What I learned this season

Well for starters I learned, late in the season no less, that this would be a wasted season. I know, 9-3 is an admirable record, being ranked in the top twenty-five at the end of the regular season is something to be proud of, and going to a bowl is something many teams can only dream of.
However, we aren’t those teams. We are Alabama and as you walk around campus for the next week or so pay attention, you will see shirts emblazoned with “13” on it, or older ones that might say something like “Got Twelve? We do!” You might even see a plaque with an homage to the 99 SEC Championship season. What you will not see is an honor or memorial to any team who didn’t win a championship of some kind.
This is a program that demands best of the best status at all times. It may be illogical, but few of us would have it any other way. No championships = no memory. I’ll put it to you this way, a friend of mine and I were looking at a list on Bleacherreport.com that detailed its version of “The 50 Greatest Traditions in College Football.” Ohio State’s dotting of the I was number 1, Auburn was in the early twenties with their eagle flight, Ole Miss and the grove were in there, the Vol Navy, just to name a few of the SEC brethren. Alabama was not on the list, which didn’t upset me in the slightest, my friend however was slightly outraged. I asked him what tradition of ours should have been on there, he had no answer. My reply was “Because our greatest tradition is collecting championship trophies.”
We don’t care about a pet frolicking in the stadium, if the band can spell the team name correctly, if our tailgates are world renowned, or a lot of people show up in a boat to watch the game. These are trivial to us. We only want champions, and this season was a waste.

That being said I learned that I need to remember to say things such as the above in like company only. My mother works at the UAB football office and has become quite the fan, even going so far as to curse at the tv concerning a football play (you did NOT hear that from me). The other day I mentioned to my father, pre-iron bowl, “10-2 sounds so much better than 9-3.” He agreed and the matter dropped. A few minutes later my mother meekly stated “9-3 sounds so much better than 4-7” (UAB’s record at the time).
I felt bad, I won’t lie. Here I was in the land of milk and honey and complaining about the aftertaste while she was living off little more than blind hope that one day she’d get to follow UAB to a bowl. Sorry mom, I’ll keep that to a minimum in your presence from now on.

Come on next season!