🏈 The Rising Tide by SI.com - WOW, Amazing!

[firestorm]

An SI.com alert has just come to my personal email account. The article seems amazing. WOW 8 pages about the Tide!!. Now, I'm gonna go to read it immediately. Enjoy!

The Rising Tide By Rick Bragg

RTR,

 

[crimsonoldtimer]

Great article, thanks for the link!

 

[billclemen]

Rick Bragg just about got it right. My memories go back to the last of the Frank Thomas days and included Drew, Whitworth, Bryant, etc. One of my father's best friends had played for Xen Scott (the coach before Wallace Wade) and so my memories of the oral tradition of Alabama football actually go back to the era when 'Bama first broke out on the National scene by a victory over Pennsylvania up there and the subsequent heroes welcome that the team received when they got back to Tuscaloosa. The one thing that I would have put a little more emphasis on is the absolute dedication of the players over the decades who have made it all possible. The teams that have known how to pay the price have left an indelible impression on Alabama football. We owe quite a debt to the guys who didn't win any championships in their day at Alabama, but turned around a 0-40 whipping the previous year to a hard-fought 14-9 loss the next year against Auburn. We could see what the future held and it was good for Alabama football. I hope this season unfolds in the same fashion so that we can see the promised land and know that a way to get there exists with the dedication and hard work of a group of guys. RolllllTideRoll

 

[mike2197r74]

great article!! Thanks

 

[Go4Bama]

Great article, I liked this

And a redshirt freshman named Terry Grant, a former Mr. Football from Mississippi, runs like something bad is after him.

This is what I am talking about,

Saban might not coach the Tide to improbable wins, say Alabama fans. But he will not lose the handle on the games that are winnable and leave Alabama at the ugly end of a soul-killing upset. That is what they want from him, at least right now.

I kept waiting for the typical Saban and BAMA bashing.

 

[Wiseace615]

Thanks for the link, man. Just so you guys know, the guy who wrote the article is an Alabama native. He was born in '58 in the Piedmont area. His father abandoned his mother when they were young and she was forced to pick other people's cotton, iron their clothes, and take welfare just to provide for him and his two brothers. Needless to say, he grew up poor, but managed to go six months to Jacksonville State and get a job with a local paper. From that job he went on to the Birmingham News and later the New York Times. Along the way he won a fellowship to Harvard (where he braved the winter's cold in a full-lengthed cammo coat given to him by his then girlfriend) and a Pulitzer Prize for journalism. If you get a chance read "All Over but the Shoutin'" a book about his mother, and "Ava's Man" about his Grandfather. They are great reads and give a good perspective of the rural Alabama areas where many of us grew up. It's always good to see someone who excels so much in their field, yet never forgets where they came from. He's gotten an education from one of the best known educational institutes in the world, works for one of the best known papers, and received the highest prize that his profession offers, yet will still proudly say, " By God, I'm from Alabama." I just wanted to let those of you know who didn't already, he's not just an SI talking head, he's one of us. Roll Tide!

 

[tidenumber1]

Thanks for the link. Very good read.

 

[MDBtrumpet04]

Rick Bragg spoke in my journalism class back in the spring. Very nice guy and very knowledgable.

 

[bamawayne25]

The Rising Tide by SI.com(link)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/specials/preview/2007/08/21/saban0827/index.html

 

[StuckNMS]

My favorite quote from this article.


"I'm tired of hearing all this talk about a national championship when you guys don't know how to get in out of the rain, don't know what to do in the classroom.' It's like you've got little kids in the backseat, saying, 'Are we there yet?'"

This is going to be one heck of a ride.

 

[eshad]

Thanks for the link, man. Just so you guys know, the guy who wrote the article is an Alabama native. He was born in '58 in the Piedmont area. His father abandoned his mother when they were young and she was forced to pick other people's cotton, iron their clothes, and take welfare just to provide for him and his two brothers. Needless to say, he grew up poor, but managed to go six months to Jacksonville State and get a job with a local paper. From that job he went on to the Birmingham News and later the New York Times. Along the way he won a fellowship to Harvard (where he braved the winter's cold in a full-lengthed cammo coat given to him by his then girlfriend) and a Pulitzer Prize for journalism. If you get a chance read "All Over but the Shoutin'" a book about his mother, and "Ava's Man" about his Grandfather. They are great reads and give a good perspective of the rural Alabama areas where many of us grew up. It's always good to see someone who excels so much in their field, yet never forgets where they came from. He's gotten an education from one of the best known educational institutes in the world, works for one of the best known papers, and received the highest prize that his profession offers, yet will still proudly say, " By God, I'm from Alabama." I just wanted to let those of you know who didn't already, he's not just an SI talking head, he's one of us. Roll Tide!

All Over but the Shoutin' is an excellent book. Almost felt like I was reading a biography of myself. I highly recommend it.

 

[imported_Porter]

So I guess this will be in the magazine this week or next? Good stuff!

 

[reger60]

Wow! Great read. Thanks for the link!

 

[Wiseace615]

All Over but the Shoutin' is an excellent book. Almost felt like I was reading a biography of myself. I highly recommend it.

I know what you mean. I grew up in the mountains of Jackson County, and the book reminded me a lot of some of my relatives and friends. IMO they couldn't have found a better reporter for that particular article.

 

[Proud Tiger]

Rick Bragg just about got it right. My memories go back to the last of the Frank Thomas days and included Drew, Whitworth, Bryant, etc. One of my father's best friends had played for Xen Scott (the coach before Wallace Wade) and so my memories of the oral tradition of Alabama football actually go back to the era when 'Bama first broke out on the National scene by a victory over Pennsylvania up there and the subsequent heroes welcome that the team received when they got back to Tuscaloosa. The one thing that I would have put a little more emphasis on is the absolute dedication of the players over the decades who have made it all possible. The teams that have known how to pay the price have left an indelible impression on Alabama football. We owe quite a debt to the guys who didn't win any championships in their day at Alabama, but turned around a 0-40 whipping the previous year to a hard-fought 14-9 loss the next year against Auburn. We could see what the future held and it was good for Alabama football. I hope this season unfolds in the same fashion so that we can see the promised land and know that a way to get there exists with the dedication and hard work of a group of guys. RolllllTideRoll

Bill.....you and all bama fans should give special thanks to a little scatback named Marlin (Scooter) Dyess for that 14-9 win. He scored the winning TD as I recall. Most people don't remember but from everything I knew (my Dad worked at the B'ham News and I knew all the sportswriters) Coach Bryant was about to be fired before that game. Scooter and the win saved Coach Bryant and the rest is history. Scooter graduated in ME and came to work for me in Huntsville. We became close friends and you can only imagine the stories we told into the wee hours some nights.

 

[Guest]

first time ive herd this someone please explain

paid him enough money to burn a wet dog

 

[reger60]

first time ive herd this someone please explain

paid him enough money to burn a wet dog

Theoretically, it would take a lot of paper to burn a wet dog, right? Maybe 30 to 40 million pieces?

 

[Guest]

first time ive herd this someone please explain

paid him enough money to burn a wet dog

Theoretically, it would take a lot of paper to burn a wet dog, right? Maybe 30 to 40 million pieces?

ahhhh

 

[Go4Bama]

first time ive herd this someone please explain

paid him enough money to burn a wet dog

Ask Michael Vick he might know.

 

[Wiseace615]

That's soooo wrong, but funny!!! :lol: :lol: