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Alabama is bad for college football
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:12 am
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:12 am
This narrative, whoever is pushing it, needs to stop. It couldn't be further from the truth.
2008: Bama fires a warning shot blowing Clemson out of the water in week 1. UGA Blackout disaster. Loses a battle in Atlanta to one of UF's greatest teams ever fielded.
2009: Bama returns to Atlanta for Vengeance and makes Tebow cry. Bama gets its first Heisman winner ever in Mark Ingram. Establishes itself as the new gold standard in Pasadena by winning the grand daddy of them all and sends blueblood Texas reeling into a death spiral they haven't fully recovered from.
2010: During what will be the worst season for its next decade, jumps up on Heisman favorite and undefeated Auburn only to slip up. The loss still is one of the most dramatic comebacks in the series and will be something Auburn fans hold onto for generations.
2011: Game of the Century...and Game of the Century 2.0. 21-0 in New Orleans becomes the game that shatters LSU and it's fanbase for the foreseeable future. Also the game sparks the first movement towards a playoff system as its the first time 2 teams from the same conference make the championship game.
2012: Johnny Football upsets Bama in it's own house. The country collectively rejoices as the "king is dead." "Zombie Bama," as sbnation refers to a 1-loss Bama team, returns to Atlanta to put on one of the greatest SEC championship games we've ever seen. UGA falls yards short of victory, a foreshadowing of sorts.
2013: The kick-six becomes one of the most incredible moments in sports history albeit at Bama's expense. That's all that needs to be said.
2014: 12-1 Bama makes the first playoff led by relatively unheralded Blake Sims manning Lane Kiffin's spread offense. They fall to Ohio State being led by a 3rd string QB and an exceptional RB. Saban, once thought to be a rigid old-school guy resistant to change begins to show one of his greatest coaching qualities...his ability to adapt.
2015: Ole Miss becomes the first team to beat Saban back-to-back at Bama. During the loss, Jacob Coker seizes the opportunity to claim the starting position. He and Heisman-to-be terminator-esque RB Derrick Henry will lead Bama to a national championship against Clemson who is manned by a stellar QB in Deshaun Watson. The game is an instant classic that features a perfectly timed and executed onside kick to regain the momentum. The game becomes the first in an ongoing post season rivalry of sorts.
2016: Bama becomes the first team to be able to make 15-0 possible in the modern era. Lead by a true freshman QB Jalen Hurts, Bama vs Clemson 2.0 is another incredible game that comes down to the last second. In this version, Watson and Clemson are victorious however.
2017: A patchwork Bama defense fails to go perfect as it falls to Auburn in the final week of season play, and is left out of the SEC championship. Due to other external circumstances, Bama makes the playoff becoming the first team to make the playoff despite another team from the conference already being in. Bama is matched up against Clemson for the third year in a row, but behind amazing defense they render Clemson's spread offense utterly useless. Bama meets fellow SEC playoff contender in Atlanta, home of the SEC championship, as Saban faces off against long time friend and Bama assistant Kirby Smart. In the first game where it looks like Bama has physically met it's match, Saban benches long time starting QB Jalen Hurts for back up freshman Tua Tagovailoa. The QB engineers one of the most incredible comebacks in sports history, hitting a 41yd TD in overtime on 2nd and 26 to win the championship.
2018: Led by now starting QB Tua Tagovailoa, Bama destroys its opponents to the tune of 20+ points per game going undefeated. For the first time, Bama's offense becomes the first thing that comes to mind instead of its defense as their conversion to the spread is pretty much complete. Bama vs Georgia was predicted early in the season and it's seemed inevitable ever since Bama's victory in January. Behind 28-21 in the 4th quarter, Bama once again turns to a back up QB, this time Jalen Hurts...the QB that was benched in their last game against the same team, in the same stadium, not even 11 months ago. Hurts engineers another incredible comeback worthy of a true Hollywood blockbuster despite having spent the entire season being told he should transfer after losing his starting job.
Everyone that thinks Bama is bad for the sport, recognize that Bama regularly gifts us some of the most intriguing, dramatic, exciting games and story lines you could ever imagine. If anything Bama makes this sport better for a variety of reasons some people just don't want to admit.
2008: Bama fires a warning shot blowing Clemson out of the water in week 1. UGA Blackout disaster. Loses a battle in Atlanta to one of UF's greatest teams ever fielded.
2009: Bama returns to Atlanta for Vengeance and makes Tebow cry. Bama gets its first Heisman winner ever in Mark Ingram. Establishes itself as the new gold standard in Pasadena by winning the grand daddy of them all and sends blueblood Texas reeling into a death spiral they haven't fully recovered from.
