Let me start by saying, ROLL TIDE!

With that out of the way, I should disclose that any post on this website regarding Alabama football is written with a touch of bias. I am a huge Alabama Football fan, but also appreciate that these are kids (no offense, gentlemen) playing a game. However, Football is a massive part of life in college towns throughout the country, and being born and raised in New Mexico, I suppose I owe an explanation. My father, while not a college football fan himself, was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. His younger brother, with whom I spent an entire summer in my formidable years, is a huge Alabama Crimson Tide fan, and through his tutelage, I, too, have become a fan.

I’m a little different from your typical die-hard fan because I played football, albeit not very well, in high school (I’m little). I also try to be overly objective in every aspect of my life, and losing is part of the game. While I played football, baseball was my sport. I was an above-average player and began playing Little League Baseball at the T-Ball level. When I was around 11 or 12 years old, I decided it was time to move on from Little League, I didn’t understand (or agree) with the mentality of “everybody plays” anymore. We keep score because it’s a competition, and with the idea of competition in mind, you should always field your nine best players, period. Alas, in the spirit of “everyone gets a trophy” and “everyone is special,” this was not the case in Little League, and I was fed up. At the end of my “Minors” season, I made the decision I was going to tell my Dad (who was a SWAT officer) that I didn’t want to play Little League anymore. Many of the kids with whom I’d grown up playing ball had moved on to competitive baseball. Back then, it was “AABC,” or the American Amateur Baseball Congress.

It took me weeks to work up the courage to approach my Father, still nervous about his possible reaction. Much of my apprehension was anchored in the knowledge of the related costs of competitive ball. We were not poor by any means, but I knew we weren’t rich either. Finally, I just said, “to hell with it,” and said, “Dad, I don’t want to play Little League Baseball anymore. I want to play competitive baseball.” Much to my surprise, and relief, I saw a similar look of relief on his face. I found out much later in life that he, too, came to resent Little League Baseball. Even with a relentless work schedule as a member of the only full-time SWAT Team in the entire State, he found time to volunteer his time umpiring Little League games and had grown to hate the toxic parents as much as I’d grown to hate the ideology of Little League.

I was quickly signed up for a local AABC team, and we began to play. While my Little League teams had lost numerous games in my career, losses with the “Wildcats,” as we were known, just hit differently. We were an extremely talented group of young players. However, what I learned in my time as a Wildcat was losing was just as important, if not more so, than winning. The lessons from loss are something I believe we have been depriving our youth of for two decades now. While I believe my parents’ generation had good intentions with this ideology, those intentions were misplaced. The removal of competition from competitive activities only sets up our youth for utter disappointment as they grow and develop into young adults. The reality is that life is a series of competitions, some of which we lose and some we win.

Now, back to the topic at hand, Alabama Football. The Crimson Tide has been one of the most dominant programs over the last decade (and then some), but we’ve had a bit of an unusual season in 2022. According to 24/7 Sports, we’ve reached the “end of the Alabama Football Dynasty.” In my view, that’s a huge conclusion to hang on a single season during which we’ve lost two games. But what is the media if they are not drawing conclusions based on knee-jerk reactions to specific events?

Personally, I think that Nick Saban, who is arguably the greatest college football coach of all time, runs a program where losses are as important (if not more so) than wins. How a player responds to adversity after a loss directly speaks to their character as a human being and leader. Both attributes are paramount to their lives after college football. Coach Sabana knows that few of his players will continue their football career in the National Football League (NFL) and, thus, works to develop productive young men, not just football players. As I said earlier, life is a competition. For example, you graduate college and apply for a job. You’re competing for one job with one hundred or more applicants for the same position. Some of the applicants may be more qualified, on paper, for the position and may inevitably be selected over you. How do you respond? If you’ve known nothing but “winning” your entire life, this could devastate your self-confidence. However, if you’ve experienced loss and bounced back, you’re better equipped to move on to the next position.

My overall take for the season is that our offense is lackluster in its construction. Not nearly as much pre-snap movement as I’m used to seeing, bare-bones formations, and we have no receivers with breakaway speed and ball skills. Bryce Young will likely not win the Heisman for a second time, and we’re not likely to compete for the College Playoff National Championship this year, but that’s okay. The younger players will have felt and experienced true loss, for the first time in many cases, which can only work to empower and motivate the right ones. The rest will wither away into the abyss that is College Football. For now, I will continue to watch and support, with forthcoming layperson analyses for the remainder of the season.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!