Velociworld

What is this "Alabama" of which you speak? )

"Alabama" was The South's proxy for single combat against the Dark Forces of the North from 1958- 1982 C.E. Due to repeated incursions by meddlesome Northern Forces over the previous hundred years, the Dark Forces were considered second only to International Communism as enemies of The South.

Bear Bryant.
The only person ever to put the fear of God into
Joe Namath.

Dark forces of evil, my left nut. I was in the stands in Dec '75 and Jan '79 willing my enlightened Nittany Lions to gently explain the basics of power football to those country boys in crimson, alas to no avail.

My Bourbon Street crawling convinced me that Bama fans are the finest fans ever to follow a football team. I salute them as they attempt to crush the hated Gators and Dawgs, whose fans I have met in similar circumstances, and for whom I have nothing but contempt.

I also fart in the general direction of Nick Saban, for his destruction of the Dolphins. he seems a creep from the Rich Rodriguez school of coaching.

Heck, even I've heard of Bear Bryant.

Oh wait, I'm 46 years old. Never mind.

Dr. Kill,

I was in college in Connecticut in '75. My roommate was from Philly. I watched that game at his parents' house with a roomful of 30 Yankee Romanists who were convinced Joe Pa sent the Pope a playbook. If I hadn't reached third base with his sister later that night the evening would have been a total waste.

Sounds like a generation gap.

Don't feel bad, Andrea. I'm older than you. (And yes I remember the Bear.)

Everyone knows "Dawgs" attend the University of Washington pal. Beloved or otherwise.

Bear Bryant air dropped into Laos, taught the Hmong the Spread Offense, the Power I, and proper camouflage techniques, hitch hiked back to the Orange Bowl and kicked the shit outta Nebraska. And that was just 1965!

I was raised in a Huskers family, Dad was a Devaney devotee (never enamored of Tom Osborne for some reason), but there was grudging respect for Bear Bryant. But I thought the ass kicker was the Sugar Bowl. I wasn't into football, but in the fall life did tend to revolve around the television set.

Bear Bryant - wasn't he Yogi's sidekick?

That fucking Andy do have a way with words...God love him...

Heh, I get to enjoy the very same problem from time to time. We few lucky bastards...

Alabama was The South's proxy for single combat against the Dark Forces of the North for a damn sight before 1958. Wallace Wade kicked it off with a win over the heavily favored Washington Huskies in the 1926 Rose Bowl. Wade pulled in three national titles. Frank Thomas followed and won another two.

Plus, William B. Bankhead played for the Tide, and he later unleashed the one and only Tallulah Bankhead on the world. That has to count for something.

The Scandal-Plagued University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (SPUAT) is behind only Al-Queda, Iran, Andrew Sullivan, and NAMBLA as a locus of evil in the world.

SPUAT fans (aka bammers) are a collection of in-bred, gap-toothed,ignorant,unwashed, wife-beating, lowlife egg-sucking trailer trash.

Bryant was a genius at coaching football, but he was also a no-account cheating lowlife - a bammer through and through. The only good thing I can say about him is that Coach Shug Jordan liked the man.

War Damn Eagle and Go to Hell,Alabama, go to Hell!

Ahhh...nothing says "class" like the projection of an Auburn fan. Loathed by the Crimson Tide, UGA, and pretty much anyone else that doesn't cotton to having a tweaker elbow deep in your livestock once the sun goes down.

I know of the Bear. He's what learned Ozzie Newsome his Ozsome feetsbawl skizzles.

"Plus, William B. Bankhead played for the Tide, and he later unleashed the one and only Tallulah Bankhead on the world. That has to count for something."

OA, there's some synchronicity for you. Houston Steve and I spent a good portion of our time at breakfast today dissecting Miss Bankhead's interesting (and extremely promiscuous) life. "Unleashed" is not too strong a word.

My favorite Tallulah line? She was at a Catholic mass, and when the priest walked by swinging the incense she said "I love your drag, but your purse is on fire."

... no way, man..... Key really didn't know who The Bear was?....... good god....

Went to 'Bama in the early 80s so saw his last seasons. Bumped into him in the Northport Shoney's a few times on Sundays...relayed to him the exploits told to me by a teammate of his from college days (one was about gambling during a Mississippi River ferry crossing). I'll never forget the smile and non-denial (and non-confirmation).

Of course I grew up idolizing Shug Jordan too. "You're so right, Carl"...and my wife has no clue who either of them are. *sigh*

Good Lord. I can't believe Key didn't know who The Bear was. I thought all good Southern Girls did.

Hell, my Granddaddy is buried just down the way from The Bear. Every time we visit his gravesite, we go pay homeage to The Bear. It's the right thing to do...