The Importance Of The Iron Bowl

TerryR · Dec 2, 2013

I searched for a title so maybe not the best, but I'm going with it. I posted a while back about wondering if the players or coaches were really cognizant of the impact of a 3-Peat. I pointed back to a time when I thought it was debacle that Bama didn't get the 3 in row going back to 1966-1967 (pasting Nebraska 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl w/Stabler & Co). Perhaps a better term might have been travesty. A fellow poster suggested I call Saban's call in show and tell him that. I was somewhat taken aback by the comment, but didn't bite. In retrospect, perhaps I should have taken the advice. The team has obviously lost its' competitive fire and I'm suggesting that starts at the top. As an illustration, did anyone else observe Saban's calm demeanor even when players are making some bad plays or taking bad penalties? Could anyone not see the difference in intensity and enthusiasm displayed on the other side? To coin an old phrase, "they wanted it more than we did". At least that was my observation.

Having said all this, today I'm reminded that football is NOT the most important thing in life. I got a call early this morning that a younger sister of mine in Michigan died suddenly from a blood clod after having heart surgery last week. One day she's fine - the next day she's gone. Suddenly losing a football game didn't seem nearly as important as it did Saturday night. Call your loved ones if they're geographically separated or if you've not communicated recently. I urge you to do so before the opportunity is forever gone.

I'm not trying to be antagonistic and I mean no offense to a fellow poster who took me to task. Perhaps I wasn't clear or didn't state the case very well. Approaching age 72 this month, as I said earlier chances of me seeing Bama 3-peat is probably a long shot especially with the playoff system - although I can continue to hope.

JIB · Dec 2, 2013

So... fire Saban?

TerryR · Dec 2, 2013

Can you be a little more perceptive. It's not a dig at Saban - it may be a mindset of the team and coaches. Obviously, Saban has done a great job. I don't understand people like you....

WalkaboutSean · Dec 2, 2013

Some of our rivals are speculating that Saban has plans outside of Tuscaloosa following this season. We shall see.

I think this was just one of those games. We lined up for four separate field goals, any one of which might have sealed the deal - and we came away empty each time. Weird things happen in the game with an oval ball.

A "threepeat" hasn't been accomplished since the 1940s, and this game was an example of why.

CoastGhost · Dec 2, 2013

Maybe Mrs. Terry was including CNS in her comments - who knows - stuff happens - life goes on.

While we are searching in the weeds however, consider this; had Alabama waxed the barn the other night (while it would have been sweet) it would also have been just another waxing of the barn ... ho-hum to the rest of the planet. The way the game unfolded, mystic-magic-make me puke up a perfectly good Fat Tire ... will enshrine the "Iron Bowl" as the nation's premier rivalry game for the rest of our lives. Small consolation but next time we wax the barn, everyone will know it, most will be watching.

h2o · Dec 2, 2013

First off sorry about your sister. May you find comfort soon. Secondly it has been noted in the past that Coach Saban always seems more "rah rah" in big games and more uptight in-your-face mode in lesser games.

B1GTide · Dec 2, 2013

Lost it competitive fire? There were a lot of problems on Saturday, but this was not one of them. IMO, you lost because the team was too tight. They had placed too much pressure on themselves. It had nothing to do with complacency.

Power Eye · Dec 2, 2013

I didn't see a team that lost its competitive fire, I saw a team that played tight all game. Sometimes it's hard to accept defeat or make sense of it, but the simple fact is we lost to a good team that played really well.

BornABamaFan · Dec 2, 2013

I hear what you're saying and respect your point of view. However, in no way do I think the team has lost it's competitive fire. Just the opposite, I think the team wanted to win so badly that they just completely froze. And yes, I noticed Saban's calm demeanor as well and that's especially when I got worried about the game. Usually, when mistakes are made Saban has that look, you know "the look/outburst". Never saw it once during the game, because I think he was strung tighter than a tick and it trickled straight down to his players. I've played sports my whole life and I remember a coach saying- "anger is a better trait to have than fear while in battle because at least with anger you can still move and compete". ala John McEnroe... Look at LSU the second time we played them for the title. I told an LSU buddy of mine before the game, if LSU does not come out with the attitude that by God we will show the world that we can beat you twice(insert anger) then Bama will completely dominate them. When I watched LSU come out of the tunnel for the final time just before the game and saw the look on their faces prior to starting-- I turned to my wife and and said, "It's over, they look scared to death and they are just hoping Bama gives them a victory". Back to my point, we played with fear. There's no blame, it's just human nature-- unless that fear can turn into anger! Just my two cents fwiw... but I still hope you(we) still get to see a 3-peat one day.

