Biggest game of the year...until the next one

The Iron Bowl is almost here. The 365 day a year 24/7 battle for water cooler bragging rights will culminate with the two teams competing in the 74th installment of argueably the greatest rivalry in all of sports.

What happens in this game will delight the fans of the winners and haunt the fans of the losers until next year's game. Signs and shirts will be made, families will be divided, and Husbands and Wives will fight over what colors to dress their children in.

This game is Alabama's version of an annual civil war. No mercy. No prisoners.

What will this year bring? Will fans scream "Roll Tide" or "Roll Toomer's Corner"? 

My thoughts, you ask?

I expect to hear alot of screams of "Medic!!!" followed immediately with a hearty dose of "Hey Tigers, we just beat the hell out of you. Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer, give 'em hell Alabama!"

ROLL TIDE - BEAT AUBURN!

NOW BRING ON THE GATORS!

Alabama Football 2010 Schedule

Alabama Crimson Tide Football 2010

Date	Opponent	Event Location	Time
09/04/10	vs. San Jose State	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	TBA
09/11/10	vs. Penn State	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	TBA
09/18/10	at Duke	Durham, NC	TBA
09/25/10	at Arkansas *	Fayetteville, Ark.	TBA
10/02/10	vs. Florida *	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	TBA
10/09/10	at South Carolina *	Columbia, S.C.	TBA
10/16/10	vs. Mississippi *	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	TBA
10/23/10	at Tennessee *	Knoxville, Tenn.	TBA
11/06/10	at LSU *	Baton Rouge, La.	TBA
11/13/10	vs. Mississippi State *	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	TBA
11/20/10	vs. Georgia State	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	TBA
11/26/10	vs. Auburn *	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	TBA

Here's a little something to start off Iron Bowl Week

This is Auburn football....

• It is the 1/2 national championship in 113 years of playing football
• It is sharing a mascot with numerous junior high and pee-wee football teams
• It is the smile on Ben Leard's face after throwing an interception that lost the 1998 Virginia game
• It is the feeling of anticipation during the walk down Wire Road from your trailer to "The Jungle"
• It is having a cute little nickname like "The Jungle" for Jordan-Hare
• It is putting up a banner for losing the tie-breaker for the Western Division title
• It is throwing a parade for finishing second
• Again, it is throwing a parade for finishing second
• It is and always will be about "Keep it down home, cuz"
• It is about having a cute slogan like "AttitUde" or "AUdacity" in order to fire up your fans
• It is the hope that one day; Auburn will win a national title without sharing it or being on probation.
• It is knowing that if the Tigers finish second, it will be OK because they will throw a parade anyway
• It is living up to every stereotype about Auburn by letting the players ride on hay bails during that "victory" parade
• It is accepting the National Title from the only person who will give it to Auburn, a 16 year old kid with an AOL account
• It is Terry Bowden
• It is Eric Ramsey
• It is having a head coach who used to cook catfish for a living
• It is Napoleon Syndrome
• It is Little Brother Syndrome
• It is the Red Headed Step Child Syndrome
• It is believing 2 Heisman Trophies = 2 National Championships
• It is knowing that only one other school in the NCAA has been put on probation more times
• It is using Toilet Paper to celebrate a victory and wondering why the world treats Auburn like No. 2
• It is canceling the Florida State game a month before the season
• It is calling the 1989 Alabama game "The Mountain Top," instead of using that title for a championship game
• It is yelling "Punt Bama, Punt" 30 years after that chant outlived its cleverness
• It is the 1/2 national championship in 113 years of playing football
• It is having a runningback who couldn't pass a third grade English test
• It is constantly correcting people that Auburn is in Alabama, not Georgia
• It is drawing national attention as a barn burns down next to the stadium during the LSU game
• It is having a bovine research center less than a mile away from the football stadium
• It is the look on Terry Bowden's face as he's about to pass out at the Flora-Bama
• It is the plane ride to Louisville
• It's 13-0 =#2
• It is having the same amount of SEC championships as Georgia Tech, who left the SEC 40 years ago
• It is the probations
• It is the trailers
• It is the cows

Words to live by...

I have always loved this daily devotional that Bear Bryant carried in his wallet. I just thought I'd share it...

This is the beginning of a new day,
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is very important.
Because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever.
Leaving something in its place I have traded for it.
I want it to be gain, not loss – good not evil.
Success, not failure in order that
I shall not forget the price I paid for it.

Predictions

Here we sit on the 20th day of November 2009 and I believe Alabama is going to be this year's national champion.

This is a bold statement - I know.

Athough I do admit to wearing my crimson colored glasses on occasion, I don't beleive this is one of those times. I'm not a big 'stat' guy. I judge with my eyes and my gut feeling. Here's what I believe:

1) Auburn can't hang with us for four quarters. Our defense is way too good and fast for them and with their lack of depth it shouldn't be much of a game. Prediction:(BAMA 33- Barn 10)

2) Florida is a shell of the team they were the last two years. Tebow is wearing down and he doesn't seem to have the same fight in his eyes since the concussion. With their lack of serious weapons on offense our defense shuts them down easily. This becomes a huge statement game for the Tide. Prediction:(BAMA 31 - FL 14).

3) Texas is a nice team. Nice teams finish last. They won't really know what hit them with our size and speed. I think McCoy lets them hang around until early in the third, but in the end it isn't close to enough. Prediction: (BAMA 28 - TX 7).

Nick Saban gets his first of many National Championships @ BAMA.