Some great, great comments here.
And now time for a confession.
From 1988 to 1991, I was an Auburn fan. Those four years, borne from my deep dislike of Bill Curry, were a time when I proudly wore the orange and blue. I had all the Auburn gear: I had a Bo Jackson jersey. I had a War Eagle on my bedroom wall. I was 13 when I became an Auburn fan, and 16 when things began to change.
I liked the way Coach Stallings did things. I understood at 16 that it was time for a decision in my life. See, my dad and mom weren't really football fans. Neither of them were originally from Alabama. In fact, Dad was a Kentucky man, blue through and through. UK Basketball was all that mattered. Still to this day, I pull for UK basketball all the time, unless they are playing Bama. You now know where my allegiances lie in football, and have since 1991. There is no sense of indecision when the Tide plays UK, Auburn, or anyone in Football; It's engrained in me to be an Alabama man.
Upon arriving on campus at UA, in 1994, any hint of the past (my allegiance to Auburn from a few years earlier), was quickly washed away. My past was something I held as a deep secret. It's something I'm embarrassed about, but it helps to come clean. My wife, whom I met in Tuscaloosa (along with about 100 other women to varying degrees), didn't even know about my past transgression as an Auburn fan until around 1999, when my mom was digging out old stuff from the attic while we were there one weekend. Man, I got horselaughed by everyone. Demeaning, to be sure.
So, it's been difficult through the years, watching us go from Title contender and winner in 1992-1994, to the resignation of Stallings in 1996, the awful, awful days of losing to La Tech, La Monroe, Va Tech ugly in the Music City in 98, 7 losses in a row to Tennessee, 6 in a row to Auburn, 5 in a row to LSU, Franchione improving in 2002, then abruptly leaving, hiring Price, firing Price, NCAA Sanctions twice, watching Shula learn on the job, then sitting out a 2007 season that could have been much more positive than it ended.
Now, we are national title favorites. Newly crowned SEC Champions again, for the 22nd time. Winners of 3 in a row over Tennessee, two in a row over LSU, and 2 in a row in dramatic fashion against that trash from Lee County.
It's great to be from Al-a-bama.
You know some things are meant to be put away and never spoke of again. :no-no:
:nana:
