My Day at a Crimson Tide Game

Some months ago my brother phoned me and said, "Would you like to see Alabama play Kentucky on Saturday, October 4?" I didn't have to think about it at all. And I didn't know then that I would see two undefeated teams play in a nationally televised game (2:30 p.m. CDT, CBS) if I said "Yes." Sure glad I could say yes and I am even more glad now that I am going to see a great college game in a great place, Bryant-Denny Stadium. (I lived across from the press box in 1968 and still recall where I was standing, looking at the stadium, when my roommate said, "Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis!")

At the time my brother called a few months ago I wasn't convinced that Alabama would be this good this season, but I knew they had recruited well and had some juniors and seniors who were now ready to really play for Coach Saban.
This would finally be "Saban's team" and thus his skills as a truly great coach would begin to surface after a tough first season. But even the most optimistic Alabama fan would never have dreamed of being 5-0 right now, along with a number two ranking in the AP poll. This could be a dream season but it is not time to think about it too much right now, not with the game today and then with Ole Miss and Auburn coming to town and then road games at Tennessee and LSU. Hey, Alabama has a two-game losing streak to Mississippi State so we had better hold off the celebration for a few weeks.

I have written before about college players losing the concentration and believing their press. After beating Georgia at Athens last Saturday evening, I am excited but not over-confident.
I am quite sure Kentucky can beat Alabama today. I am also quite sure that I will enjoy seeing the Tide play as much as anyone in the stands, especially if they beat the Wildcats. (If all goes well I shall see Alabama play again on November 15 against Mississippi State.) Alabama is a heavy favorite this afternoon but that means little in the highly competitive SEC.

Saban said this well in his press conference on Monday following the Georgia victory: "It us up to the players and the staff and human nature, and overcoming
being satisfied with what you have done up to this point. When you get
satisfied and fall in love with yourself, you get complacent, you lose
your desire, you don't prepare, and you don't have the mental intensity
that you need to perform well." This comment is universally applicable, thus one of those areas where football mirrors all of life.

Win or lose I will enjoy being back home for a few days and seeing my brother and my team. Roll Tide! I needed a weekend off and nothing could be better than a football trip to Tuscaloosa. Game day is filled with excitement and fun. You would have to be there to believe it but real college fans know what I am talking about, especially fans in the SEC.