Question: How do you view the 1999 season after nearly 20 years?

trenda · Feb 20, 2018

My first year to buy season tickets. After the La Tech game, thinking, my buying season tickets has most obviously jinxed the program!

The two FL games were great, obviously. Beating Auburn on the plains was great.

I remember two UT defenders striking the Heisman pose after Alexander went down with the ankle injury. I wanted to jump out of the stands and take them down personally.

I also remember the MSU game. Clinched the SEC West, which seemed like such a long shot after La Tech. BDS was shaking like I had never felt it before to that point.

Overall, I remember thinking that even in the midst of storms Bama wasn't used to encountering, we were still able to win 10 games and the SEC Championship.

20 years later, it's easier to see that these dominoes all had to fall just right in order for us to experience what we've experienced over the past 10 years.

GrayTide · Feb 20, 2018

That season had its highs and lows, but mostly will be remembered for great individual players bailing out a very poorly organized, dysfunctional coaching staff. Even in the wins I sensed a team that was close to imploding. Were it not for a few senior leaders it would have. It happened the next year culminating, IMO, in the 21-0 loss to USM in Legion Field. The team literally quit that night.

Elefantman · Feb 20, 2018

Great way to relive that season (if you want to) is to read this book.

jabcmb · Feb 20, 2018

Ah, 1999: I remember the sad gator on Marta who “couldn’t believe Alabama beat us twice.” He was probably a student. I told him, well Florida’s only beaten Alabama about 10 times ever in the school’s history, including Spurrier. He was incredulous, poor kid.
I remember wondering how the Michigan QB could bring ‘em back from 14 down - twice. Ha
I remember a special New Year’s in Miami (non football)
And after La Tech thinking: when will these ordinary performances by Bama end. If I had only known how much longer it would be.

81usaf92 · Feb 20, 2018

Elefantman said:
Great way to relive that season (if you want to) is to read this book.

Read it 5 times. It’s an awesome read. Too bad you just don’t see many Bama RVers anymore with the university being the way that they are now.

selmaborntidefan · Feb 20, 2018

81usaf92 said:
The 1999 season has always made have that “what could’ve been?” feeling more so than the 1994 season. It has probably one of my favorite moments (UF in the swamp) and one my worst moments (La tech) in watching Bama football. I think we could’ve been national champs that year if we weren’t handicapped at coaching, but overall I thought it was a great season with a bittersweet outcome with the amount of talent we had on that team.

Best moments

1. Beating UF in the Swamp
2. Winning at Jerkin Hair for the first time
3. Beating Spurrier again

Worst

1. Losing to La tech
2. Seeing UT extend their streak against us
3. See Brady come back on us and pflugner miss an extra point in the Orange bowl

How do y’all remember 1999?

Short answer:
It was a team of talent carrying a coach with none to a fluke championship (SEC in this case) along the lines of Auburn's 2010 national title or
Dallas winning Super Bowl XXX.

Based on Bama Moon's post, I'm thinking this deserves the Selma write-up treatment.

selmaborntidefan · Feb 20, 2018

BamaMoon said:
I had to look up the schedule to even remember. The think that stuck out to me is that we only had two "convincing" wins. Houston early and then Florida in the SECCG.

By today's standards, it looks like we struggled to win most of those other games.

Well, we did. Quick recap off the top of the brain:

Vandy - the halftime score was 7-7. We trailed at the end of the third, 17-14. And won, 28-17 - probably because Vandy dropped a sure pick six from Zow early in the fourth.

Houston - we only led 17-10 until about 3 minutes left in the third, so even that "blowout" was more of a pull away.

La Tech - we trailed 12-0 before we got going and to top it off, they scored their winning TD by converting a 4th and 23 with a backup QB for the winning touchdown. Indeed - this was the most DuBose game in DuBose's tenure.

Arky - a good game that we won when they didn't hit the Hail Mary

Florida - without that fumbled punt.....

Ole Miss - we led 27-7 in the third quarter.....we won 30-24, and they got the ball back with a chance to win in the final minutes.

Tennessee - amazingly, we only trailed them 14-7 but injuries did us in

USM - never saw it, didn't listen on the radio, I literally have no idea about this game

LSU - we led 23-7 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter and probably got bailed out by a bad officiating call - our injured players, they let the clock run when we stopped Booty at the goal line.

