For only the fourth
time in their history, my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide will meet the Ohio State
Buckeyes on the gridiron. Bama defeated
the Buckeyes 35-6 in the 1978 Sugar Bowl, 16-10 in the 1986 Kickoff Classic and
24-17 in the 1995 Florida Citrus Bowl.
Tonight, from the
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, college football history will be made in the very
first College Football Playoff.
Following the defeat
of Ole Miss by the TCU Horned Frogs, the controversy of Ohio State’s playing in
the semi-finals was resurrected. The
Horned Frogs Coach Patterson said after the game, “I don’t think I have to say
anything.” Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze
said, “They rightfully deserved to be in it with the others. They could compete
with any of those, no question in my mind.”
Of course, the flap
is over whether Ohio State deserved to be ranked fourth ahead of TCU in the
College Football Playoffs. College
football fans railed for years against the BCS Championship system and now that
it’s been replaced, they’re still unhappy.
Alabama is making its
62nd bowl appearance. That’s more than
any other university. Ohio State is
making its 44th bowl appearance.
The Buckeyes are 19-24 in bowl games.
I make no secret of
my unwavering loyalty to The Tide. I’ve
been rooting for Bama since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Every game is steeped in revered tradition
and the ghost of the legendary Coach Bear Bryant. God how I loved that man.
One
sportswriter said it best, “For these two teams, the precious moment will
come when the ball is first held aloft in the heavy Louisiana air of the
Superdome, the hallowed ground of past conquests for both teams.” He continues, “When Alabama and Ohio State take the field,
both will be embarking on a brave new world of college football, one where each
team's traditional clout will carry little weight. The flesh of history will be cleft away from
each team, leaving only the bare bones of that which makes the Crimson Tide and
the Buckeyes elite.”
Some irrational Neanderthal
chewing gum like a cow chews its cud uploaded a profanity-laced tirade in which
he referred to Alabama as “Slopabama” and promised that Coach Urban Meyer would
bully The Tide’s head coach Nick Saban.
Of course, what he’s referring to is Meyer’s two resignations, once in
2009 after Bama trounced the Gators 32-13, and again in 2010 when Florida was defeated
31-6.
Whether or not Nick Saban makes Urban Meyer cry
again, the Crimson Tide is going for its fourth national championship in six seasons,
a stunning run of dominance in what is supposed to be an era of increased
parity. Parity…that’s what everybody
wanted, right?
ROLL TIDE ROLL
And because no football post would be complete without some
pom-poms, take a gander at these lovelies from the Alabama cheer squad.
