The main idea I’m getting and (pretty much the way I feel myself) is that it’s not so much aTm that we dislike as it is fRAN.
Wherever fRAN is, we want HIM to fail. Unfortunately, the team and program and university fail as well. I have no grudge against the school in any way, just against that sneaky, two faced, lying, conniving, sneaking out in the middle of the night, back stabbing squirming worm that is the head coach of that school’s football team.
As far as the Bear Bryant for fRAN “trade”, I’ll take that swap as even steven.
I took a creative writing class where we were given topics (usually one word) and we had to write about them. The topic was “Passion” and I chose the University of Alabama.
"One of the first things I can remember being asked after starting elementary school was “who do you go for?” By that I mean, do you “go for” Alabama or do you “go for” Auburn? Most of us, even before we learned to say “mama” or “dada” or “bye bye” were taught to say either “Roll Tide” or “War Eagle.” The legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant was a man that I grew up looking upon as bigger than life, a hero, one of a kind, outspoken but quite, as mean as a well, a bear...and as gentle as a kitten. “Bear” said things that made you think. Not just about football and winning, but about life and the way one chooses to live it. His “Never Quit” quote has stuck with me for most of my life.
Upon his return to The University of Alabama, someone asked him why he’d decided to come back to his Alma Mater. In that gravely voice of his, he simply answered, “Mama called.”
Nobody ever doubted what he meant by that. As much as he loved and respected her, he wasn’t speaking of his own beloved Mama. He was talking about The University. He was talking about Alabama. He was talking about “home.” The one place he felt he most belonged. The one place he always felt the most loved and respected. The place he could most make a difference in his life and the lives of others. The place where he knew he was meant to be. The place that he was pulled to for reasons beyond anyone’s control or his own understanding. The one place that he somehow knew that it was meant for him to give his all to.
Anyone who has ever called themselves a Bama fan, who grew up here, who remembers the day "Bear" passed away and the way people lined the Interstate for over 100 miles to pay their respects as he was taken to his final resting place...we always knew what it meant...when “Mama called.”
I was one of those people standing on the side of the Interstate with MY mama and the tears were streaming down her face. I was twelve years old, it was a Wednesday and she let me miss school (something that was forbidden in our house) and she called in sick to work (something she never did.) It’s been over twenty years since that day and I still remember what it felt like to be there."
This passage sums up what fRAN laughed at, stomped on and threw back into our face. As well as lying to the players that played their guts out for him, his actions ridiculed the very tradition that we hold dear.
For that, it makes me almost giddy (to borrow BamaDelta’s word of the week) to see that man fail.
Karma is a b**ch!
