bama_fashion said:
Maybe i just missed it somewhere, but it really gets me that Tuberville hasn't even given BAMA the least bit of credit.
Why should he? While it might be nice to hear, he's not being paid to give wonderful, glowing praise to his cross-state rival. He's paid to put together a championship program. And when he hired Al Borges, he went a long way toward doing that. A lot of Auburn fans used to give me grief about whomever our coach was...saying "I don't like him because he said....whatever" or "He didnt say...whatever". My answer has always been the same. 'So what?' Coaches are hired to win football games...and thats all.
I don't expect sympathy from Coach Tuberville or any Auburn people and am not losing sleep over it. They know what they are up against, as do we. We've both seen these games blow up in our faces before. We've both come into these games nationally ranked and playing a non-ranked rival only to blunder along and watch the clock run down while our dreams and high hopes drift away.
Coach Tuberville and his staff have done a great job this season getting their team ready to play. They don't need advice from me. They know how to win football games. This weekend they will be going up against an opponent that is low on reserves and plagued with injuries. They know that Alabama will have to play an almost perfect ballgame (something i've never seen) to have a chance to win. They know we cannot go into that ballgame with a one-dimensional offense and will be forced to be creative with the play calling.
And you know what? The pressure is on them. In fact, one can (almost) pity poor Auburn. Most pigskin prognosticators in the state (and nation) literally hands this game to Auburn. And still their fans appear to be sweating bullets because they know that there is still a chance that they might have their national championship dreams of glory dismantled by an undermanned, injury-plagued and unranked Crimson Tide. Alabama otoh, has nothing to prove. Our fans know the circumstances our team has undergone. We
know we are undermanned and injury plagued. We
know we are going to a bowl game regardless of the outcome. We have nothing to lose...
not even pride at this point because if Auburn wins, well...they were supposed to! If Auburn loses, our boys will be hailed as giant slayers and Auburn will come off as the biggest jokes in the NCAA. Once again they will be known as a team that can't win the big one...can't handle success.
And so i don't actually expect or pine away for Tuberville to praise us. I do expect us to overcome adversity with class, dignity and pride in our own accomplishments. Regardless of the outcome of Saturday's game, the young men who CHOSE to come here and stay here are heroes precisely because of that adversity. I don't need a handout from coach Tuberville, David Housel or anyone down there.
Having said that, I would point out that I have heard Tuberville mention that this game will be a hard fought one on both sides. Though i am not allowed to quote him according to the rules here, I'll post a link to his comments about Alabama.
Tuberville praises Bama.
Paraphrased, he did say that Alabama has done a great job coaching, has had
tremendous setbacks of the kind no one would want to go through. He said we have done a great job turning our season around and getting the most we can from our players. He mentioned that we have the best defense in the country and that they will have their hands full. That we swarm to the ball and are very physical. And he said that we have one of the better defenses if not the best defense they will see this year. He also mentioned how Joe Kines, a friend of his, took some ridicule last year and how he (Joe) has now made a lot of people look silly this season.
I think Tuberville and all Auburn fans have a tremendous amount of respect for us. And dare i say, maybe a little fear?
Thats far more than I expected him to say and I give him credit.