WalkaboutSean · Dec 2, 2013

One of the reasons this game was such news is that in recent years it takes incredible circumstances for Alabama to lose.

Our last 3 losses: we miss four FGs against LSU in 2011 and lose in OT.... Johnny Football plays the game of his Heisman life in 2012... an insane twist of fate at the end of Iron Bowl 2013.

The entire nation wanted to see us lose on Saturday. That's okay - better to be hated for excellence than ignored.

TidePride50 · Dec 2, 2013

I agree that CNS did seem a bit more subdued than normally, Bama is not a huge rah rah team anyway. They are a business as usual team. I thought we were that Saturday, but like others mentioned...very tight throughout the game.

1Dawn · Dec 2, 2013

BornABamaFan said:
I hear what you're saying and respect your point of view. However, in no way do I think the team has lost it's competitive fire. Just the opposite, I think the team wanted to win so badly that they just completely froze. And yes, I noticed Saban's calm demeanor as well and that's especially when I got worried about the game. Usually, when mistakes are made Saban has that look, you know "the look/outburst". Never saw it once during the game, because I think he was strung tighter than a tick and it trickled straight down to his players. I've played sports my whole life and I remember a coach saying- "anger is a better trait to have than fear while in battle because at least with anger you can still move and compete". ala John McEnroe... Look at LSU the second time we played them for the title. I told an LSU buddy of mine before the game, if LSU does not come out with the attitude that by God we will show the world that we can beat you twice(insert anger) then Bama will completely dominate them. When I watched LSU come out of the tunnel for the final time just before the game and saw the look on their faces prior to starting-- I turned to my wife and and said, "It's over, they look scared to death and they are just hoping Bama gives them a victory". Back to my point, we played with fear. There's no blame, it's just human nature-- unless that fear can turn into anger! Just my two cents fwiw... but I still hope you(we) still get to see a 3-peat one day.

I have to agree with you on many points. I had written the below post and lost it three times, apparently while you were writing much of the same. Thought I would post anyway...

Terry, I am sorry about your sister. You are right, it is a ballgame and when something happens in your family, it puts things in perspective. My condolences to you and your family!

I have to agree with others in the way we seemed to play. I posted elsewhere this week-end that I thought our players did not play in the loose manner that AU seemed to play and think we were very tight. I feel the coaches and players did want the win. Maybe they wanted the win so much, they lost their normal footing, so to speak. Most of the players have it posted on their twitter pages about chasing the dream of #16. I definitely think it was in their minds. I think the mistakes translated to a team that was off for the night, maybe due to being uptight and trying too hard.

I think the one thing that really got me about this IB is I do not feel in ANY WAY that AU is the superior team and the win was truly lucky, much like the GA game. We by no means had a beat down. They are being called by the media the best team in the SEC, but I truly do not feel that way. I do feel they are talented, but do not feel they are superior, AT ALL*. I think that is why it is so regretful to me. I felt the same way in 2011 season when we lost to LSU in the regular season. I felt we beat ourselves like we did in this game. When we got out second chance, LSU did not even score. Sadly, we will not get our second chance to beat them this season. JMHO....

* TEAM SCORE COMPARISONS in SEC GAMES

AU vs LSU - Loss - 21-35 /// UA vs LSU - Win - 38-17
AU vs Ole Miss - Win - 30-22 /// UA vs Ole Miss - Win - 0-25
AU vs T A&M - Win - 45-40 /// UA vs T A&M - Win - 49-42
AU vs ARK - Win - 35-17 /// UA vs ARK - Win - 52-0
AU vs TN - Win - 55-23 /// UA vs TN - Win - 45-10

We were on top of ALL other games, but this one.

TIDE-HSV · Dec 2, 2013

TerryR said:
I searched for a title so maybe not the best, but I'm going with it. I posted a while back about wondering if the players or coaches were really cognizant of the impact of a 3-Peat. I pointed back to a time when I thought it was debacle that Bama didn't get the 3 in row going back to 1966-1967 (pasting Nebraska 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl w/Stabler & Co). Perhaps a better term might have been travesty. A fellow poster suggested I call Saban's call in show and tell him that. I was somewhat taken aback by the comment, but didn't bite. In retrospect, perhaps I should have taken the advice. The team has obviously lost its' competitive fire and I'm suggesting that starts at the top. As an illustration, did anyone else observe Saban's calm demeanor even when players are making some bad plays or taking bad penalties? Could anyone not see the difference in intensity and enthusiasm displayed on the other side? To coin an old phrase, "they wanted it more than we did". At least that was my observation.

