, and the list goes on (See the post, “I hate Alabama because”).  It’s a blatant contradiction because their program is the same way, if not worse.  Tennessee fans are just a bunch of, well, I’ll save it for a rainy day.

 One thing is for certain though.  The hatered is there.  The rivalry is alive.  The games are always intense.  It doesn’t matter which team you pull for, anyone will agree with these statements.  This is the reason why the third Saturday in October is so much fun every year.

The Capstone King   

    

The Third Saturday in October: I Hate Alabama because…

Even though the Florida game means more for Tennessee, The Third Saturday in October is the most important game of the year for myself and a lot of UT fans. This is because of the hate I have for the team and their fans. This is not because they are bad people, but in the college football world I can’t stand them. There are many reasons for this hatred of Alabama football and its followers, but for readability purposes I’ll try to keep it short.

I hate Bama because I have been surrounded by Alabama fans my entire life because I grew up on the Alabama/Tennessee state line. All the news channels heavily covered the Tide and raved about how great they were. The fans would wear their Alabama t-shirts after every win. Businesses flew Alabama flags over their buildings all throughout the city. The mall was full of stores with Bammer gear, and not a single Tennessee shirt. The only sports radio station talked about Alabama football 24/7 and Finebaum was on every day talking about the Tide. There was no internet back then, so it was impossible to get any info on the Vols because of the media outlets in Huntsville didn’t care about Tennessee athletics.

I hate Bama because its in my blood. Alabama beat Tennessee a lot before I started watching college football, so naturally the Tennessee fans in my family hated Alabama more than anything. Most of them had lived through those years where Bama was actually good, so they taught me to root against Alabama in every game they played, even when they were really bad. Now because of computer rankings I have to hope that they will win to improve our schedule strength, so I even hate Bama when they lose.

I hate Bama because Tennessee gets blamed for Alabama cheating. They cheated by paying players, but somehow its Tennessee’s fault because they think Tennessee was just throwing them in the fire because we were jealous of them and wanted to get the NCAA off our backs. I don’t understand this way of thinking because obviously our violations were not as near as Bama’s because we did not get in trouble. Who cares who turned you in. I would have too if I was the coach of a team competing for the same recruits, like Andre Lott, who’s mother told the Alabama coaches that her son could not be bought and chose Tennessee instead.

I hate Bama because they think that people hate them because everyone is jealous of their rich history. When really other team’s fans hate Alabama because they act like they are the cream of the crop in college football, when they are no longer relevant.

I hate Bama because they think Nick Saban is going to make Alabama the powerhouse they were back in the day. Nick Saban split one national title and all of the sudden he is the best coach in the country. He has proved less than Phillip Fulmer, Urban Meyer, and Steve Spurrier, but Bammers think that he can dominates these coach’s teams. Check out his record. http://3rdsaturdayinblogtober.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/question-for-the-board/

I hate Bama because all they talk about is their 12 national championships when half the fans can’t remember but one of them. That one came in 1992 when they were paying players to come there, and their best player should not have been on the field because of two DUI charges. Alabama has a great history, but in the present they are lower tier team in the SEC and the past isn’t going to change that.

I hate Bama because they think their recruiting class this year is going to put Bama back on top of the SEC, even though the Vols, Florida, and LSU all had great classes last year.

I hate Bama because of their infatuation with Bear Bryant, even when most of the fans never saw him coach. They treat him like a god, but really he was just a really good coach for a program that got all the players because they were one of the few teams that got national recognition.

I hate Bama because they’re our biggest rivalry, and we are not theirs.

I hate Bama because their fans think we are skewing the numbers by saying we are 10-2 in the past twelve games against them.

I hate Bama because of the elephant, the tide box and toilet paper guys, rammer jammer, and everything else associated with Alabama football.

I hate Bama because they name all their plays. The catch, the run, the hit, the strip, and rocky stop. We beat you 10 out of the last 12 years. We don’t come up with names for the plays that won all of those games.

All of that said, I respect Alabama because they are a good program, and I respect the fans because of their loyalty for their team. Their attitude and passion are exactly the things that make College Football great. Its a great rivalry, and I look forward to seeing Fulmer lead Tennessee to victory over the Crimson Tide once again in this year’s Third Saturday in October.

Volstothewall