Very strange to be crossing blogs with an LSU blogger this time of year. You would think we'd hate each other, but, y'know...I guess it's actually alright.
There once was a time when I would cheer for LSU, except for the Alabama game, because I liked how they played football. Smash mouth, run it up the gut, type football - the kind that Alabama was used to. They always played games the right way, rather than having to trick their opponents, they just ran over them. At one point, they weren't very good at it - hence the horrible record through the 90s, but they still were fun to watch because they played non-gimmick football. Even when they were beating us through the Nick Saban era and all that, I still enjoyed watching them play smash mouth. It was fun - except when they played us.
Oh well. Pelican State Sports and I will be cross hitting each others blogs this week. To see my response to this this same question that he's answered, please go check out his site.
Things I like/Things I hate about Alabama
This is easy to write, really, because the thing that I like is closely related to what I hate.
I like: Alabama’s tradition. Any honest college football fan will admit that Bama’s tradition (12 – yes, I know it’s 12) is among the top 3 in college football. It is an amazing record over time. Around the nation, the words Crimson Tide call up hazy memories of players dominating games while wearing large forearm pads and narrated by the non-senile voice of Keith Jackson. Because I am in my mid-30s now, I can only faintly recall the image of a grizzled old man stalking the sideline in a houndstooth hat. But I can remember my dad, who grew up in Alabama, telling me legendary stories of drills Bear Bryant ran and players he had. Hey, I read The Junction Boys too, and loved it. If you need any further proof, check this link:
That’s a blog entry I wrote saying that College Football needs Bama to be good, along with Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Miami. My reasoning was that college football is better when Bama is good, precisely because of The Crimson Tide history. So that is one thing I love about Bama.
Things that I like, but not as much as the tradition:
1) The Uniforms- the number on the helmet is so simple, so classic
2) Gene Stallings-coached teams – now that is how defense is played
3) The Rammer-Jammer cheer. Yeah, the wording is stupid, but it sounds cool when the whole stadium does it.
I hate: The tradition. Ok, not the tradition itself, but the way Bama fans act like the rest of us don’t know it. WE GET IT! YOU’VE WON IN THE PAST. WE KNOW THAT YOU DOMINATED COLLEGE FOOTBALL. Look, you would hate it if Michigan fans constantly told you how the Wolverines have won the most games of any college team of all time. That’s how we feel. Bama has been an afterthought in the SEC race since 1992. Remember the Dubose years? Franchione’s brief stop? Mike “It’s rollin’ baby” Price’s almost tenure? We do, and the word that most accurately describes Bama over the last 15 years is ‘irrelevance’ (the word ‘probation’ is a close second). This is the new millennium – it’s time to stop assuming that success in the sixties and seventies entitles you to a privileged position now. In case you haven’t noticed, Kentucky is now a factor in the SEC. Things have changed since 1979. You have to earn your respect in the new millennium SEC. So perhaps a little humility until you actually win something would be nice. It would be shocking, too.
Like I said, go check out Pelican State Sports to see my response to the same question.
They're keeping wraps on Dorsey's injury down in Baton Rouge. To the point that they closed practice with several players nursing injury. Read more here.
The Hat thinks that the players will think more about the upcoming game than he will. He says he has no real desire to beat Saban, but the players might think differently. Jacob Hester, however, is not one of those players. He just really doesn't give a damn. Read more here.
Alabama went at this bye week with a lot of intensity. They've been hitting harder in practice than they have all season, just to try and fix mistakes that they are making themselves - not to prepare for LSU yet. Read more here.
Coach is trying to keep the hype down about the game. He's still saying it's the players' game. Of course, he's reminding them that a championship is still in reach. Read more here.
LSU fans are READY for the Alabama game. BIG TIME. Check out the AOL Fanhouse for a preview video. That video even got me fired up.
Glenn Dorsey sat out practice on Tuesday, and I believe on Wednesday. I have a strong feeling that he won't play against us next Saturday. I guess we would have to thank the Aubies for being goons, right? Oh well. Read more about his injury here. Part of me wants him to play so we can say that we beat them at full strength, but then another part of me doesn't want him to play because he could single-handedly stop our entire rushing attack. Hmm...
FearlessFootball.com picks us to beat up on Idle this week, 17-0, just in time for the showdown with LSU. Sounds good to me.
¶ 9:15 AM
They're keeping wraps on Dorsey's injury down in Baton Rouge. To the point that they closed practice with several players nursing injury. Read more 
