Sims inspires and delights Alabama fans
Indulge me just a bit. Yesterday
was Thanksgiving. It’s the time of year that we are supposed to think about
exactly what we are thankful for. I have a wonderful family. I have the
greatest wife in the world and two superstar daughters. One of my daughters should
work on Wall Street. The other is the last remaining flower child in America.
Gosh, I have so much to be thankful for it’s hard to know where to even start
naming my other blessings. Today, I wanted to tell you how thankful I am to one
certain young man on the Crimson Tide football team.
It’s been a strange year for
quarterbacks in our State. Jameis Winston won a national championship his
freshman year as well as the Heisman Trophy. About the only thing that Blake
Sims has won is the starting position at quarterback for Alabama. Winston was a
five star prospect. He was the golden child of all recruiting his senior year
at Hueytown High School. Blake Sims, who
is not even from Alabama, was a pretty good little athlete in Gainseville,
Georgia. Winston fulfilled all the promises his ability had in store for him.
He’s yet to take a snap in a losing game for his team. Winston spurned offers
from both Alabama and Auburn. He turned his back on in state schools and
decided his future was at Florida State. Blake Sims was offered a chance to
play at Alabama and grabbed it in a heartbeat.
Winston walked on campus and was a
star. Sims came to Alabama searching for a position to play. I’m not exactly certain
what Alabama coaches had in mind for him, but I’d bet my last dollar it would
never be a starting quarterback. Ironically, both quarterbacks had to beat out
the same player to win the starting quarterback at their respective schools. Winston
beat out Jacob Coker and the heavens opened up for the Hueytown native. Coker
backed up Winston and then transferred to Alabama. He did so because he had
always been an Alabama fan and, it appeared the starting position at Alabama
was his for the taking.
Blake Sims and Jacob Coker entered
into a fraternal war for the starting job after the former FSU quarterback
transferred to Alabama. I think it would be fair to say that no one really
expected Sims to win the job. After all, Coker was tall, strong, and had a big
league arm. He was a cinch to play on Sundays when he finished at Alabama.
Alabama fans gushed at his potential to replace star quarterback A.J. Carron who
had 3 national championship rings on his hand, and had come to 4. Blake Sims
wasn’t tall enough, fast enough, and didn’t have an arm strong enough to
measure up to what Alabama fans had become accustomed. In fact, many thought
the quarterback battle between the two was a paper tiger. The problem with that
was the heart and the tenacity of Blake Sims. No one told him he couldn’t win
the job, and even if they told him I doubt he’d have listened.
A funny thing happened on the way
to the first game of the year. Sims got better. And then Sims got a lot better.
After watching the two Alabama quarterbacks perform in real game action it
became bedrock clear that Sims had won the job. Together with Lane Kiffin, the
offensive coordinator, the pair decided to re-write the quarterback position.
You can measure height, strength, speed, and distance. No one has found a way
to measure heart and courage. Alabama had a quarterback named Pat Trammell. He
had no discernable skills. He was an average passer, a mediocre runner, and not
physically imposing. He had everything else, however. Somehow he found a way to
take those intangibles and bacame a great quarterback. Blake Sims is the modern
day version of Pat Trammell in many ways. Both had courage and leadership. Each
loved the moment when the game was on the line. The both could look their
offense in the eye and get them to understand how they were going to win. The
other thing that stands out is that they both understood the value and the virtue
of hard work and a never say quit attitude.
How strange it is to be able to
compare Jameis Winston and Blake Sims. One has won the accolades of the
football world for his ability. Black Sims has won accolades for his lack of
ability, and for other things. I have no doubt that Jameis Winston will be a
rich man very soon. He also will be a much hated person for his lack of virtue.
Blake Sims won’t play in the NFL. But he can measure success in more meaningful
ways. He can walk down the street, hold his head up high, maintain a steady
look into other people’s eyes, and personify what it means to be a man. I’m
very thankful for being able to share the football journey of Blake Sims. He
has helped me regain some lost faith in younger Americans. I have the two best
daughters in the world, but if I ever had a son I could do a lot worse than
have one like Blake Sims.
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