bpresident
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So the poll is basically Auburn vs. Alabama. I'll give a response as an Auburn fan "by marriage". What that means is that I am not a native Alabamian, so I did not have to register my allegiance to either team until I moved to the state nearly 19 years ago. Since my wife is an Auburn fan, I felt it best, in order to keep civil tranquility, to become a fan of the Tigers, and not of the Mullet Nation.
Having moved here from South Florida, I personally like NFL Football, and am a fan of the Miami Dolphins. Because of that, I have a special interest in seeing how Auburn and Alabama fare this year. You see, things changed this year when it comes to my like or dislike for college football.
In the past, I was mostly indifferent to the outcome of the Iron Bowl (although it was much better when Auburn won, as bragging rights would set in for a year and we would not get that "call" from the brothers-in-law, who are die-hard Bamers, after the game saying how superior they are to anything else that has ever touched a football. No, none of those calls lately.) Two things happened this year that has made me more of an Auburn fan than in the past. The first happened in the last week of December 2006. One diminutive coach who shall not be named looked straight at the cameras in Miami and said "I am not interested in the Alabama coaching job". Looking back at that, I reminds me so much of two other famous quotes. The first, "I am not a crook!" was uttered in 1973. The other, "I did not...have sexual relations with that woman...Miss Lewinski!" was uttered in early 1997 with the same conviction as the coaching phrase was said. All three turned out to be lies. The second thing that happened to turn my vote was in the way a school can dismiss a coach who went 10-2 the previous year. The fact that his last name is Shula doesn't help the case for the Tide much, in my opinion.
As an "outsider" it is truly fascinating to watch how seriously some people take college football here. Less than two years ago, a man shot his son after Alabama lost because the son asked to borrow his truck. I remember my first year here, I was in a store around Christmas time and saw two little girls who couldn't have been more than four or five arguing with each other. The argument? What football team was better, since one girl's dad was for Auburn and the other for Alabama. The brainwashing begins early I suppose.
Of course a child can turn against the parents. My teenage son is a die-hard Alabama fan, although his uncle played for Auburn (four year starter and in his 15th NFL season). Why that happens, or how that happens is still a mystery to me.
I have always said that there are two jobs I would not want in the state of Alabama - the first to work as a lineman for Alabama Power Co. Looks to be very dangerous. The second is to be the head football coach for the University of Alabama. Why would anyone want that job? All the fans are looking for is the reincarnation of Bear Bryant, which won't happen. I came to Alabama in 1988 when Bill Curry was the coach. He was run out of town, although he had a winning record. Then came Gene Stallings. I went to his induction to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and you would think he could walk on water. Next came DuBose. You could say that the job to him was a challenge, but also an opportunity. Then came Coach Fran who said that he looked forward to many, many years as head football coach. What was it, two or three years? Then Coach Price. What was it, two or three months? Then Mike Shula. Poor Mike, couldn't beat Auburn. It would have saved his job. But you could probably go 1-11 as long as that 1 was Auburn and you'd be safe. And now we come to the Napoleonic complex coach. He too looks forward to many, many years as the coach of the Tide. When he said that, it reminded me of another phrase "I did not...have sexual relations with that woman...Miss Lewinski!"
War Eagle!
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