It's come to this, Alabama fans are tailgating outside of a new play based on Bear Bryant's life. Which is an improvement over what they would have been doing if Mike Shula was still coach, lighting themselves on fire with their red and white pom-pons in the parking lot. The play, entitled Bear Country, will be playing at Birmingham's Shakespeare Festival from August 6-20. It's already debuted to rave reviews and sellouts in Montgomery, Ala. In honor of the Bear, I decided that nothing would make more sense than a play about four fans tailgating before Bear's play begins. So here goes.
Characters:
Dale -- A 45-year old owner of an auto-body repair shop who fixes cars while wearing a houndstooth cap. His first child was named Bear, his second was named Bryant. He is now divorced.
The SEC coaches meetings rolled into Destin, Fla., this week, and Lane Kiffin washed ashore.
You know Kiffin, the man who brought a Molotov cocktail to the SEC tea party, the guy who coaches like tickets have to be sold for the latest WWE event. You halfway expect for him to enter press conferences wearing orange tights, grab the mike, scream invectives at his rivals, then spike the microphone, kiss his biceps, and leave without taking questions. Kiffin coaches college football like Vince McMahon helms the WWE, it's all about creating a buzz.
Dennis Dodd inked a quick little number this morning (gracias, Piler) about an inaccuracy in the BCS system that was recently revealed. Shocking, I know -- the BCS is, in fact, not absolutely, 100% perfect. (Please note I mean that as a sarcastic jab at the shoddy ranking system, not Mr. Dodd for being nitpicky.)
And, aside from just being fatally flawed in some sort of overall manner, it appears that the computer statistics for 2008 are all kinds of funked as well, at least according to Jerry Palm of CollegeBCS.com (pay site?).
Anyway, it turns out that Colley, Palm states, forgot to input two games this season -- Idaho at Hawaii and UC-Davis at San Diego. Idaho-Hawaii had no impact on the numbers. However, UC-Davis-San Diego did matter.
Palm says that the BCS got erroneous data from Colley this week. Hold onto your computers. It didn't matter in the BCS top 25 but that's not the point.
So, yeah, it might be lame of someone/anyone to harp on such a minor mistake in such an already obviously flawed system, but the more important point here is the general secrecy with which all of the BCS ranking systems operate. See, as Dodd points out, the Colley system is the only one whose formula is made public.
The Bear died in 1982, and ever since Alabama's been yearning for a sustained national presence. Sure there was that national championship victory over Miami, but overall the program's been plagued by inconsistency, scandal, sanction and the rise of the SEC.
A victory today over Georgia would perhaps put Alabama over the hump.
Then again, they were supposedly experiencing a renaissance just a few short years ago, opening 9-0 in 2005 before finishing at 10-2. Coach Mike Shula was gone the very next year. Nick Saban and his $32 million contract have been brought in to finally turn things around.
Have you found yourself in central Alabama, wanting to celebrate the rich tradition of the entire SEC, even the really lousy teams that nobody really likes, and unable to find an appropriate venue to do so? Sure, we all have. But fret not, because better days rapidly approach:
The Memphis real estate company creating Birmingham's entertainment district wants to build a tourist attraction devoted to the Southeastern Conference. The venue would include a merchandise store, restaurant and catering services and an interactive history of the SEC.
An "interactive history?" Think of the possibilities!
An exhibit where you, too, can block Greg Gantt's punts
The actual hobnailed boot used to break Tennessee's nose and crush their face
Plaster casts of The Orgeron's footprints, replete with claws
A copy of the petition filed by Kentucky in 1982 seeking all of Bear Bryant's Alabama titles to be retroactively awarded to Kentucky, on account of "we had him first." The measure failed 10-2, Auburn being the only school to join the Wildcats in voting "yea"
Tee Martin in an electrified cage
The article also mentions that the center would include "a restaurant and catering facility with Southern food," and we'll just go ahead and assume that the waitresses all run a sub-4.5. After all, what's the point of getting a pitcher of sweet tea if it isn't delivered with ESS EEE CEE SPEEEEEED?
Oh, and we'll be absolutely stunned if this place doesn't engender dozens of fistfights on a daily basis.
"Old School" is the College Football FanHouse's irregular look back at the rich history of college football, usually through the medium of embeddable flash video. Check out the Old School archive for more famous plays and infamous hair.
The Tide entered 1967 with enormous expectations after an undefeated1966 season that ended in outrage and disappointment. Ken Stabler returned; Alabama was outraged after Bryant's bid for a third straight national title ended in controversy. Voters awarded it to Notre Dame despite Ara Parseghian playing for a tie in the 1966 "Game of the Century" (of the year) against Michigan State. Cue the first stirrings of SEC paranoia.
Anyway, the stakes were high. Alabama fell flat with a devastating tie against a Florida State team that opened its season with a 20-point loss to Houston. Bear was a picture of composure in the aftermath:
No, the defense did not play particularly well. 'Bama would end up 8-2-1, though they would claim a national championship anyway.*
Sometimes the headlines on this site are humorous exaggerations of real life designed to elicit laughter. This is a comedy technique called "hyperbole," and it has not been used whatsoever in the construction of the above. No... seriously:
File this under "great moments in internet history."
Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles is expected to step down this week. His departure is yet another symbol of the passing of one of college football's greatest generations, the great coaches who presided over the game from 1960 or so until the mid to late 1970's. Broyles coached the Razorbacks from 1958 to 1976 helping them win a championship and competing nationally in a great era against powers like Alabama, USC, Notre Dame and Michigan.
Another giant of his time has left us in the mortal sense: Bo Schembechler. Schembechler coached Michigan from 1969 to 1989 becoming the face of the program until his death just before the Michigan/Ohio State game last year.
Among the magnificent but dead is Alabama's Bear Bryant (1958-1982) who retired at the end of the 1982 season and promptly checked out of mortal existence. Ohio State's Woody Hayes (1951-1978) hung around until his death in 1987. Nebraska's Bob Devaney (1962-1972) checked out in 1997 and USC's comedic John McKay (1960-1975) lasted a little longer, passing away in 2001.
All those giants left the coaching ranks long ago, but each stewarded elite programs for a decade or more. To this day most of them remain the standard for which current coaches aspire to at each of their programs. Schembechler's death and Broyles' departure signal the end of their collective direct involvement in the college game.
They are the ones who were the game's caretakes from the mid to late 1970's until the late 1980's, an era of great transition and upheaval due to parity measures such as scholarship limits, the completion of racial integration and the rapid and dramatic death of plodding, run-heavy conventional offenses such as USC's "Student Body Right/Student Body Left" approach.
We'll save that analysis for another day, another time. Until then it's one final embrace of perhaps college football's "greatest generation" of coaches. Thanks for the memories, fellas.
Living in Alabama, the Iron Bowl is never far from your mind. It's truly something that is talked about every day of the year. But recently the series has lost its luster. Why? Well, it's simple - Alabama is just not competitive anymore. Auburn has won four in a row and five of the last six.
During the Tigers run to an undefeated season in 2004, fans and coaches alike were worried about a letdown against Alabama in the season finale. The truth is, Alabama is the most overrated team and program in the country.
They are like that guy you went to high school with in the 1980's, who still wears his Member's Only jacket. The Tide Nation can't get over the fact that the Bear is really dead. Never mind that he's been gone for more than 20 years. Before every game they pay homage to him on the big stadium screen. Do they realize that today's players haven't a clue who he is or when he coached? Like an analysis on Fox Sports said recently, "Auburn is Alabama."
What he means is that Auburn's program is where Alabama's used to be. It's a sad commentary for the once proud program from Tuscaloosa. Here's an interesting fact: Since the turn of the 20th Century, Auburn has had 15 head coaches. Since 1983, Alabama has had eight.
Dennis Franchione left the Alabama head coaching job for Texas A&M. Would anyone have guessed 20 years ago that someone would leave Alabama for College Station? In fact, Bear Bryant left A&M for Tuscaloosa. My how times have changed.
Alabama is the most penalized program in the history of the NCAA. And their last run-in came within a whisker of getting them the dreaded death penalty. To finish my point, after the Mike Price debacle, Alabama could find no credible head coaches to even consider the job. Case in point, it settled for a "green" Mike Shula over another former Tide player, Sylvester Croom. That was the best they could do.
Meanwhile, in Auburn, the Tigers are chasing their second SEC Championship in three years and are in the hunt for the national championship. In case you missed it, Alabama had to come from behind to beat Vanderbilt on Saturday, 13-10. As the stadium PA announcer likes to scream, "This is Alabama Football."
It's come to this, Alabama fans are tailgating outside of a new play based on Bear Bryant's life. Which is an improvement over what they would have been doing if Mike Shula was still coach, lighting themselves on fire with their red and white pom-pons in the parking lot. The play, entitled Bear Country, will be playing at Birmingham's Shakespeare Festival from August 6-20. It's already debuted to rave reviews and sellouts in Montgomery, Ala. In honor of the Bear, I decided that nothing would make more sense than a play about four fans tailgating before Bear's play begins. So here goes. 
The SEC coaches meetings rolled into Destin, Fla., this week, and 
Dennis Dodd inked a 
The Bear died in 1982, and ever since Alabama's been yearning for a sustained national presence. Sure there was that national championship victory over Miami, but overall the program's been plagued by inconsistency, scandal, sanction and the rise of the SEC.
Have you found yourself in central Alabama, wanting to celebrate the rich tradition of the entire SEC, even the really lousy teams that nobody really likes, and unable to find an appropriate venue to do so? Sure, we all have. But fret not, because 
Arkansas Athletic Director 
Living in Alabama, the Iron Bowl is never far from your mind. It's truly something that is talked about every day of the year. But recently the series has lost its luster. Why? Well, it's simple - Alabama is just not competitive anymore. Auburn has won four in a row and five of the last six. 
