OK. For the last time. Bama is Not Back.

[quietfan 233]

http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/ks....xml&coll=2

Bama may be on way back, but not there yet

Sunday, August 27, 2006

OK. For the last time. Bama is Not Back.

Sports Illustrated may have said it on the Oct. 10, 2005, cover after Alabama 31, Florida 3, but it was way too much and way too soon.

Back is not a single game, not even the head coach's first signature win, not against a team that would not win 10 games itself.

Back is not a single season, not even one that includes 10 victories, not when a 9-0 start becomes a third-place finish in the SEC West.

Back is not the beloved senior quarterback, flat on his spine, 11 times against Auburn.

Back is not a roster without a single player, including the fifth-year seniors, who has ever celebrated an Iron Bowl victory or competed in an SEC Championship Game or earned an invitation to a BCS bowl.

Bama is back? Then how come Auburn can't wait to get back to Tuscaloosa?

Sports Illustrated turned a few heads and, not coincidentally, sold a few copies with its brazen declaration of Alabama's return to glory, but a year later, it's obvious the magazine no longer believes its own hype.

Check out SI's 2006 college football preview. Turn to page 120. Scan the power rankings of all Division I-A teams from 1 through 119.

Bama is back. Way back. All the way back at No. 38.

Back behind Texas A&M and Tennessee, which are coming off losing seasons, and Texas Tech, which is coming off a Cotton Bowl loss to Alabama.

Back past Boise State, Utah, TCU and Fresno State, four teams that do not play in a BCS conference.

This is a shocking lack of respect for a program that doesn't have to live in the past to feel good about itself, no matter how many 84-page special editions SI prints celebrating Alabama football history ($6.99 at your local bookseller and green grocer, just in time for opening day).

Yes, the starting quarterback is gone, but it's a similar story at Oklahoma, where the departure occurred under much different and more difficult circumstances.

Where does Sports Illustrated rank the Sooners? No. 14.

True, Alabama lost the heart and soul of a special defense, but so did Ohio State, and the Buckeyes wear a bulls-eye as SI's preseason choice for national champion.

OK, Alabama is not Oklahoma or Ohio State of late. Alabama is not back, not by Alabama's own impossible standards, but it doesn't deserve to be tossed back into the middle of the pack with the mediocre likes of Missouri and Maryland.

Last season continued a trend demonstrating that, with Mike Shula in charge, Alabama is on the way back. Wise men like Ray Perkins, who know the game and the coach and the territory, knew all along it would take time.

Alabama won't really be back until it beats Auburn - final score, not the final poll - and wins the SEC Championship Game and becomes a player in the national championship picture again.

That means Alabama won't be back this season.

But one thing seems clear after three years under Shula:

Alabama is not going away.

[Ranger12 46]

While I agree with most of what he said, he seems to be wrong on one very major thing if you ask me. He seems to be very confident in Shula's abilities by saying that Shula will have UAT eventually "back". I think he may have gotten into the same kool-aid that the UAT PTBs are drinking. And then there is this comment:

This is a shocking lack of respect for a program that doesn't have to live in the past to feel good about itself...

What?! That is all bammers seem to do is live in the past.

[BamaGrad03 0]

While I agree with most of what he said, he seems to be wrong on one very major thing if you ask me. He seems to be very confident in Shula's abilities by saying that Shula will have UAT eventually "back". I think he may have gotten into the same kool-aid that the UAT PTBs are drinking. And then there is this comment:

This is a shocking lack of respect for a program that doesn't have to live in the past to feel good about itself...

What?! That is all bammers seem to do is live in the past.

10-2 is present until sept 2nd.

[SKCAUB 0]

While I agree with most of what he said, he seems to be wrong on one very major thing if you ask me. He seems to be very confident in Shula's abilities by saying that Shula will have UAT eventually "back". I think he may have gotten into the same kool-aid that the UAT PTBs are drinking. And then there is this comment:

This is a shocking lack of respect for a program that doesn't have to live in the past to feel good about itself...

What?! That is all bammers seem to do is live in the past.

10-2 is present until sept 2nd.

I think it was a typo.

[Raven_tiger 5]

While I agree with most of what he said, he seems to be wrong on one very major thing if you ask me. He seems to be very confident in Shula's abilities by saying that Shula will have UAT eventually "back". I think he may have gotten into the same kool-aid that the UAT PTBs are drinking. And then there is this comment:

This is a shocking lack of respect for a program that doesn't have to live in the past to feel good about itself...

What?! That is all bammers seem to do is live in the past.

10-2 is present until sept 2nd.

28-18 is present until Nov. 18.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

28-18 is present until Nov. 18.

So is 4-0 and then it will be 5-0 and the thumb will rise

[TitanTiger 20,499]

Back is not a single season, not even one that includes 10 victories, not when a 9-0 start becomes a third-place finish in the SEC West.