Having said all this, today I'm reminded that football is NOT the most important thing in life. I got a call early this morning that a younger sister of mine in Michigan died suddenly from a blood clod after having heart surgery last week. One day she's fine - the next day she's gone. Suddenly losing a football game didn't seem nearly as important as it did Saturday night. Call your loved ones if they're geographically separated or if you've not communicated recently. I urge you to do so before the opportunity is forever gone.

I'm not trying to be antagonistic and I mean no offense to a fellow poster who took me to task. Perhaps I wasn't clear or didn't state the case very well. Approaching age 72 this month, as I said earlier chances of me seeing Bama 3-peat is probably a long shot especially with the playoff system - although I can continue to hope.

As the others have said, I saw absolutely no loss of competitive fire. They were playing scared of making a mistake and so was the coaching staff. As someone a couple of years older than you - and having had my own scrapes with my heart over the last year and a half - rather than thinking about what might have been, I'm just eternally grateful for having seen the success come back for Alabama...

Just Win · Dec 2, 2013

1Dawn said:
I have to agree with you on many points. I had written the below post and lost it three times, apparently while you were writing much of the same. Thought I would post anyway...

Terry, I am sorry about your sister. You are right, it is a ballgame and when something happens in your family, it puts things in perspective. My condolences to you and your family!

I have to agree with others in the way we seemed to play. I posted elsewhere this week-end that I thought our players did not play in the loose manner that AU seemed to play and think we were very tight. I feel the coaches and players did want the win. Maybe they wanted the win so much, they lost their normal footing, so to speak. Most of the players have it posted on their twitter pages about chasing the dream of #16. I definitely think it was in their minds. I think the mistakes translated to a team that was off for the night, maybe due to being uptight and trying too hard.

I think the one thing that really got me about this IB is I do not feel in ANY WAY that AU is the superior team and the win was truly lucky, much like the GA game. We by no means had a beat down. They are being called by the media the best team in the SEC, but I truly do not feel that way. I do feel they are talented, but do not feel they are superior, AT ALL*. I think that is why it is so regretful to me. I felt the same way in 2011 season when we lost to LSU in the regular season. I felt we beat ourselves like we did in this game. When we got out second chance, LSU did not even score. Sadly, we will not get our second chance to beat them this season. JMHO....

* TEAM SCORE COMPARISONS in SEC GAMES

AU vs LSU - Loss - 21-35 /// UA vs LSU - Win - 38-17
AU vs Ole Miss - Win - 30-22 /// UA vs Ole Miss - Win - 0-25
AU vs T A&M - Win - 45-40 /// UA vs T A&M - Win - 49-42
AU vs ARK - Win - 35-17 /// UA vs ARK - Win - 52-0
AU vs TN - Win - 55-23 /// UA vs TN - Win - 25-10

AU did have an impressive TN game, but for all the others, we were on top.

Dawn we beat Tennessee 45-10. More impressive than 55-23.

1Dawn · Dec 2, 2013

Dawn we beat Tennessee 45-10. More impressive than 55-23.

Thanks Just Win, my bad. You are right, it is more impressive. I just edited my post in regard to the score!

drjohn432 · Dec 2, 2013

TidePride50 said:
I agree that CNS did seem a bit more subdued than normally, Bama is not a huge rah rah team anyway. They are a business as usual team. I thought we were that Saturday, but like others mentioned...very tight throughout the game.

He looked and sounded like Belichek

TIDE-HSV · Dec 2, 2013

drjohn432 said:
He looked and sounded like Belichek

Well, they both are Croats...

dvldog · Dec 3, 2013

My observation is the closer the game the less demonstrative CNS is. He tends not to chew people out something he does frequently in less competitive games.

Florida Tom · Dec 3, 2013

After the 72 IB we went on to win 2 NC then again in 78 79.

We take this loss hard but how do you really think CNS is taking it? I'm sure Sunday he was just sick, but Monday he was out trying to get us another opportunity.

We just have to teach our players how to handle the IB, IMO. We were way to tight, it sure was not from lack of effort we loss but you could just see that they were carrying the weight of the world.

Jess made some really great points in his summary I agree with all of it & just add that we tend to overlook the mental aspect to the game.

oregonbltzkrieg · Dec 3, 2013

I may be in the minority here, but I thought Alabama played very well, aside from the kicking issues. You were up a touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game, playing against a very tough team on the road in a hostile environment. I'm not going to heap a bunch of praises on the barn, but that spread offense they're running is killer good. It's a real machine and I hope our team sits up and takes note of what it can learn from that kind of high level offense. Personally I'd like to see FSU and Ohio St. drop their next games and see a rematch.

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