Started By
Message
re: Bama fans: where was your excitement level after 1999, 2002, and 2005?
Posted on 1/16/21 at 6:17 am to TexasTiger08
Posted on 1/16/21 at 6:17 am to TexasTiger08
I was more excited during each of those years than I am now.
0
Posted on 1/16/21 at 6:17 am to Goombaw
quote:
2000 was crushing.
This. And we had 17 starters returning from the previous year’s SECC team. WTH? Shut out at home to Southern Miss 21-0 was the lowest point in all my days as a Tide fan.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 6:59 am to TexasTiger08
I was stoked going into 2000 season, Bama had like 19 returning starters from the 99 team. Freddie Milons returns the punt for a TD against UCLA Inwas on cloud 9, and it was downhill from there. What an utter disaster that team was.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 7:02 am to TexasTiger08
After 1999 I can remember being very excited throughout the off-season. I went to summer camp at the YMCA and one of the counselors was a hard core Alabama fan. He would feed my 13-year-old self incredible tales of future national championship glory with the players we had coming back. My dad was kind of the same way. Imagine my disappointment when the season finally kicked off and we flopped hard.
I wasn't as excited about the direction of the program after 2002 because we were on probation and had just lost our coach to Texas A&M. Things were made even worse in May 2003 when the guy we hired to replace him was fired.
After the 2005 season, I think there were those of us who were cautiously optimistic about the future of the program, but deep down we all realized that just about all of the talent that made '05 possible was graduating. Other than the signing of Andre Smith, there wasn't shite going on in recruiting to replace them.
I wasn't as excited about the direction of the program after 2002 because we were on probation and had just lost our coach to Texas A&M. Things were made even worse in May 2003 when the guy we hired to replace him was fired.
After the 2005 season, I think there were those of us who were cautiously optimistic about the future of the program, but deep down we all realized that just about all of the talent that made '05 possible was graduating. Other than the signing of Andre Smith, there wasn't shite going on in recruiting to replace them.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 7:24 am to TexasTiger08
'92 was my first to remember... watched it on one of the first handheld portable tv's bus back from Snow Skiing in Copper Mtn, Colorado .... Needless to say I lived in that moment the remainder of my High School and College career... My first yr at BAMA was '99 and we won the SEC with Shaun Alexander and Chris Samuels leading the way-and Ryan Pflugner ending that trip...I then flew to Pasadena the next season to watch Deshaun Foster run up and down the field on us after a Freddie Millons punt return for an initial td in game and a pre season #3 rating finishing with 3 or 4 wins (as you can see I've tried to block this out).....this last statement sums up my BiPolar Obsession with my team and alma mater-to answer your question the Excitement has always been in me; being my fam and I all graduated from The School so I'd NEVER TURN MY BACK on them...even with Shula/Dubise/Price Debacle.....the past 15 yrs haven't come without some disappointments but NOTHING will compare to the ride I've experienced in that time...I have shed tears of joy most any other fan at most EVERY OTHER D I school could only wish to experience....The Excitement was there and continues in me in what is THE BEST PROGRAM IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY.
Hope this helps in your worrying of us BAMA fans...
Hope this helps in your worrying of us BAMA fans...
This post was edited on 1/16/21 at 7:31 am
Posted on 1/16/21 at 7:38 am to FourThreeForty
quote:
As a middle school kid in 2005, I felt pretty good but man, most of my childhood days puffing my chest about Alabama football and the glory days of 1992 got me chuckled at pretty hard.
Those were good times. Seeing Bama gear on someone was like finding Bigfoot. Then the side walkers that had all switched to being Auburn fans, switched back after 2009.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 8:31 am to jvilletiger25
I was a freshman in 2000. I vividly recall sitting in the common area in the dorm and watching Freddie run that punt back. You would have thought we won the title right then and there. Clearly it didn’t work out that way.
02 was a fun season, but man when Fran bailed folks thought it was the end of everything. Not to mention his video conference telling the players was such a crap move. We bounced back and 05 was another fun season.
Heck they were all fun and exciting being a student there but clearly it was a rocky time. Then we got Saban and the rest is history. Having lived the first half of the 2000’s, I appreciate and love every team Saban has put together. It won’t last forever but it’s a hell of a ride.
02 was a fun season, but man when Fran bailed folks thought it was the end of everything. Not to mention his video conference telling the players was such a crap move. We bounced back and 05 was another fun season.
Heck they were all fun and exciting being a student there but clearly it was a rocky time. Then we got Saban and the rest is history. Having lived the first half of the 2000’s, I appreciate and love every team Saban has put together. It won’t last forever but it’s a hell of a ride.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 8:42 am to jvilletiger25
quote:
Seeing Bama gear on someone was like finding Bigfoot.
It's amazing the memories the brain creates for itself. Even though we know those memories never happened, we still manage to convince ourselves that they did. The human mind is truly a miracle.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:15 am to TexasTiger08
quote:Mike Shula wasn't hired to be Alabama's future, although if he'd continued to improve, he'd have certainly been given the opportunity. Mike was an emergency hire, and knowledgeable Alabama fans will always be grateful to him!
