This is a clear number one and it's not even close. I don't say that to disparage any of our great moments but this one is in the next universe by itself.
1) It won the national championship. Without it, there's no title.
We could conceivably have beaten Penn State without the Goal Line Stand, and we would likely still have beaten Miami without the Strip. But this play won the game.
2) The drama was heightened by the sack on the previous play.
Discussed already.
3) Here's one I haven't seen: Alabama NEVER LED in the entire game until that play.
Ever. This was not the 2012 SECCG back and forth. We were behind from the moment UGA scored first. All the way until that play.
4) The sudden swiftness was the stuff of legend.
This was a heavyweight boxer getting his tail knocked all over the ring for 10 rounds of a 12 round fight, getting battered in the 11th and then decking the opponent with a lightning quick left to the jaw that nobody saw coming.
Van Tiffin's kick was awesome, but it was the result of a fearless drive and a soaring kick from a guy who had made MANY long field goals before (including 57 yards vs ATM that year and 53 vs Penn St the year before). Tiffin kicking a field goal - as awesome as it was - was not totally off the charts surprising and it was also a regular season game. Hell, most folks don't recall that we weren't even ranked going into the game despite having only two losses and a tie.
The lightning bolt was so sudden that my reaction was more of shock than jubilation. When Francisco Cabrera scored Bream - speaking of moments that took forever - I leaped into the air and hit my hands on the ceiling. I have high walls now so not possible, but I was almost in utter disbelief that it happened. I didn't even notice the receiver running over the camera guy in the end one as he celebrated until a few days later.
I agree that Tua to Smith is the most important play in Alabama history. But the Goal Line Stand is close. The difference that most people don't remember is that when Krauss stuffed the PSU FB, there were still 7-8 minutes left to go.
Great post, but I slightly disagree with the boxing analogy. We only got our tails kicked for half the game. We whipped them for most of the second half. It took us until the final play to pull ahead, although we should have won at the end of regulation.
Agreed. We got hammered for 30 minutes, then reversed it. For the second half and OT in isolation:
Alabama wins first downs 16-6
Wins rushing 24 att / 110 yds to 21 att / 36 yds
Wins passing 14 for 24, 165 yds to 5 for 9 106 yds (more on this in a minute)
Wins points 26-10
That's a pretty good hammering by us. But it's understated by the fact that over half of UGA's yards came on one play, the 80 yd bomb.
Outside of that one pass, they averaged 2.18 yards per play, and scored only 3 points, in overtime, after getting the ball on our 25. Even that is a testament to the kicker, not the UGA O, which actually backed up 9 yards. Blankenship nailed a 51 yarder.
As others have noted, even with the bomb, we still should have won at the end of regulation.
As much as UGA kicked out butts the first half, we returned the favor in the second.