Alabama won't really be back until it beats Auburn - final score, not the final poll - and wins the SEC Championship Game and becomes a player in the national championship picture again.

[GalensGhost 0]

10-2 is present until sept 2nd.

10-2 is a sham and you know it.

Just because you hit a ball off a house, it rolls down the roof and through the downspout, gets picked up by a squirrel which drops it in the path of a lawnmower which launches it skyward again, it bounces off a copse of trees and landsin the hole for a hole in one does NOT mean you are Tiger Woods.

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

"Wise men like Ray Perkins, who know the game and the coach and the territory, knew all along it would take time".

What the...

[BamaGrad03 0]

10-2 is present until sept 2nd.

10-2 is a sham and you know it.

Just because you hit a ball off a house, it rolls down the roof and through the downspout, gets picked up by a squirrel which drops it in the path of a lawnmower which launches it skyward again, it bounces off a copse of trees and landsin the hole for a hole in one does NOT mean you are Tiger Woods.

Just because you go 10-2 DOES mean you went 10-2.

Whats the record book say? "10-2 but not really because close wins only count for Auburn"?

[vatz22au 142]

So who was the better team last year BG? Auburn or Alabama. Surely we can't prove it on the field anymore as that doesn't matter right?

[GalensGhost 0]

10-2 is present until sept 2nd.

10-2 is a sham and you know it.

Just because you hit a ball off a house, it rolls down the roof and through the downspout, gets picked up by a squirrel which drops it in the path of a lawnmower which launches it skyward again, it bounces off a copse of trees and landsin the hole for a hole in one does NOT mean you are Tiger Woods.

Just because you go 10-2 DOES mean you went 10-2.

Whats the record book say? "10-2 but not really because close wins only count for Auburn"?

There is a difference between an anomaly and a trend. Learn it.

[WarTim 3,456]

Sounds as if the dark pink sand is deep and in abundant supply.

I LOVE the fact that they can't not only "see" the forest, but , wouldn't know a tree if it fell on their collective heads.

Right where we want 'em guys...RIGHT where we want 'em......

[BamaGrad03 0]

There is a difference between an anomaly and a trend. Learn it.

There's a difference between your party line (which you use for EVERY SINGLE rebuttal) and what my point was.

It was posed that we have to live in the past to enjoy a good season. And I said the PRESENT is our 10-2 season. Anomaly or not...which it is not since Alabama has had more 10 win seasons than Auburn in the last 10 years...and just as many as Auburn in "recent history".

Regardless...NONE of that has to do with your "point" that you feel hasn't been made yet simply because I wont agree with you.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Poor BG. All these months and all he has to comfort him is that 10-2 record last season. During those months he has posted every possible argument, spin and statistic known to man to try to make the realism of 4 straight losses to Auburn and the most recent 28-23 whipping in the Iron Bowl. And to make matters worse he has had the lack of judgement to try to do this on an Auburn board of all places. and even though he is big on tradition, he seems to totally forget that "the winner of the IB gets bragging rights."

Cheer up BG, some early season patsies will get you off to a 4-0 before reality sets in again for you and you begin to have nightmares where you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and see the thumb coming up on Nov. 18.

At that point I can recommend a good pychologist in B'ham if you would like.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Sadly, like most AU fans, PT still doesnt get it. Alabama's season doesnt revolve around beating AU.

And Bama can go 10-2 and it still be a good season. We dont live and die by one game.

Sure you have bragging rights over the game. But that doesnt invalidate an entire season...no matter how bad you want it to.

[Crimson323 0]

10-2 was a great year. It's better than 9-3. Bama was 13 whole points away from being undefeated going into the post season. Bama may not be back, according to some, but when has Auburn ever been there? 2004 was the 13-0 season for Auburn. 9-3 is not an improvement, it's a decline. 2004 was the 6-6 Bama season. 10-2 was a vast improvement, and a bounce back in the right direction.

AU may get 5 in a row, but one loss to them is not as big as a trip to a BCS Bowl for Bama. Sure, I want Bama to embarass AU this season, but I obsess over championships more than I do a rivalry game.

[GalensGhost 0]

AU may get 5 in a row, but one loss to them is not as big as a trip to a BCS Bowl for Bama. Sure, I want Bama to embarass AU this season, but I obsess over championships more than I do a rivalry game.

Haven't had much to obsess over lately, have you? Haven't even had much to prepare to obsess about.

YOU may believe this garbage. You and BG, perhaps. But I live all among the bammers and you're lying to yourself and to others if you truly try to cling to the fallacy that Auburn is "just another game" to you people. Over the last decade, trying to measure up to Auburn (and more often than not, failing) has become the be-all, end-all for your program. Anything else you say is just lip service.

