7mm - welcome.
The buildup to this game is already bringing out the worst in some fans both in Alabama and Oklahoma. Let me be clear that I'm not (at this point anyway) talking about you, owenfielddreams, or even one of our favorite posters wishbonesooner with what follows.
But most of us have already gotten sick of the cluster argument we're hearing (as maybe you guys have as well). The cluster argument from OU fans that we've come across goes something like this:
"Every time we play the SEC we hang a bunch of points on them. We hung 45 points on Alabama in 2013 when folks said we couldn't win. The SEC is slow." (Followed by a SELECTED listing of "we scored X on Auburn, Georgia, Alabama blah bah blah." And capping that with "we own Alabama, they haven't beaten us since 1963."
So let me (and this is without condescension - I say this because printed words on a page sometimes hide calm voice inflection):
1) MOST Alabama fans have a healthy respect for Oklahoma's glorious history.
These modern kids, well, some don't get it, and I understand that. But in the scheme of things there's Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, and Ohio State (maybe). That is the EXCLUSIVE club, the very best of the very best. Those are the programs who over a long LONG period of time have put together records that will never be broken or approached. Below that elite tier are programs like Michigan, Texas, and Nebraska (and a few others), who are accomplished but not quite in the elite club.
I'm 49 and some of us (esp those older than I) remember Barry and Billy Sims and The Boz, etc. There tends to be a healthy respect there that we're both members of a pretty exclusive club in CFB.
2) MOST Alabama fans are not on board with this "SEC" chant nonsense
What gave rise to the "SEC" chant - to be blunt - was (sort of) Oklahoma. And USC as well.
In 2003, I thought OU had the best CFB team I'd ever seen....right up until the choke job against Kansas State. But the resentment began when OU - after that waxing - got into a national championship game in which they did not have any business playing. We realize with emotion muzzled, of course, that this is NOT Oklahoma's fault, but it was still a joke. And combined with the 2001 inclusion of Nebraska in the national title game under similar circumstances, resentment began to grow. LSU and USC share the national title, and we hear for the next several years about how great USC was and how they would tear through the SEC like a tornado and citing the singular games USC would blow out Auburn or (later) Arkansas.
And then in 2004, Auburn runs the table in the SEC and watches USC blow OU off the map. Auburn would probably not have beaten USC, but it was a second straight year for the conference of "well, too bad, you just didn't start high enough in the polls."
The following year, Alabama was sitting perched with an unbeaten record....and we all knew that even if we ran the table, we were not getting past either Texas or USC. Three years in a row and this one involving Alabama.
And then - fourth year in a row - the media began banging the drum for a rematch between Ohio State and Michigan in OCTOBER!!! Florida plays the nation's toughest schedule and then Urban Meyer pretty much dares the voters to not put Florida in the game. Ohio St is going to roll over Florida so we here......and Urban buries Ohio State (the first time, heh heh). SEC fans, tortured by a fourth straight year of disrespect, hopped on the Florida bandwagon and the "SEC" chant was born.
And then remember this.........if USC had not folded against UCLA, ONCE AGAIN the SEC would have been on the outside looking in.
That, of course, was the beginning of the streak of national championships that Alabama helped extend (an idea nobody would have dreamed of in 2006). But I say all of that to say the following.
MOST Alabama fans don't really give a damn about the rest of the SEC. We hear every single time there's a disputed call or something goes our way about how "the SEC offices are in Birmingham." Now - what the hell is that supposed to mean? Alabama hasn't played a football game at Legion Field in 15 years. It says NOTHING, but it allows losers to console themselves with, "There's a big conspiracy against us." MOST of the conference lined up to take shots at us while we were down during what I've come to call The Sanctions Era. Furthermore, we had the case of an SEC commissioner who was buddies with the Tennessee coach conspiring to NOT inform our higher ups about a crooked situation in Memphis and the spectacle of the coach of our arch rival TESTIFYING against us. We wound up getting gut punched with even more sanctions because we were a "repeat violator," and the SEC office and the head coach at Tennessee had much to do with it. The REST of the SEC joined in the chant of what a bunch of cheaters we are/were and lined up to beat us while we were crippled.
Quite frankly, the last decade has been the Nick Saban Program Demolition Tour, and so yes - we've gotten a bit smug watching those who mocked us take what in most cases is much deserved vengeance.
But remember.....even though "The SEC offices" were "in Birmingham" in the 1990s......well, nothing.
I think the only team some Tide fans are FOR SURE pulling for in the bowl games is LSU - and that's because UCF has decided to act like Scrappy-Doo.
3) Your offense is good, we get it.
Yes, your offense IS good, and our defense is NOT the 2016 variety. If we had that D, I would not give OU a snowball's chance in hell of winning. This is NOT by any means a slam dunk.
However......I'm sure you can remember the national title teams of 1985 and 2000, in particular. The 1985 team had a good offense, but they had something else OU is known for - a helluva defense. Watching this year has been amusing, it's like a number of OU fans don't remember ever having a defense or consider it part of the game.
Your defense is not only bad, it is HISTORICALLY BAD. And despite what we're hearing, your offense is NOT some anomaly of history or new thing. It's not even the most historic at OU. You've scored 643 points in 13 games - which is 9 less than Texas in the same number of games in 2005. It's fewer than the 1983 Nebraska team - back when football was more running oriented than now. The 2010 Oregon Ducks had eye popping offense as well. But more often than not if those teams don't have an above average defense, they lose.
Kyler Murray is a great player and OU is a great offense, but it isn't like folks haven't seen it before. Most OU fans who give me the "we hung 48 on Georgia" don't ever discuss the final result or the fact that the OFFENSE only had 7 points in the second half. "Oh but our offense is better this year" may (or may not) be true but the amusing comments (again no reflection on present company) about how OU is going to score 70 on Alabama (and yes, I've seen A BUNCH of those) when they didn't score 70 all year is just plain ridiculous.
4) 2013 lurks in the minds of both fanbases - and it shouldn't
2013 has nothing to do with today. AJ McCarron isn't playing, and he had an awful game that night. Personally, I think the entire game is going to come down to defensive stops and turnovers. Ok - and perhaps injuries.
Anyway - welcome to the board, you seem the classy sort.
And congrats on back to back Heisman winners, too.