The aforementioned line is an excerpt from the Crimson Tide's fight song which (believe this or not) is very well recognized across the country and is included because of Alabama's early tradition in Pasadena. It all began in 1925, when Alabama made the cross country trip with head coach Wallace Wade to play the heavily favored Washington Huskies. Bama won in come from behind fashion, 20-19, to capture the school's first of twelve national championships and shock many fans and media around the country. The Tide would make frequent trips to Pasadena and ended up making the most of their appearances by going 4-1-1 in games. Soon after, the Rose Bowl became more of a traditional matchup between the Pac-10 and Big 10, leaving SEC teams out of the equation.
A win in this year's Rose Bowl (technically BCS Championship game as the Rose Bowl is just the stadium venue) would do a few things for the Crimson Tide. It would clinch Bama's thirteenth national championship, put them back on the map as a dominant power in college football, prove to everyone that Nick Saban is well worth his $4 million dollar salary and give Tide fans a chance to be on top for the first time since 1992. The tradition in Tuscaloosa is second to none when it comes to college football. Fans gather and support through the good and the bad and love to recall the days of Bear Bryant when the program was constantly in the top five in the nation. The numerous traditions include but are not limited to tailgating on The Quad, RV parking and tailgating, the Walk of Champions, wearing houndstooth hats, the Elephant Stomp and more.
Tide fans are also well known for their travel abilities. The love for the men in crimson runs throughout the entire state. Good examples are from the years 2000 and 2002. Alabama had three games in those two seasons that required strenuous travel. The Tide visited the Rose Bowl for a season opening matchup against UCLA. With Bama as a preseason SEC favorite and ranked #3, the fan base brought 35,000 people all the way to Southern California. In 2002, Dennis Franchione took his team to Norman and Honolulu for games against Oklahoma an Hawaii. In the early season game against OU, Bama brought more RVs than the campus could hold and 5,000 more fans than any common Big 12 rival that visits Oklahoma. For the Hawai'i matchup, the crimson faithful came in masses for what was considered a consolation bowl experience because of the NCAA probation. Approximately 15,000 made the trip and witnessed a 21-16 victory.
At the end of 2006, Alabama football was in trouble. Mike Shula had just failed in his four years at The Capstone and the university was about to have to hire a fifth coach since the hiring of Dubose in 1997. The program had been irrelevant in national title discussions and even SEC title talk every year with the exception of one or two. The team and university needed someone to save the program before setting it back even farther behind elite competition. With the hiring of Nick Saban, the Tide landed the biggest coaching splash in quite some time with a man who could one day be looked at as admirably as Bear Bryant. In three short years, Nick Saban is 32-8 at Alabama, has recorded back to back undefeated regular seasons, won an SEC Championship and is now playing to be the first coach ever to win two national titles at two different universities. Bryant helped build Alabama to a power, Stallings maintained that power and now Saban has the program on the verge of resurrection. Bama has never beaten Texas (0-7-1) but will get a shot on January 7th. From 1925 to 2009, traditions have been made, coaches and players have become legends, fans have become obsessively involved and most importantly...championships have been won. It can all come full circle very soon as Alabama meets Texas at the Rose Bowl for the crystal ball and championship number thirteen. A win would mark a new chapter in the storied history of Alabama football...and bring that dead verse from the fight song back to full life.
January 7th - Pasadena, CA 8:00pm EST
#1 Alabama v. #2 Texas (BCS National Championship @ The Rose Bowl)
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