Before Saban

I was a Bama fan because it was where I was from. Tuscaloosa.

My dad grew me up on stories of the Bear, likely just any boy growing up my age as a Bama fan and their dad. When I was 10 George Teague stripped that ball and we beat Miami's arse. I knew that night I was crimson and white forever.

From then, we went thru the dark ages as we all call them... until Saban, and the rest was history, as they say.

Me being a Bama fan is not contingent upon anything. We are just in a new chapter.

Your favorite Bama hats and shirts and battle standard is MORE valuable now than ever because it represents a loyalty we all share to something we have all experienced together. Good and bad and average and weird and... well, whatever.

Nothing has changed, but perspective is useful for us all at times. I'm not gonna say I enjoyed the losing stages of my experience as an Alabama fan, but I can certainly say that winning doesn't forge loyalty the same way at all. It's GOOD for fans to taste glory, nooooo doubt. But losing is part of it all, too. And it's where Bama fans, I think, show their quality.

Sure, we're messed up right now

That's natural. But, mark my words... whatever phase we are headed into, you'll see the old schoolers (like us and older) will breed a whole new generation of -real- fans.

We've had our fair share of glory. Whatever lies ahead in the immediate will be fine. We're Bama fans... not boogs!