"Whoa, Nelly." "Oh my goodness." "Holy Cow". "How about that?" At some point during, and more especially after, the game on Monday evening in Miami you had to wonder what broadcasting superlative catch phrase was left to employ, as the 2012 edition of the Crimson Tide rolled over #1 Notre Dame the way a tractor trailer leaves road kill in its wake. Maybe it would be best to just skip the end of the list for Mr. Ledford's "hobnail boot on the throat".
Early in the season we read remarks from a writer who was all atwitter about the Oregon Ducks' exciting offense. He acknowledged that Alabama was effective, but said watching Alabama was about as exciting as watching someone being bludgeoned to death with a bag of nickels. We do wonder what he thinks on this particular Tuesday morning? Not that we actually care -- you can keep the flash and glitter, thanks, we'll take the confetti and the crystal footballs. We find that plenty exciting.
That was an excellent set of grades, Commissioner. We know you went through some trials to see the game and to complete the grades in such a prompt fashion. To have written so quickly and so eloquently is a tribute to your talent and dedication to duty. Because we find no room to quibble, even, about Monday's effort, we thought perhaps a description of some of the things we were privileged to witness might be of interest to readers who did not get the opportunity to go to the game.
A personal note: I don't really have such a thing as a "bucket list". It wouldn't be long if I did. In fact, I'm superstitious enough not to write one down, for fear of checking off everything and unintentionally pulling some sort of cosmic plug on myself. With that said, one of the things that I really wanted to do in my life was see Alabama win a National Championship in football in person. Opportunities have been fairly frequent lately, but life is fleeting and ask any Notre Dame fan who skipped out on the 1988 game, it can be a long time between even opportunities to win it all, much less actual wins. If we experience a 25-year drought in championship games, well, let's just say I feared I might have been a little long in the tooth to attend, or worse. So when an opportunity presented for this January, I took it. I am glad I did.
Here are some observations that might not have made the broadcast.
1. We generously estimate the crowd split was 60/40 in favor of Notre Dame at kickoff. We couldn't actually argue with anyone who said it was closer to 70/30. Their fans support their team, and good for them. Especially when you consider that Notre Dame has never had an undergraduate population of even 10,000 students. They are fiercely loyal and have high expectations.
2. I sat next to a Notre Dame fan from Pennsylvania. Big Mike. Very nice guy. Very knowledgeable football fan. Unlike some of the younger of their number, he was not "talking trash" or predicting the Notre Dame blowout as we heard from some outside the stadium. Big Mike agreed with the coaching staff's decision to defer after they won the toss and seemed pleased that we took the ball, thinking his defense would stuff our offense on the first series. On first down he celebrated. After second down he sat. After we scored he said, "I'm afraid this is going to get ugly." Big Mike left just after halftime, being unable to endure any more. He was not alone. Safe to say they did not think their D-line could be pushed around.
3. Lots of celebrities around on Monday. You all saw the former Alabama players on the sideline. Richardson made an appearance in a skybox not far from where we sat. He is treated like the star he is and was. A young man sitting near us went out to see him in the concourse just to tell him, "you are my favorite player ever." Richardson responded, "Well, thanks." Perhaps you get used to it. Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley sat just down the row from me, decked out in ND attire and completely incognito.
4. We have our share of eccentric fans. Many of you remember Shorty Price. Well, Mr. Price did not have the budget of some of our fans who are starting to compete for oddity with LSU. The guy in the crimson sombrero from the ladies' softball games has inspired followers who have gone with full crimson Spanish wear. We saw a zoot suit of crimson cloth that had a print that said "Roll Tide" in about 72-point font. However, first prize went to the fellow in a full replica #8 uniform, as Eli would say, "white pants with red piping", a shiny face shield, and (I am not making this up) a big championship belt like boxers and WWF wrestlers wear. We, uh, didn't speak to him.
5. The bowl had no clue how to capitalize on this event financially. Or maybe the constant references to Discover Card meant they didn't have to care. There were very few memorabilia sales outlets outside the stadium. Inside, they sold out of the souvenir programs (which were thicker than the Tuscaloosa phone directory) over an hour and a half before the game started. If we had bought advertising in it for radials, we'd be ticked off. By the beginning of the third quarter the fan shop looked like Whoville after the Grinch came through -- nothing but empty racks, wires and strings, well, and some Dolphin stuff that wasn't moving too well. However much they offered, they could have sold much more.
6. It was easy to tell the serious Notre Dame fans. They were concerned and wanted to talk about whether B. Jones could handle their noseguard Nix, whether our safeties could cover their very excellent tight end, and whether a hurry up offense which put Golson on the edges could spread and weaken the Alabama defense. The others were predicting Alabama would be run off the field through a combination of them "calling down the thunder", their superior talent, and how the legend of the Gipper was going to impact their team. We talked to more of the former than the latter. By midway in the second quarter, there really weren't many of the latter any more.
7. The announced attendance at 80,000+ and some must have been SRO. This is a good place to see a game. It is well-staffed and countless employees reminded us to enjoy the game. Traffic was not bad early going in, and by the time the Notre Dame fans had skipped the trophy presentation, getting out was not bad either. Buying upper deck tickets at Sun Life is very different from the same deal at BDS. The upper deck is really just a second level and comes very close to the field. They still call it the 400-level, but that's the only similarity. Food was as expensive as you'd expect. A hot dog, pretzel, and two drinks was $35.
8. We really think Notre Dame's team was very confident in its plan and ability going in; you could tell a pronounced difference in their posture and enthusiasm in the beginning of the game and the end of the first half, beginning of the second.
9. Giving the Alabama coaching staff that long to prepare for a game is a dangerous thing to do. The new playoff series will lessen that advantage, but the rumor is they even worked Christmas afternoon.
10. The perspective makes it awkward to know how big an issue it really was, but in the future, the blimp needs to move well away from the stadium before the Air Force parachute team makes its jump.
In conclusion, it may not sound like a compliment, but it is. This edition of the Crimson Tide is not as talented as last year's version. This is especially true on defense. It may not have been as talented as the 2009, or maybe even the 2010, squad. However, this team worked hard (if Nick Saban says you work hard, then you work hard), did not feel complacent or entitled, and won games in the trenches. All it turned out to be was a champion first of the SEC and then the Nation. We were privileged to see them one last time as they put their hobnail boot on someone's throat and bashed them with their bag of nickels.
Roll Tide, everyone. See you in August.
The Correspondent From The Tire Store
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