I’m sticking with the boys in Crimson & White
It was a tough loss in Tallahassee on Saturday…but a little perspective is needed.
By: Dr. B
Started in the 2020 season, “The Deep South’s Oldest Column” is a feature from B&S contributor Dr. B, where he will examine an SEC or college football topic from a cultural perspective. There will be examinations of the conference we love and why we love it. Stories of the role models who passed on the love of football in the South. Fun will be poked at other conferences - and often at ourselves. There will be introspection, life lessons, tales of big wins, crushing losses, history, tear-jerkers, joy...and the ties that bind us together.
It is an understatement that this is going to be a long week in Tuscaloosa.
As a Bama fan, Saturday was a tough day. A preseason of optimism and positive rhetoric came crashing down in the span of four hours in Tallahassee. Make no mistake about it: Bama got beat by a Seminole team that was better prepared, more motivated, and executed better. Their quarterback talked plenty of trash headed into the game, and the Tide defense did nothing to answer. As has been noted by many in the national press, it appeared like there was a lack of aggressiveness and overall effort on the defensive side of the ball.
To Bama fans all over, these facts are beyond stunning and downright disheartening. Absolute disaster, right?
Yes, it was a bad day on the field, and Coach DeBoer and his staff did little to instill confidence in what is to come. No matter what happened in Tallahassee, there was going to be a major overreaction. Through the eyes of Bama Nation, a group notorious for massive overreaction, a good performance was going to propel the Tide into the national title game, right? And a bad performance was going to be a disaster to the degree that the coaching staff would need to be fired immediately, and our dedicated players would need to hit the transfer portal soon after. Moreover, forget about the playoffs and just hope for a winning season. Absolute disaster, right?
The national media, and a chunk of the fanbase, have spent the early days of this week crucifying DeBoer, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack. The players have not been spared such wrath as well. Such a performance in game #1, against a team that, due to the large number of transfers and two new coordinators, had to have been a bear to prepare against, is totally unacceptable, right?
To make matters worse, 2025 Bama opponents LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and yes, even the Auburn Tigers, all showed up to their openers and performed well. Bama is doomed and is a program on the decline that cannot recover, right? Absolute disaster?
I have been a Bama fan for life (see column from several years ago called “The Flag with the Big Red X”), and I have rarely seen such overreaction from my crimson-clad brethren. I was not pleased with what happened in Tallahassee either, yet I do want to point out the following truths that hopefully put some perspective into our collective crimson minds:
The sun rose on Sunday
It is a safe assumption that the players, the coaches and their families feel a lot worse than we do
Basing our happiness on the results of 18-22-year-olds that we do not even know is probably not a good idea
What happened on Saturday was not a disaster. What happened at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis last week was a disaster, not the result of a college football game. Us Bama fans, amongst others, are rabid and passionate about our program, but enough is enough.
Newsflash: the Nick Saban era is done, and he’s not coming back to coach. It does no good to constantly compare his era, which could be the best the sport has seen, with the current one that has just been launched.
Newsflash: DeBoer and his staff are not getting fired tomorrow. Yes, their seat has become hotter, yet they will be, and should be, given every opportunity to get the program running in the right direction.
Final Newsflash: let’s get some perspective and do something revolutionary in this day and age of instant results needed now: let’s give this version of Bama football every opportunity to right the ship, and let’s get behind them like never before. Yes, it is idealistic, and yes, I deeply understand the way football works in the deep south and that many Bama faithful’s weekly countenance is dependent on the results of a football game each Saturday. However, I am choosing to stick with the boys in Crimson and White because I love Alabama football and the great happiness and pride it has brought me and my family for over 70 years. I am thankful for the hours of work and preparation the players and the coaches put in every week, and I believe one game does not define a season. Look at Notre Dame last year…here’s to conjuring up our inner Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame fans were restless after Marcus Freeman and the Irish lost to NIU at home last season…but they silenced critics with a run to the CFP National Championship game. (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, OSV News)
I live in the heart of ACC country, and I enjoy attending my hometown team’s athletic events (see column from a few years ago called “Hooville Healing”). After the result of Bama-FSU was determined, I headed with my family to Scott Stadium to watch the fighting Wahoos of the University of Virginia take on the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina. It was a picture-perfect Central Virginia evening, and as I dealt with my self-pity over the Tide result, I was encouraged by the enthusiasm coming from the fans of a UVA program that has been mired in mediocrity for more years than I can count.
A kid no more than 12 was behind me, and he was as vocal as can be. Throughout UVA’s 48-7 thrashing of Coastal, this particular Cavalier fan was in absolute heaven. He talked through every play, stating on almost every third down, “Come on…I need this!” At one point, when the game was well in hand, as if he was just talking to himself, the young UVA fans stated, “Don’t sleep on this Virginia team…best team in college football!” I just smiled and realized how much I appreciated the optimism and joy that the young Cavalier fan was showing.
Is Alabama the best team in college football? Not today, but maybe tomorrow. But like that young man, I will not sleep on my beloved team, and I’ll continue to support them through thick and thin.
Roll Tide now and forever.
Dr. B has lived and taught throughout the South, attending The University of Alabama and earning a Ph.D. from The University of Georgia. He has come to know and love the people and rich traditions of the SEC and its rabid fan bases.