Mike Shula takes over. I don’t think he was a popular name, but the 2005 season was a nice surprise. I’m not sure he could have gotten more out of that team. Did anyone think Mike was the future?
"Hold the rope!" bailed on us, and he got exactly what he deserved!
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:18 am to TexasTiger08
I was at the 2006 LSU Bama game waiting for Shula to lose so we could finally move on and find a winning coach.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:21 am to Diego Ricardo
quote:
Alabama was #3 in the 2000 preseason poll but a road opener v. UCLA pretty much announced to everyone there were big problems.
I was in Biloxi that weekend, had a cooler full of beer and was pumped to kick UCLA’s arse.
I was at the poker tables before halftime. Horrible, horrible season. That year actually out-sucked LSU’s 2020 season.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:23 am to TexasTiger08
The atmosphere was insane...all you heard all off-season about was him and Sean Bohanon....he returns the ball towards the end zone I and most BAMA fans were sitting in...place going C-R-A-Z-Y....then......approx 12 weeks later we finally stopped taking our licks
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:25 am to coachcrisp
quote:
Mike Shula wasn't hired to be Alabama's future, although if he'd continued to improve, he'd have certainly been given the opportunity. Mike was an emergency hire, and knowledgeable Alabama fans will always be grateful to him!
"Hold the rope!" bailed on us, and he got exactly what he deserved!
Most Alabama fans figured (correctly) that Shula was a placeholder to get us through the dark rut of probation. I believe there was a stink made about him getting a substantial bonus if he had a winning season in 2003. The biggest mistake our administration made in regards to him was giving him that raise and contract extension after the 2005 season. Anyone with a brain could see 2006 was setting up for a massive let down because we were losing EVERYONE that made that 10-win season in '05 possible. My dad was in the REC at that time and Joe Kines paid them a visit that summer. He all but warned them not to expect much from the 2006 team. And this was the defensive coordinator!
This post was edited on 1/16/21 at 9:27 am
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:35 am to RollTide1987
You're correct. Shula basically took one for the team, and Alabama paid him pretty well for it. Most of us older Bama fans realize it and appreciate him.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:39 am to Bamajedi
Coach "hold the rope" Franchione was never a home run. The eye-test kept suggesting that he could over achieve and underwhelm almost simultaneously. His losses to less talented teams were getting legendary before he cut out for College Station. His teams were NOT disciplined. How many offside penalties did we keep accumulating, every freakin' game?
He was incapable of putting his offensive system around the best players' talent. His handling of the QBs was criminal. Thinking Tyler, "how do you grip that ball" Watts was better than Andrew Zow, in any system, was downright stupid.
He was incapable of putting his offensive system around the best players' talent. His handling of the QBs was criminal. Thinking Tyler, "how do you grip that ball" Watts was better than Andrew Zow, in any system, was downright stupid.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:43 am to TexasTiger08
I still have this Sports Illustrated
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:44 am to TexasTiger08
I watched or listened to every game i could then as I do now.
In spite of how poorly those seasons played out between 96-06, Bama actually played close in most losses. With all of the poor coaching/coaching turmoil and probations and scholarship restrictions, (unless I missed one) only 9 of those 42 losses in that period were 3+ possession losses and 5 losses were OT games.
Bama wasn't great in that period by any means, but still not necessarily a gimme. They at least played tough in the worst 10 year period of UA football since the 50s. But, getting 3 x 10 win seasons and an SEC Championship in spite of all else still wasn't bad. About half the conference would take that today.
I will say that the uncertainty of almost any game going into it and the closeness of most games thru the 4th qtr was exciting but also equally nerve racking.
In spite of how poorly those seasons played out between 96-06, Bama actually played close in most losses. With all of the poor coaching/coaching turmoil and probations and scholarship restrictions, (unless I missed one) only 9 of those 42 losses in that period were 3+ possession losses and 5 losses were OT games.
Bama wasn't great in that period by any means, but still not necessarily a gimme. They at least played tough in the worst 10 year period of UA football since the 50s. But, getting 3 x 10 win seasons and an SEC Championship in spite of all else still wasn't bad. About half the conference would take that today.
I will say that the uncertainty of almost any game going into it and the closeness of most games thru the 4th qtr was exciting but also equally nerve racking.
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:45 am to Gary Busey
quote:
I still have this Sports Illustrated
You should give it back to Kevin Richardson
Posted on 1/16/21 at 9:50 am to UndercoverBryologist
quote:
To be fair, Spurrier’s starting quarterbacks for 1999 were Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer.
To be fair, that's way better than watts and zow
Posted on 1/16/21 at 10:24 am to bamameister
quote:
Thinking Tyler, "how do you grip that ball" Watts was better than Andrew Zow, in any system, was downright stupid.
Andrew Zow was not suited for Franchione's offense. It was a power option based attack similar to what Tom Osborne and Frank Solich ran at Nebraska. In order to be successful at running an offense like that, you need a QB with a set of wheels. Andrew Zow was as slow as molasses.
Page 2 of 3
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News