2010: During what will be the worst season for its next decade, jumps up on Heisman favorite and undefeated Auburn only to slip up. The loss still is one of the most dramatic comebacks in the series and will be something Auburn fans hold onto for generations.
2011: Game of the Century...and Game of the Century 2.0. 21-0 in New Orleans becomes the game that shatters LSU and it's fanbase for the foreseeable future. Also the game sparks the first movement towards a playoff system as its the first time 2 teams from the same conference make the championship game.
2012: Johnny Football upsets Bama in it's own house. The country collectively rejoices as the "king is dead." "Zombie Bama," as sbnation refers to a 1-loss Bama team, returns to Atlanta to put on one of the greatest SEC championship games we've ever seen. UGA falls yards short of victory, a foreshadowing of sorts.
2013: The kick-six becomes one of the most incredible moments in sports history albeit at Bama's expense. That's all that needs to be said.
2014: 12-1 Bama makes the first playoff led by relatively unheralded Blake Sims manning Lane Kiffin's spread offense. They fall to Ohio State being led by a 3rd string QB and an exceptional RB. Saban, once thought to be a rigid old-school guy resistant to change begins to show one of his greatest coaching qualities...his ability to adapt.
2015: Ole Miss becomes the first team to beat Saban back-to-back at Bama. During the loss, Jacob Coker seizes the opportunity to claim the starting position. He and Heisman-to-be terminator-esque RB Derrick Henry will lead Bama to a national championship against Clemson who is manned by a stellar QB in Deshaun Watson. The game is an instant classic that features a perfectly timed and executed onside kick to regain the momentum. The game becomes the first in an ongoing post season rivalry of sorts.
2016: Bama becomes the first team to be able to make 15-0 possible in the modern era. Lead by a true freshman QB Jalen Hurts, Bama vs Clemson 2.0 is another incredible game that comes down to the last second. In this version, Watson and Clemson are victorious however.
2017: A patchwork Bama defense fails to go perfect as it falls to Auburn in the final week of season play, and is left out of the SEC championship. Due to other external circumstances, Bama makes the playoff becoming the first team to make the playoff despite another team from the conference already being in. Bama is matched up against Clemson for the third year in a row, but behind amazing defense they render Clemson's spread offense utterly useless. Bama meets fellow SEC playoff contender in Atlanta, home of the SEC championship, as Saban faces off against long time friend and Bama assistant Kirby Smart. In the first game where it looks like Bama has physically met it's match, Saban benches long time starting QB Jalen Hurts for back up freshman Tua Tagovailoa. The QB engineers one of the most incredible comebacks in sports history, hitting a 41yd TD in overtime on 2nd and 26 to win the championship.
2018: Led by now starting QB Tua Tagovailoa, Bama destroys its opponents to the tune of 20+ points per game going undefeated. For the first time, Bama's offense becomes the first thing that comes to mind instead of its defense as their conversion to the spread is pretty much complete. Bama vs Georgia was predicted early in the season and it's seemed inevitable ever since Bama's victory in January. Behind 28-21 in the 4th quarter, Bama once again turns to a back up QB, this time Jalen Hurts...the QB that was benched in their last game against the same team, in the same stadium, not even 11 months ago. Hurts engineers another incredible comeback worthy of a true Hollywood blockbuster despite having spent the entire season being told he should transfer after losing his starting job.
Everyone that thinks Bama is bad for the sport, recognize that Bama regularly gifts us some of the most intriguing, dramatic, exciting games and story lines you could ever imagine. If anything Bama makes this sport better for a variety of reasons some people just don't want to admit.
This post was edited on 12/3/18 at 9:19 am
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Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:16 am to nb200016
As Fairhope said maybe back in the offseason.............I want Alabama to become the UConn of Women's Basketball.
Destroyer of worlds.
Destroyer of worlds.
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:19 am to nb200016
People said the same thing about USC when they were deep in their run in the 2000s. Folks just get tired of the same old teams winning it.
I take it as a compliment.
Having said that, I have a number of buddies, non-southerners, who have zero interest in seeing Bama vs Clemson IV or whatever, and will simply do something else with their time that night. And these are die-hard CFB fans. And yes, this is a bit of a problem for the game.
I take it as a compliment.
Having said that, I have a number of buddies, non-southerners, who have zero interest in seeing Bama vs Clemson IV or whatever, and will simply do something else with their time that night. And these are die-hard CFB fans. And yes, this is a bit of a problem for the game.
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:25 am to prevatt33
quote:
non-southerners
quote:
die-hard CFB fans
Oxymoron
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:32 am to prevatt33
quote:
I have a number of buddies, non-southerners, who have zero interest in seeing Bama vs Clemson IV or whatever, and will simply do something else with their time that night. And these are die-hard CFB fans. And yes, this is a bit of a problem for the game.
