Man has always been a class act and he bleeds crimson.
I remember when the Saints drafted him. He was doing well, but, if I remember right, they cut him because they thought he was too short.They're probably amazed that he was an All-American center. I think he weighed maybe 230.
He didn't sue the university. If I recall, Shula renamed the Sylvester Croom award to something else (since Croom was at Miss State). It was a dumb move and they later reversed it.I may be mixing him up with someone else. Didn't he sue the university or something demanding some award be named after him?
Speeches can motivate but they aren't the end all be all. Words can rile up emotions but like Coach Saban preached for decades, the "process" is the secret sauce. The issues we have been seeing aren't going to be fixed by Roll Tide Willie, Joe Namath, Croom, etc walking in and fire and brimstoning imo. It is imperative we continue to bring back legends to instill in our players the importance of putting on that jersey, but that is just one small piece to the puzzle. Considering we are doing a lot of recruiting nationally, having these guys come back are probably more important now than ever. Not to mention, it is good for our new staff members to see this. CKD probably had an idea when he took the job of what it meant to coach football at UofA, but until you really get here and have guys like Croom come back and show you how much it meant to them and still means to them, you really can't wrap your head around it completely.Love the message but it clearly did nothing to change the result from Saturday.
If CKD and staff didn't hear Croom speak with the passion he did and not realize the pride and enormous expectations that come when playing or coaching for Alabama, they never will. You could hear it in that mans voice how much it meant to him to be associated with the history of Alabama. It meant more to him than just a game. It was a part of his life.Speeches can motivate but they aren't the end all be all. Words can rile up emotions but like Coach Saban preached for decades, the "process" is the secret sauce. The issues we have been seeing aren't going to be fixed by Roll Tide Willie, Joe Namath, Croom, etc walking in and fire and brimstoning imo. It is imperative we continue to bring back legends to instill in our players the importance of putting on that jersey, but that is just one small piece to the puzzle. Considering we are doing a lot of recruiting nationally, having these guys come back are probably more important now than ever. Not to mention, it is good for our new staff members to see this. CKD probably had an idea when he took the job of what it meant to coach football at UofA, but until you really get here and have guys like Croom come back and show you how much it meant to them and still means to them, you really can't wrap your head around it completely.