A perfect storm gives 'Bama a second chance?
All it would take to get Alabama back in the national championship game would have Iowa State beat Oklahoma State. Couldn't happen. The Cyclones played an inspired game and you can scratch the Cowboys. It would have been in even better if the 1 loss teams ranked just below the Tide lost as well. Couldn't happen. Southern Cal beat Oregon in a wild west shootout. Scratch the Ducks. No way Baylor would beat Oklahoma. Couldn't happen. On the last play of the game Baylor scored the winning touchdown. Scratch Oklahoma. If any of these things happened it would have helped 'Bama. That all of those things happened was seemingly impossible. If Indiana Jones played college football he's wear the Crimson and White. All of which brings us to the most important game. Alabama goes to Jordan-Hare to play Auburn.
Somewhere deep in the heart of this rivalry you just knew it might happen. Alabama might yet win the National Championship but to do so they must beat the Auburn Tigers. A couple of weeks ago when 'Bama handed LSU a win I said Alabama now had a one game season. That is the season of Auburn. That is a season where hatred fills the air more than the blowing leaves of the fall. This is a season where decency and common sense are suspended. This a season were marriages are tested and friendships are ended. It is the Auburn - Alabama week.
Reason goes out the window...
The radio talk shows next week will be filled with talk of a possible national championship. Those same shows will make it clear that Auburn fans would rather give up their next pay checks than let 'Bama win at Auburn. There are a lot of great rivalries. Many are steeped in tradition and intense competition. None is dipped in hatred like the Iron Bowl. The Iron Bowl is like the hatred that brothers feel toward one another in a dysfunctional family. It's a rivalry that defies understanding and transcends rational thought. The hatred is visceral . What makes this game different from Notre Dame and Southern California is that it is very personal. Except among the actual participants, who have a much better prospective than most of us, this game is a deadly serious affair.
The victor doesn't win as much as not having to say you lost. If you are on the losing side it is like catching a cold that will last a year. When Tide and Tiger fans meet there are pregnant pauses in conversations. You can almost hear the grinding of teeth and the biting of tongues. If you are one of those rare fans who who try to strike a balance you are one of two things - you are traitor to your team, or a liar to the other. The only thing known to be more dangerous than nuclear war are fans of both schools trying to watch the game on TV with one another.
Not so much the winning as avoiding the losing...
This isn't a game where you can throw out the record books. The favored teams generally win. What is different is that the games are much more competitive than the records of the two teams would indicate. Alabama is 10-1 and Auburn is 7-4. Most people can't understand how Alabama could have lost even one game. More can't believe that the Tigers have acutually won 7 games at all. Come this Saturday records won't matter. Talking stops and tackling starts. Kickoff will not be an electric feel associated with most college games. It will be 90,000 people holding their breathe. That doesn't count the some three million people not in the stadium
Sixty minutes later one side of the fans will get to exhale. One side will be jubilant, the other will be sentenced to a bitter resignation. Either way, winner or loser, each side gets a years worth to think about the game. The loser has another year to find more hate. The winner gets to thump its chest in pride. And the winner does. That's the catch - 22 of this game. Winning isn't exactly what happens. Losing most certainly does. It's a shame that this old rivalry has taken such a turn to the nasty, but in America what do you expect? We have become a nation of division. There is no greater division in sports than Auburn and Alabama. It is what it is. And its coming this Saturday once again.
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| Iowa State stuns Oklahoma State - miracle # 1 |
Somewhere deep in the heart of this rivalry you just knew it might happen. Alabama might yet win the National Championship but to do so they must beat the Auburn Tigers. A couple of weeks ago when 'Bama handed LSU a win I said Alabama now had a one game season. That is the season of Auburn. That is a season where hatred fills the air more than the blowing leaves of the fall. This is a season where decency and common sense are suspended. This a season were marriages are tested and friendships are ended. It is the Auburn - Alabama week.
 |
| Wide left and USC hangs on - miracle # 2 |
Reason goes out the window...
The radio talk shows next week will be filled with talk of a possible national championship. Those same shows will make it clear that Auburn fans would rather give up their next pay checks than let 'Bama win at Auburn. There are a lot of great rivalries. Many are steeped in tradition and intense competition. None is dipped in hatred like the Iron Bowl. The Iron Bowl is like the hatred that brothers feel toward one another in a dysfunctional family. It's a rivalry that defies understanding and transcends rational thought. The hatred is visceral . What makes this game different from Notre Dame and Southern California is that it is very personal. Except among the actual participants, who have a much better prospective than most of us, this game is a deadly serious affair.
The victor doesn't win as much as not having to say you lost. If you are on the losing side it is like catching a cold that will last a year. When Tide and Tiger fans meet there are pregnant pauses in conversations. You can almost hear the grinding of teeth and the biting of tongues. If you are one of those rare fans who who try to strike a balance you are one of two things - you are traitor to your team, or a liar to the other. The only thing known to be more dangerous than nuclear war are fans of both schools trying to watch the game on TV with one another.
Not so much the winning as avoiding the losing...
 |
| Miracle 3 - Baylor beats Oklahoma on the last play of the game. |
This isn't a game where you can throw out the record books. The favored teams generally win. What is different is that the games are much more competitive than the records of the two teams would indicate. Alabama is 10-1 and Auburn is 7-4. Most people can't understand how Alabama could have lost even one game. More can't believe that the Tigers have acutually won 7 games at all. Come this Saturday records won't matter. Talking stops and tackling starts. Kickoff will not be an electric feel associated with most college games. It will be 90,000 people holding their breathe. That doesn't count the some three million people not in the stadium
Sixty minutes later one side of the fans will get to exhale. One side will be jubilant, the other will be sentenced to a bitter resignation. Either way, winner or loser, each side gets a years worth to think about the game. The loser has another year to find more hate. The winner gets to thump its chest in pride. And the winner does. That's the catch - 22 of this game. Winning isn't exactly what happens. Losing most certainly does. It's a shame that this old rivalry has taken such a turn to the nasty, but in America what do you expect? We have become a nation of division. There is no greater division in sports than Auburn and Alabama. It is what it is. And its coming this Saturday once again.
Back to the forums on Tider Insider
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