History of SEC Football - Part 5 on ESpN

This documentary series is fantastic.

There are many great stories.

Pat Dye and Bear Bryant from very poor rural circumstances. They had a lot in common. Tough minded.

Auburn beating Alabama after 9 years by Bo Jackson leaping to the goal line. Jackson was interviewed saying he high jumped 7 feet in high school. So he was confident. My jaw hit the floor watching this - even though I knew this - I won a national high school championship high school track race at the time in Atlanta and in track circles there was a feeling Jackson could do anything. My college coach, an Olympic team coach, thought he could have been an Olympic champ in the decathlon. Jackson’s finest memory? The fans after the Iron Bowl paying respect to his mother, who raised several children by working two full time maid jobs. More than a game.

The story of Jeremiah Castile. His parents had 4th grade educations, with lots of violence and dysfunction. A poor African American kid with a heart a mile wide. . He took his signing bonus from the NFL and paid for his mother’s rehab. Really? What character. Castile was a pall bearer at Bryant’s funeral. I came from a broken poverty stricken home and made my own way to college entirely on my own but my life was a picnic compared to his.

My impression? The south has in its sports history has some of the most tough minded people one could come across.

Just a great documentary series.