Why my blood has a strange color

As I've watched what can only be called grudge-match rivalry weekend in college football unfold across the nation, I'm reminded my loyalties are somewhat divided in some respects.
Growing up in Montgomery, Ala., less than an hour's drive to Auburn University, my heart for many years lie on the Plains and I bled orange and blue, as the saying goes.
For those of you not familiar with the intensity of in-state college football rivalries, its safe to say the Auburn-Alabama ranks among the top. Alabama residents who never set foot on either campus are expected to pick a side and cheer for one or the other.
That's intense.
So 20 years ago this month sitting in my apartment in Tuscaloosa, Ala. as a University of Alabama student, I had a decision to make. Moments before kickoff, I decided to root for the Tide, adding a large vat of crimson to the mix.
Five years ago, we moved to the (Mississippi State) Bulldog Nation. I was - and still am - proud of MSU for choosing to hire Sylvester Croom as the first black head football coach in the Southeastern Conference, a decision the University of Alabama - where the Tuscaloosa native played and coached as an assistant - couldn't quite bring itself to make.
MSU beat Alabama twice under Croom and I can't say they didn't earn it and I understand why the 'Dogs yanked Croom after last year's 0-45 embarrassment at the hands of what's been called lately The School Up North (The University of Mississippi, otherwise known as Ole Miss).
So, add some maroon to the blend and you have one confused dude when it comes to Saturdays in the fall, at least for a few games.
Usually it's easy to figure out. I hold a piece of paper from Alabama, so that weighs heavily on most days, but I'm eager to see what the 'Dogs will do as they continue to move forward under Dan Mullen (they rectified last year's debacle with a 41-27 win today). And the rebuilding continues on the Plains under Gene Chizik so that's been interesting to watch.
This is one of the few areas of life where it's OK to get pulled in three different directions, and depending on where Jadyn goes to school (Lord willing and assuming she's able to do so), we might get an even more confusing color pattern in the future.
Until then, Go Roll Eagle!

Eating crow

At this writing, Alabama's football team is 10-0, the Southeastern Conference West Division champion, four wins away from a national title and one season removed from a .500 finish.
The only clear reason for this is simple: Nick Saban is doing the job he was hired and paid a ridiculous amount of money to do.
I still think $4 million a year is outlandish. But the powers-that-be at Alabama are starting to look like they knew what they were doing. The taste of a potential national title is starting to feel like a promise and not a tease, one that can only come to reality with a little more patience on the part of the part of fans and players.
Let's don't get ahead of ourselves just yet. Mississippi State and Auburn would most likely relish the role of spoiler in knocking Alabama out of title contention and the team representing the SEC East in the conference title game will probably not go quietly.
And whomever Alabama is matched with for the national title game will most likely think they deserve it just as much as the Tide and will likely play accordingly.
So as an Alabama fan and graduate, I do not apologize for thinking that paying Saban the amount of money the university has shelled out is too much and I still think they did Sylvester Croom wrong.
But the investment in Saban is paying dividends and may result in the ultimate payout about two months from now - the 16-year title drought may finally come to a close.
The only right and proper thing to say from here on out is - Roll Tide!

'I've never been nothing but a winner'

"When people ask me what I want to be remembered for, I have one answer: I want the people to remember me as a winner, 'cause I've never been nothing but a winner." - Quote attributed to Paul "Bear" Bryant on an Alabama fan's Web site.
For weeks, I've been struggling with my thoughts and feelings about the recent gridiron success of the Mississippi State University Bulldogs. The tussle's origins are two-fold: A haunting fear of alienating myself from my alma mater - the University of Alabama - warring with a core sense of what I believe is true regarding an opportunity the Alabama faithful let slip past about four years ago.
MSU's coach, Sylvester Croom, is a man with a proven record as a player and an assistant under Bryant. According to his profile on Wikipedia, Croom coached the likes of National Football League greats Derrick Thomas and Cornelius Bennett. He's a native of Tuscaloosa. He was on Bryant's staff when they won back to back national championships.
You can't get much more Crimson than that.
Yet when Alabama went looking for the person to take the helm after a downward spiral loaded with feelings of disappointment, betrayal and downright embarrassment, the higher-ups chose the safe alternative in Mike Shula.
Granted, I like Mike and I think the powers that be did wrong by him in the way they treated him. They forgot how much he had to overcome just to get the Tide back on solid footing.
So when they tossed Mike to the curb, they looked to someone they thought could get instant results. Instead, Alabama limped to a 6-6 regular season finish in 2007.
One of these losses came at the hands of the very man Alabama turned its back on four years ago. In fact, he's beaten them twice in a row.
After he wasn't selected at the Capstone, Croom went about 80 miles to the west, where people were glad to welcome him.
For their generosity, the folks at MSU earned the distinction of having hired the first black head football coach in the Southeastern Conference and even in the words of Croom (according to his Wikipedia profile, quoting a Washington Post article), referring to Mississippi: " The place has changed a great deal. I don't know how many people outside here understand that. But they're about to find out."
For what MSU's decision to hire Croom says about Mississippi and its attitude about race, I think it speaks even louder about what it says about the state of Alabama and where it needs to go in terms of racial harmony.
I still feel the way I did the day MSU beat Alabama this season: Alabama earned it when they chose not to give Croom the job for which he was immensely qualified.
Late add: The irony that a Bryant understudy - who wasn't selected to lead the Tide - won the Liberty Bowl 25 years after Bryant's final victory isn't lost on me and shouldn't be lost on any of us.
I hope Croom continues to remind Alabama's leadership of their poor choice, because, as Croom has proven with the 2007 season, he's like the man he played for and worked with.
He's nothing but a winner.

