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BamaRev

New Member
Jul 10, 2003
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Cullman, Alabama
I've been reading a little about people's take on Coach Shula and how much time he should be given etc....Just wanted to make a few comments...and they may make some of you mad. But here goes.

I'm 45 yrs old and have been a Bama Fan all my life. I remember the glory years under Coach Bryant. The times when we used to play 3-4 full squads a game. Blow-out wins and rare losses. I remember when Miami, FSU, Virginia Tech, etc, etc, were nobodies. Bama, Notre Dame, Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and a few others were the class of college football. Bama was truly respected and feared.

It hurts me to say this, but those days are gone. A lot of players today have no idea just how dominating Bama and Coach Bryant was. Most high school players today don't see Bama as one of the elites anymore. They are not knocking down the doors to come here. All a lot of them know is what they see on TV and in print (which is highly biased against the Tide).

The NCAA and Bama's rivals are taking full advantage of their opportunities to kick the Tide now that they are weakened. NCAA scholarship restrictions have changed the face of recruiting (we can no longer give scholarships to kids just to keep someone else from getting them). Coaches and teams that Bama destroyed on the field have had good memories and want to repay the favor any/all chances they get.

To think that we will rebuild the glory of this program in 1-2 years after two stints of probation, is (in my opinion) totally ...ludicrous! To think that a young man can come in and do it over night is not realistic.

NOW, do I think it can reach the days when we are truly feared and respected again? You better believe I do! But it will take time, special young men, and REAL support from us fans. Win or lose, I am a Bama Fan. Always have been, always will be.

I hate to lose, but I'm not into setting deadlines on this. We have a long climb back and it won't be easy. We have many enemies and many obstacles. I just don't want us to be like one writer penned.....

We have met the enemy...and it is us!

Roll Tide/God Bless
 
I agree with everything you have said. It hurts to think about what has happened to this program. But won't it be that much sweeter watching the Tide comeback? Because they will. It won't happen like it did with Coach Bryant. Times have changed. But its gonna happen, just ask any barner what he or she truly thinks. They know their fun time is coming to an end.
 
Pailful as it is Rev, I gotta agree with you. Some of our fans are making ridiculous predctions as if we're past the effects of the sanctions and are in for smooth sailing if we get lucky with injuries. They probably believe in the Tooth Fairy too.

We've just got too steep a hill to climb for us to expect anything spectacular for the next two seasons. We'll definitely be back, but not at the flip of a switch.
 
Well received Rev. Give me another 15 years on you. I came to Bama in Coach Bryant's second year and followed him through his career.
I remember a quote from a player inherited by Coach Bryant. He told me that Bear's freshman class beat them something like 35 to 6. What a difference in talent and especially the first year.
The talent is out there. I think Shula can sell himself and the University to those guys. My goodness! It took Coach Bryant four years.
 
Great post Rev. I can remember those glory days too. While kids today don't have the same understanding of how dominate Bama used to be as we do, they still have parents who do and to our good fortune many of those parents were great Bama players(Croyle, Castille, Wingo ect...).

Times change as has always been the case as I'm sure was the case from coach Wade and coach Thomas's day to coach Bryant's day.

But what makes Bama stick out above most is the fact that even after a decade or so of mediocrity a great coach always comes along and resurrects the Bama tradition of championships. And I fully expect the trend to continue. Maybe not as prolific as coach Bryant did, but at least on the scale of a coach Stallings.

I think a lot of the fans when they predict high expectations for Bama are for the most part wishfully hoping for a miracle, but in reality know the score. But the key figures to how this season turns out, the players, I would be willing to bet are thinking, expecting, and dreaming of a championship this year regardless of the odds and mountain to overcome. At least I hope they are. I doubt very many of the players are predicting a 6 and 5 or 5 and 6 season.

Is coach Shula the man to bring us back to the top? Time will tell.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!
 
I agree it will take time and Rome wasn't built in a season. But there are still some who want to come to Bama because of the tradition.....just a minority now-a-days.
 
I agree, Rev. It's not going to be 2 more years and Bama is vying for the NC. The sad fact of the matter is that with the probation and even before that when the NCAA (IMO) purposely left UA twisting in the wind, Bama lost A LOT of very good players to rival schools. Like Coach Bryant used to say regarding recruiting, you have to have chicken to make chicken salad. The Tide has missed out on many chickens in the last few years. Unless you want to sign 20 JUCO guys next year (and I don't), there's no way to re-stock in short time spans. It's going to take time. I hope we as Tide fans can show a little patience. I can.
 
i'm not paid to think!
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"you'd better pass" -Marty Lyons
 
Totally agree Rev and I've said so many times. This is a process that will take time and I for one and willing to give it to Coach Shula and the University. However, unfortunately there are too many fans out there who are not so forgiving and don't care what has happened...if we don't win, they'll be calling for his head!

Finally, I have listened to Finebaum a lot lately and almost every time a Bama fan calls in to talk about Shula, Paul says that if we have another year like last year he's gone. Frankly I don't believe that anything short of him cheating on Shari or something stupid like Arty's Angels will get him fired. He is our coach at least for another 3 to 4 years and people better just understand that!

By the way...I am 42 and remember those days well my friend! I can't tell you how long I wore my #22 Musso jersey growing up watching us dominate everybody! Those were good times and I believe we can once again see dominance, but it will take time.

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The Bus to our future is driven by Coach Mike Shula...Get on board or be left behind!