MSU - with 7 minutes left we only led by six; the Zow TD to Buchanon iced it for us. (Btw - if y'all wanna see nutty, go look at MSU's 1999 season, it's the stuff of Auburn legend)

Auburn - we trailed 14-6 midway through the third quarter - and won 28-17

Florida II - folks forget that we only led 15-7 with 13 min left and had the ball 3rd and 11 at our own six when Watts ran for the first down. THAT was the key play of the game because it set up the Milons dash.

jthomas666 · Feb 20, 2018

A team so talented that even Dubose couldn't screw it up.

Though God knows he tried.

selmaborntidefan · Feb 20, 2018

Btw - I saw a comment about who else was in the running when we hired Dubious.

I don't have much recollection of this. I lived in Arkansas and - for those who don't know - in 1996 we suffered the fallout from one of those cable/network squabbles that meant NOBODY in the Little Rock area got to see that first big championship Saturday on December 7, 1996
(when BYU won the WAC, Texas upset Nebraska, and Florida beat us).

Never saw it. Also, I was busy prepping a church Christmas cantata (held on 12/15 that year), and there was no Internet, so I had no
earthly idea who was in the running and then bam, Dubious is the coach.

Here's what I've dug up according to the Panama City Herald of December 10, 1996 (page 20) - DuBose was the choice of AD Bob Bockrath, who had been inundated by fans writing letters and making phone calls, etc.

The article says that the other candidates were Rick Neuheisel, Frank Beamer, Butch Davis, and Woody McCorvey.

It also says that Stallings endorsed both Dubious and McCorvey and was "pleased with the choice."

Btw - the article right next to it says that Florida DC Bob Stoops had just turned down an offer to coach.....the University of Minnesota....

selmaborntidefan · Feb 20, 2018

Not that this has anything to do with us, but I'm looking at the Texas search in 1997 when they replaced Mackovic with Mack Brown.

December 2, 1997 - in BIG letters in the Texas City Sun on page 9 is an AP article that says, "Cross Brown off list." It quotes Brown as saying
he's staying with the Tar Heels.

Why isn't Mack Brown this big pathetic liar like I see Saban called then?

HHHHHHMMMMMMM??????

ETA:

I also just found out that the Curry to Alabama story was broken.....by Gene Jelks......

bamaslammer · Feb 20, 2018

It was misleading. Alabama had one of the best runners ever in Shaun Alexander, a fantastic left tackle in Chris Samuals and Zow had such a cannon that it left D coordinators in a bit of a pickle trying to figure that out. Aside from that it wasn't that great a TEAM, it was a couple of really great players.

selmaborntidefan · Feb 20, 2018

bamaslammer said:
It was misleading. Alabama had one of the best runners ever in Shaun Alexander, a fantastic left tackle in Chris Samuals and Zow had such a cannon that it left D coordinators in a bit of a pickle trying to figure that out. Aside from that it wasn't that great a TEAM, it was a couple of really great players.

And that was exposed for everyone the next year when two of those three were gone.

TideEngineer08 · Feb 20, 2018

selmaborntidefan said:
Well, we did. Quick recap off the top of the brain:

Vandy - the halftime score was 7-7. We trailed at the end of the third, 17-14. And won, 28-17 - probably because Vandy dropped a sure pick six from Zow early in the fourth.

Houston - we only led 17-10 until about 3 minutes left in the third, so even that "blowout" was more of a pull away.

La Tech - we trailed 12-0 before we got going and to top it off, they scored their winning TD by converting a 4th and 23 with a backup QB for the winning touchdown. Indeed - this was the most DuBose game in DuBose's tenure.

Arky - a good game that we won when they didn't hit the Hail Mary

Florida - without that fumbled punt.....

Ole Miss - we led 27-7 in the third quarter.....we won 30-24, and they got the ball back with a chance to win in the final minutes.

Tennessee - amazingly, we only trailed them 14-7 but injuries did us in

USM - never saw it, didn't listen on the radio, I literally have no idea about this game

LSU - we led 23-7 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter and probably got bailed out by a bad officiating call - our injured players, they let the clock run when we stopped Booty at the goal line.