Your buddies may be telling the truth. I can't say that they are lying because I don't know them. But what I can say is that TONS of non-SEC fans say crap like this all the time, but the ratings don't lie. Fans still watch in record numbers. Even though people clearly have Bama fatigue, droves of people will tune in, on the sheer hope that maybe they will get to see a team take Bama down.
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:35 am to nb200016
2nd highest rating for the seccg ever. 25% increase over last season. 10.52 and the next closest this season was ohio state michigan at 7.5 Literally 40% more than the 2nd rated game.
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:50 am to DeeBeepy
quote:
Even though people clearly have Bama fatigue, droves of people will tune in, on the sheer hope that maybe they will get to see a team take Bama down.
TV networks dream scenario is a game where Bama falls behind and has to play catch up. Everyone tunes in to see if Bama will go down.
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:57 am to SummerOfGeorge
quote:
Destroyer of worlds.
Did anyone bitch about John Wooden and UCLA when they reeled off like two decades of titles?
Seems like men's basketball is doing just fine.
Posted on 12/3/18 at 9:58 am to MoarKilometers
quote:
2nd highest rating for the seccg ever. 25% increase over last season. 10.52 and the next closest this season was ohio state michigan at 7.5 Literally 40% more than the 2nd rated game.
I'm not arguing that the ratings won't be spectacular. They certainly will, particularly for a Bama-Clemson re-re-re-rematch. But that's mostly because you have 2 great southern teams in the middle of "dynasties". The South alone will make for incredible numbers.
But there are several powers that be in CFB who have a vested interest in CFB staying a national game, rather than a regional one. And the South has been dominating CFB for quite some time now. This is not good for the game as a whole, and it can't really be argued against.
Any national endeavor suffers when continually dominated regionally, and it doesn't matter what endeavor you pick.
Posted on 12/3/18 at 10:18 am to prevatt33
Well, I guess those other teams need to get better. It's not like they have been without opportunity.
Posted on 12/3/18 at 1:27 pm to nb200016
quote:
Alabama is bad for college football
It's simply untrue. What it proves is that when all things are equal, the powers that be allow the team to win and don't manipulate the sport. It proves and reminds people that it is EVEN sweeter than they used to give it credit for. It means that you can have HOPE as a fan that you can experience a true run/dynasty. Let's face it, one national title is a dream come true, but it is not the ULTIMATE desire of a fan-base. The ultimate desire is to run the table over and over and to keep whipping arse. Dominance.
What Alabama has accomplished reminds people that being a fan can have more than a year to year reward.
We are the dream... but that dream will come to pass, as all things do. The reign will be over. And when that happens... ALL college football fans will look back on this time, and believe they too have a shot. And that's what drives the whole sport. Passion, dreams, ..... which = a veritable f'k ton of money for all.
This post was edited on 12/3/18 at 1:28 pm
Posted on 12/3/18 at 2:28 pm to Bham Bammer
quote:
Well, I guess those other teams need to get better.
This is exactly correct.
For the record, I am not agreeing with the notion that "Alabama is bad for CFB." I'm simply agreeing with the notion that continued regional dominance (not necessarily by one team) is not the best thing for the national game as a whole. But this conversation has happened before many times over the decades. It's not new.
Posted on 12/4/18 at 5:59 am to prevatt33
No, what’s bad for college football is traditional blue bloods like USC, UCLA, Nebraska, and Texas letting their programs go to shite leaving large sections of the country with nobody to follow and root for. It looks like Texas and Nebraska have finally got back on the path to relevance. The PAC 12 schools, there’s just no excuse for their level of apathy and incompetence. When your most consistent football schools for the past decade have been Utah and Stanford, while the SoCal schools and Nike money bags U in Eugene languish, you’ve got issues.
If the PAC12 would get their shite together, college football would be much better for it.
If the PAC12 would get their shite together, college football would be much better for it.
This post was edited on 12/4/18 at 6:02 am
Posted on 12/4/18 at 6:09 am to MoarKilometers
quote:
2nd highest rating for the seccg ever. 25% increase over last season. 10.52 and the next closest this season was ohio state michigan at 7.5 Literally 40% more than the 2nd rated game.
I expect the ratings to be good this year, even if it is Bama/Clemson IV.
Simply based on the fact that the semi-final games are "drive-able" distances for both Clemson/Bama. The national championship game is not. (yes it can be, but not very likely)
That added cost coupled with a 10-12 day turn around puts a lot of folks out of the equation of going. I know, I didn't put in for NC tickets when I got the email. Too far/too expensive/too much trouble. Especially when I can watch it in HD in my living room and not have to burn any PTO days.
Posted on 12/4/18 at 12:24 pm to nb200016
quote:
2016: Bama becomes the first team to be able to make 15-0 possible in the modern era.