--Me
 
I disagree with you about Bama's status. Many football palyers I have talked to or read about in Florida, have mentioned Bama as a possiblity (this was before Shula). The only thing hurting Bama is the stigma of the probation, as many athletes did not want to go to Bama because of the uncertainty. Now that the cloud of sanctions and futher sanctions has passed, that stigma is no more. To a person, they know of Bama and it's tradition (after all, a player of the game is usually a student of the game). Before going overboard, remember Stallings won an average of 10 games per season, had Bama in a postion to win the NC twice, and able to win the SEC 4 times, all in 7 years (and one of those years Bama would have gone to the SECC game, if they had been allowed). Will Bama win SEC and NC again? Yes, and go to the SECC gmae on a regular basis. Nothing has really changed in the SEC. LSU has gotten a little better, but tell me what has really changed in the SEC that would prevent Bama from returning? Will it happen this year, maybe, maybe not, we did miss out on some great players, however in 3-4 years Bama should be back to normal.
 
We dug ourselves into a deep hole in the 90s. Tenn/NCAA dug that hole even deeper.

In short, it took 10-15 years of concerted effort to get us in our current hole. It'll take several years for us to climb out.

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"Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he had read made him mad." -- George Bernard Shaw
 
Great post Rev..I could not agree more
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"They have never rolled over one time, they just play hard. That’s a great characteristic to have, it’s pretty simple, but it’s true about our team.”
Coach Gottfried

!!!ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!
 
No matter how you look at it, whether Bama did it to themselves or the result of others making it happen, Bama has been pushed to the bottom of the barrell. There are still plenty of people out there that believe in Bama and the tradition/greatness they represent. But the point of the matter is, greatness/respect/level of play will take some time to establish again. I have no doubt Bama will come back. To the level of Bear, I doubt it. However, they will regain the respect of the football world.............it will take time and plenty of it. No great program is established over night nor should you expect it to. The notoriety that Bama has earned/deserved will be back, but the time frame will be several years.
 
I have no clue when we will have our next 10-win season, and I cannot predict how long it will take to become a perennial top-10 team again. I just want to point out something about the scholarship reductions. The following is a reply I made on another thread. It was in response to a statement to the effect that we "should be close to full strength" in 2006. Ironically, my reply fits this thread much better than the one I posted it to. Read it and tell me your thoughts.


As a point of information, 2006 is the year that we should be hurting the most with regard to the sanctions. I know this is unrelated to this thread, but anytime I see that type of comment I like to point out the facts so that we might not be guilty of rushing things.

The scholarship reductions mean there are classes that are short on players. This Fall, it will the true freshmen, the redshirt freshmen and the 3rd year sophomore classes that are short on players. In 2006, the classes that will be short will be the 3rd year sophomores, the 4th year juniors and the 5th year seniors.

Hopefully, in 2006, we will be benefiting from 3 really strong classes that Shula has brought in, but those guys will be true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and 3rd year sophomores. If those guys are the starters in 2006, we may be talented, but we will be very young and inexperienced, which is definitely a factor that impacts the win-loss column for many teams every season.

Not being disagreeable. Just like to let the facts speak for themselves.

-Sully

P.S. I am not suggesting that we will have results in 2006 that are worse than or similar to the 2003 season. There are obvious "other" factors which point toward the team getting better each year for the next few years. Again, I am just pointing out the facts about the NCAA sanctions.
 
I'll go ahead and add more food for thought.

Based on scholarship numbers alone, we should see a marginal decline in the on-the-field results each year through 2006. 2007 should be marginally better than '06, and so-on and so-forth until 2009, when there will be no classes with limited numbers.

2008 will be the first season that all the players on the team will have been recruited by Shula. However, the 5th year seniors on that team (which will be the true freshmen who redshirt this fall) will have come from a class that was short on scholarships and those guys watched the Franchione and Price episodes while in high school.

In other words, Shula's second class will likely be a better indication of his true recruiting abilities, thus 2009 will be the first time we can make a fair assessment of him as head coach.

In reality, will the BamaNation wait until 2009 to pass judgement? That's a dumb question.

I think all of that I just talked about is only one piece of a larger puzzle. Over the last several years, the overall program has been on shifting sand, with all the turnover, NCAA troubles, etc. What we will really notice as fans is, how quickly Shula is able to bring integrity, credibility and stability to the whole situation, as well as how quickly we become consistently competitive.

Now it is someone else's turn.

-Sully
 
Thanks everyone for the wonderful insights!

Sully,

Thanks to you too. When I mentioned NCAA scholarship restrictions, I was thinking more in terms of before the 85 scholly limit. When teams used to be able to offer scholarships based on the financial strength of their programs.

I remember Coach Bryant would give a kid a scholarship just to keep him from going to a rival school. Some of the hotshots never played much for us, but they sure didn't help another team hurt us. Those days are over.

That's another reason we have to be more realistic about the job at hand.

Thanks again everyone!

Roll Tide/God Bless
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by BamaSully:
I'll go ahead and add more food for thought.

"What we will really notice as fans is, how quickly Shula is able to bring integrity, credibility and stability to the whole situation, as well as how quickly we become consistently competitive."

-Sully</font>
Click to expand...

I believe coach Shula will bring those qualities to Bama and win. Something about his demeanor or maybe it's sincerity that makes me believe he will win and in time win big with class.

Momma's and pappa's will be begging him to sign their youngun's.

No coach in Bama's storied history has encountered as maligned a situation as coach Shula has and I for one will be patient and understanding. It may take a decade but I believe he's the man. If not, then I believe he is man enough to admit it and ask for change himself.

Coach Shula is a Bama man who's bloodlines are beyond reproach. If he is successful and we really want him as the head man then I don't see him ever leaving Bama for the love of money alone.

Only time will tell.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!
 
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