756 + *

The news that Barry Bonds surpassed Hank Aaron's 33-year-old major league home run record barely registered on my proverbial radar screen. Why?
I'm trying to word this so as to not sound like I'm accusing the man unjustly - I have no proof either way, but I think there are too many unanswered questions about whether Bonds has used performance-enhancing drugs. The evidence on the subject is largely speculative and circumstantial. Until those questions are answered through some legitimate venue, be it a court or an independent review on behalf of Major League Baseball, I think the record should be viewed differently than those of Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth, the record's previous holders.

Can a sports victory help heal a city?

In my last blog about the University of Alabama's hiring of Nick Saban, I wondered what actual good a national championship would bring the university and the state. I still ponder that question, especially when looking at the price tag of Saban's salary.
However, I look at the circumstances New Orleans finds itself in and I have to raise a question on the opposite of the coin - could a Super Bowl win do this city some good?
I think on the whole the answer is a resounding 'Yes.'
It still concerns me that the Superdome was merely cleaned up and repaired after Hurricane Katrina, not bulldozed in memory of those who died within its walls. And winning the Super Bowl won't fully cure the ills which led to nine murders less than two weeks into the new year.
But it certainly gives people there something else - something fun and exciting to think about - and it could help them think they can succeed in their own struggles to rebuild and overcome.

Saban the best for last?

A friend sent me an e-mail of another friend's blog about the prospect - now reality - that Nick Saban would leave the Miami Dolphins to become the latest to jump off the coaching merry-go-round and land in Tuscaloosa.
The friend who wrote the post pretty much bashed the whole thing, including the apparently misleading statements Saban made about not wanting the job, yet considering and now accepting it.
I am an Alabama fan, and this may come as a surprise to the person who sent the blog to me, but I don't see much with which to disagree.
The desire to win a national championship again at Alabama is manifesting itself like some kind of strange virus.

It makes otherwise rational people do irrational things, like offer a coach who hasn't stayed put very long a GUARANTEED $32 million over eight years and turn loose a guy who was loyal by default over two losses - those to Mississippi State and Auburn.
It also makes ordinary citizens drive to the Tuscaloosa airport and wait for the new coach to arrive - bringing an image akin to those awaiting an exiled leader of a nation in turmoil to return from his exodus and restore order.
How quickly we forget that another previous coach found his "dream job" was calling him to Texas just a few short years ago. Who's to say this new savior won't pull the ripcord in his contract in three years and leave everyone disillusioned again? Only this time, he'll leave us closer to bankruptcy.

As my friend mentions, the state of Alabama consistently ranks near the bottom in quality of life issues.
Sure, much of the money Alabama has at its disposal to run its athletic program is from sources like ticket sales and private donations - not taxpayer money. But it still could be used elsewhere - a 13th national championship will do little more than give us a short-lived swelling of pride. Granted, it would be fun. I still have memorabilia from the 1992 title. But it won't fix roads, mend racial fences, heal the sick or educate a community.
Another acquaintance of mine mentioned recently that Paul "Bear" Bryant himself couldn't measure up to the pressure those currently in charge - whomever they may be - place on the job. I think he's absolutely right.
I'm willing to give Saban - and those who wanted him so badly they figuratively mortgaged the farm - a chance.
I hope they're right.
And I hope that $32 million is somehow worth the investment.
Somehow.

Blogging ...

Can be difficult when you know that is this isn't private space but is rather globally distributed at the click of a mouse.
Yet, this is a place to vent, relax and be yourself. Not when you're not entirely sure who you are and whether you wonder if you can or should rely on what you know.
Self-editing can create as many or more problems as not being able to communicate feelings.
But "feelings" are probably not what you stopped by for.
There are a number of things I want to blog about, but am restrained not to do so for now.
Maybe the freedom to write on these subjects will present itself soon.

Iron Bowl
I've been talking to people about how the Alabama-Auburn game in Alabama is more than just a football game. It is, in and of itself, a way of life. This is not just a rivalry between current and former students of a school.
I've watched traffic in Montgomery dwindle to just a handful of people who just happened to be out, or were passing through town, oblivious to the gridiron battle raging somewhere in the state (between Auburn, Tuscaloosa or, at one time Birmingham).
This game's intensity has little to do with its national title implications. These schools could be 3-8 heading into tomorrow, but the game would still mean a great deal.
It has the potiential to be a job-breaker for coaches.
Well, it's almost midnight and we have to be up relatively early in the morning. Later!

What's wrong with Vanderbilt!?

This is the first what I'm sure will be several blogs on college football this year.
Vanderbilt came screaming out the gate, kicking butts and taking names!
They currently hold a share of the lead (albeit early) in the SEC East.
Somebody forgot to tell this current bunch that they're supposed to let everyone else in the SEC win, the Washington Generals, if you will, of the conference.
This is one of the fascinating things about college football - sometimes as much as you think you have it figured out, something surprising happens.
This is a pleasant surprise and I wish them well against everyone except unless they play Alabama for the conference title (what a thought!) in December.