That would've been Clemson in 2015...they would've been 15-0 had they beaten Bama that year...
I agree with you and I think most of it is just due to Bama fatigue...but there have been a few analysts that have said it was good for college football. Joel Klatt, who most see as being a Bama hater, said earlier this year that Bama's dominance is good for college football...
Posted on 12/4/18 at 12:31 pm to phil4bama
quote:
No, what’s bad for college football is traditional blue bloods like USC, UCLA, Nebraska, and Texas letting their programs go to shite leaving large sections of the country with nobody to follow and root for. It looks like Texas and Nebraska have finally got back on the path to relevance. The PAC 12 schools, there’s just no excuse for their level of apathy and incompetence. When your most consistent football schools for the past decade have been Utah and Stanford, while the SoCal schools and Nike money bags U in Eugene languish, you’ve got issues.
If the PAC12 would get their shite together, college football would be much better for it.
I totally agree. However, it is overtly obvious that a team being located in a region that is full of folks who are descendants of slaves is a massive recruiting advantage. When was the last time you saw a white cornerback? What percentage of our Dline under Saban has been white?
And so, I'm not making any political point or anything - just pointing out that the South has a massive recruiting advantage over most other areas. When you couple that with the fact that many of today's best coaches have flocked to the area, then it becomes fairly obvious why the Pac12 and cold-climate schools have largely fallen behind. Their players and their coaches just aren't as good, on the whole. Yeah, they've got to fix that, but "How?" is the question. My only guess is to start massively outspending the Southern Big Boys.
Posted on 12/4/18 at 1:16 pm to prevatt33
Prevatt I disagree. Step one is to give a shite and bring your facilities up to par with even the 2nd tier southern schools like Tennessee and Kentucky.
Step two, there are plenty of African Americans in SoCal. The South doesn’t have a monopoly on great athletes. And if we’re going to go there, how many Samoans have you seen in Alabama? So there’s advantages in both places.
I maintain the only thing stopping the PAC schools from being national powers fall in two categories: the willing like USC and Oregon who have the resources but they’ve made some bad choices and the unwilling like UCLA and Colorado who won’t spend the money it takes to be competitive. And some do both like the Arizona schools.
Step two, there are plenty of African Americans in SoCal. The South doesn’t have a monopoly on great athletes. And if we’re going to go there, how many Samoans have you seen in Alabama? So there’s advantages in both places.
I maintain the only thing stopping the PAC schools from being national powers fall in two categories: the willing like USC and Oregon who have the resources but they’ve made some bad choices and the unwilling like UCLA and Colorado who won’t spend the money it takes to be competitive. And some do both like the Arizona schools.
Posted on 12/4/18 at 2:41 pm to phil4bama
quote:
Step one is to give a shite and bring your facilities up to par with even the 2nd tier southern schools like Tennessee and Kentucky.
Many schools out there have pretty good facilities. Sure, some folks need to upgrade, but I don't believe this is a universal problem. Having said that, what did you think I meant by "outspend"? Outspend refers to facilities, coaches, and recruiting budget.
quote:
there are plenty of African Americans in SoCal
There are plenty of black folks in any major metropolitan area - that's the exception, not the rule. And the Socal metro area cannot support an entire conference's talent needs. You can go to any random town in the South and find D1 athletes. That's simply not true in much of the Pac12 footprint, as well as the footprint in many cold-weather locations.
As a side note, I will not use the term "African American." I majored in Anthropology, and after a Rwandan genocide survivor spoke to our class and informed us just how incorrect and offensive the term is, I will not use it. It is a cultural statement, and I know almost nor black folks in the US with any semblance of African culture. Unless you or someone in your recent family tree has literal ties to Africa, you are not African American. You are just an American. Same goes for any other location as well. I will use the term black, as I do not believe it to be derogatory.
Yes, Samoans and Pacific Islanders are an excellent way to fill out a DLine in lieu of black talent, and I have said this on this board many times.
This post was edited on 12/4/18 at 2:42 pm
Posted on 12/4/18 at 2:50 pm to prevatt33
Prevatt, I guess we’re debating semantics. I don’t think they need to outspend per se, but I can recall both Rick Neuheisel and a Colorado coach (McCartney maybe) talk about how notoriously cheap UCLA and Colorado were when it came to the athletic budget. I think in some areas, they compare to a G5 school and not a very good one. USC will eventually get it turned around. I think Oregon will too. But outside of those two and UW, they really don’t try very hard. I think maybe Wazzu does but they’ve got a lot of factors they can’t control working against them.
Posted on 12/4/18 at 6:39 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Please never mention Alabama football and women's basketball in the same sentence again. Thank you.
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