MSU - with 7 minutes left we only led by six; the Zow TD to Buchanon iced it for us. (Btw - if y'all wanna see nutty, go look at MSU's 1999 season, it's the stuff of Auburn legend)

Auburn - we trailed 14-6 midway through the third quarter - and won 28-17

Florida II - folks forget that we only led 15-7 with 13 min left and had the ball 3rd and 11 at our own six when Watts ran for the first down. THAT was the key play of the game because it set up the Milons dash.

There wasn't much to the USM game. Both Zow and Alexander were injured the week prior vs. Tennessee, and Watts started and played the whole game, IIRC. I cannot remember who started at RB. Shon Bohannon was there. Seems like Ahmad Galloway was involved.

selmaborntidefan · Feb 20, 2018

TideEngineer08 said:
There wasn't much to the USM game. Both Zow and Alexander were injured the week prior vs. Tennessee, and Watts started and played the whole game, IIRC. I cannot remember who started at RB. Shon Bohannon was there. Seems like Ahmad Galloway was involved.

I do recall those two had been injured. But I didn't even tune Eli in on the radio despite being close enough to get him.

2003TIDE · Feb 20, 2018

It was my freshman year. From what I remember that season was an awesome time.

CrimsonEyeshade · Feb 20, 2018

Watching the fourth quarter while sitting in the stands at Auburn will remain a lifelong thrill.

Mike Dubose was, is and shall always be a lifelong joke — an embarrassment on more levels than he has functioning brain cells.

Redwood Forrest · Feb 21, 2018

This what I remember. Our AD at our Instution Of Higher Learning flat out lied. Surprise. He said he was launching a NATIONWIDE search for the BEST coach available. Yes. BUT ........ his NATIONWIDE search for the BEST coach available was right under his nose ..... there on the sideline . I knew when Dubose was announced that not only was our AD a liar but incompetent as well. Later I heard he caved in to his fax machine and phone calls. He learned what letting the fans do you job for usually blows up in your face. I don't understand why anyone would take a position of power and then kick back on their lazy butts and let someone make decisions for them. Oh wait -- prestige and money. That is why I hate these "coaching search" firms. If you are afraid to think on your own then you need to resign.

Isaiah 63:1 · Feb 21, 2018

bamamick said:
...who would have got the job if it hadn't been Dubose? I don't even remember another name being mentioned...

With Bob Bockrath doing the hiring, it wouldn’t have mattered much.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BamaHoosier · Feb 21, 2018

TideEngineer08 said:
There wasn't much to the USM game. Both Zow and Alexander were injured the week prior vs. Tennessee, and Watts started and played the whole game, IIRC. I cannot remember who started at RB. Shon Bohannon was there. Seems like Ahmad Galloway was involved.

Funny, I was 7 when this game was played. As a matter of fact, 1999 is the first season that I actually have full memories of. I can remember listening to the USM game on the radio with my dad. It was a Jefferson Pilot game and we didn't have cable. For some reason Bohannon was the name that kept sticking in my brain with SA being injured. Sure enough, he got the start and the bulk of the carries. One thing I wasn't aware of is that both teams were ranked going into that game. Rare for USM to be top 20, but they went into that game 5-2 and #20 in the country. If anyone wants a refresher, I found this youtube of the highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjiIcCj8Bls

Can't say that I made it too deep into that video, 20 minutes is too long for my tastes in a game like that one. Still, it was definitely a throwback seeing some of the names on the back of those jerseys.

bama61 · Feb 21, 2018

81usaf92 said:
The 1999 season has always made have that “what could’ve been?” feeling more so than the 1994 season. It has probably one of my favorite moments (UF in the swamp) and one my worst moments (La tech) in watching Bama football. I think we could’ve been national champs that year if we weren’t handicapped at coaching, but overall I thought it was a great season with a bittersweet outcome with the amount of talent we had on that team.

Best moments

1. Beating UF in the Swamp
2. Winning at Jerkin Hair for the first time
3. Beating Spurrier again

Worst

1. Losing to La tech
2. Seeing UT extend their streak against us
3. See Brady come back on us and pflugner miss an extra point in the Orange bowl

How do y’all remember 1999?

As proof that sometimes talent and determination can overcome poor coaching.

Question: How do you view the 1999 season after nearly 20 years?

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