[Crimson323 0]

AU may get 5 in a row, but one loss to them is not as big as a trip to a BCS Bowl for Bama. Sure, I want Bama to embarass AU this season, but I obsess over championships more than I do a rivalry game.

Haven't had much to obsess over lately, have you? Haven't even had much to prepare to obsess about.

YOU may believe this garbage. You and BG, perhaps. But I live all among the bammers and you're lying to yourself and to others if you truly try to cling to the fallacy that Auburn is "just another game" to you people. Over the last decade, trying to measure up to Auburn (and more often than not, failing) has become the be-all, end-all for your program. Anything else you say is just lip service.

I am not lying to myself. Auburn is not just another game to me. It is important. But, last year, UF, LSU and UcheaT were the games I wanted the most. That is the honest to God truth. I don't have to lie. I don't have to answer to AU fans. If you guys lose to Bama this year, I see a meltdown taking place. But that is just me. And why get so defensive? It's just friendly banter. You seem kind of bitter.

Besides, nothing we say to each other is going to help either team beat the other on the field at BDS this year.

And you are right, we have failed to beat AU 13 times to the 10 wins we do have over the past 23 years. But that is what a rivalry is all about. The occasional shift in power. Otherwise it wouldn't be a rivalry. I anticipate the day when Alabama beats Auburn again. It may be this year, it may be 5 years from now. But eventually, AU is going to lose.

[TitanTiger 20,499]

But I live all among the bammers and you're lying to yourself and to others if you truly try to cling to the fallacy that Auburn is "just another game" to you people. Over the last decade, trying to measure up to Auburn (and more often than not, failing) has become the be-all, end-all for your program. Anything else you say is just lip service.

Exactly. What started out as a simple gesture for AU fans (4 fingers), not directed at Bama's fans or their sideline, has become something much bigger not because of mean old Auburn fans, but because of bammers that just couldn't stand it. You take away the whiny little babies that cried for weeks after the game about how classless CTT was for the four fingers thing and it's doubtful "Fear The Thumb" ever enters the conversation, much less becomes a t-shirt. Tiger Rags should send royalty checks to Tuscaloosa for creating a cottage industry.

[SouthLink02 8]

Alabama is NOT back until they win the West, imo.

But, with that said, their 10 win season did say something.

Whether their schedule sucked or not, 10 wins is 10 wins even in a 12 game schedule and another bowl game.

But, this is ANOTHER reason why 2006 is so important for Alabama. IMO, it shows how good of a coach Shula is....

[stoic-one 1,547]

Alabama is NOT back until they win the West, imo.

But, with that said, their 10 win season did say something.

Whether their schedule sucked or not, 10 wins is 10 wins even in a 12 game schedule and another bowl game.

But, this is ANOTHER reason why 2006 is so important for Alabama. IMO, it shows how good or bad of a coach Shula is....

Fixed that for ya.

[Crimson323 0]

Alabama is NOT back until they win the West, imo.

But, with that said, their 10 win season did say something.

Whether their schedule sucked or not, 10 wins is 10 wins even in a 12 game schedule and another bowl game.

But, this is ANOTHER reason why 2006 is so important for Alabama. IMO, it shows how good of a coach Shula is....

I believe Bama will win the West this season. I also believe with UT not being so hot right now, even with Cutcliffe, and UF's monster schedule, Bama and UGA will meet up this December in Atlanta. I also noticed you are a Bulldogs fan. Wear 'em out before you send them our way. Or don't. Either way, we'll beat AU.

And for the record, the national media is treating Notre Dame as if the are indeed "Back". They had a 9-3 season last year that included a loss to Mich St., one to USC and a bowl loss to OSU. If Bama isn't back, neither are the Irish. And their D isn't exactly stellar.

[stoic-one 1,547]

Alabama is NOT back until they win the West, imo.

But, with that said, their 10 win season did say something.

Whether their schedule sucked or not, 10 wins is 10 wins even in a 12 game schedule and another bowl game.

But, this is ANOTHER reason why 2006 is so important for Alabama. IMO, it shows how good of a coach Shula is....

I believe Bama will win the West this season. I also believe with UT not being so hot right now, even with Cutcliffe, and UF's monster schedule, Bama and UGA will meet up this December in Atlanta. I also noticed you are a Bulldogs fan. Wear 'em out before you send them our way. Or don't. Either way, we'll beat AU.

And for the record, the national media is treating Notre Dame as if the are indeed "Back". They had a 9-3 season last year that included a loss to Mich St., one to USC and a bowl loss to OSU. If Bama isn't back, neither are the Irish. And their D isn't exactly stellar.

Whoa!!!

[SouthLink02 8]

We will beat UT.

We probably will never beat UF as long as I am alive.

As for AU...err.....I dunno...depends on way too many circumstances before I get to that prediction