I say "We the Bama fans", but I really mean me and others that think how I do.  I have been a little depressed this week.  I was upset over the loss to USC.  Then, I was still depressed after watching the Ole Miss game.  During the game, I was cussing and getting mad at the players, etc.  I was questioning the play calling, questioning the effort, and worse, i was questioning the coaching.  When, after the game, I had an epiphany.  I starting thinking about the last 10 years or so.....

I remember the summer before the 00' college football season.  I was extremely excited over our preseason #3 ranking.  We were a few months removed from winning the SEC and beating Florida twice in a season.  The first game of the season we played UCLA at the Rose Bowl, and if my memory serves me right, we took the opening kickoff back for a TD.  Ely's famous "Welcome to the Rose Bowl" line came from that run back.  After that it was downhill, and downhill fast.  One of the worst seasons in memory.  I believe we finished 3 and 8 that year.  We get rid of Dubose for..... Fran.  Fanchonine left us "holding the rope".  After Coach Fran came probation.  Mike Price embarrassed us.  The Shula years.... well, I liked Shula and was the only person at the end of the 06' season saying we should give him more time.  Those years were a very dark time.  A very, very dark time.  During those days, I prayed for winnning records so we could go to Shreveport.  And the Auburn games, UGH, the fingers going in the air.  Every year it got worse.  Tubby's sarcastic smirk, 'Fear the thumb", and crap like that.  It has a hard time as a Bama fan.  Fans were wearing paper bags on their heads at the games (which really ticked me off).  We rarely beat our biggest rivals: Tenn., LSU, Aub.,  What's more, we had more that our share of arrests also.  All the personal foul calls, arguing with the refs, eating chicken during the coaches postgame speech after an Auburn loss, etc. The players didn't respect the coach, and worse, they didn't repect the uniform they wore. 

Coach Saban has changed all the above.  We recently got to 6 wins (bowl eligible) and no one has even so much as mentioned it.  Look how far we come.  Moreover, when is the last time we had a player arrested?  I looking at you Georgia.  When has a player not been in exact step with Saban's preachings?  On Saturdays the players play clean, play to the wistle, and give it everything they got.  Rarely do you see one of our guys running the ball out of bounds.  That used to kill me during the dark times, when players, instead of taking a shot and getting the first down, pulled up short and ran out of bounds.  Furthermore, the players play very disciplined.  A few recent games not withstanding, the players are sound tackling, catching, and blocking.  We have a current win streak of : 2 over LSU, Florida, and Auburn,   3 (hopefully soon to be 4) over Tenn.  We have lost a total of 1 regular season game in 2 1/2 years.  If I was to have told you on December 1, 2006 that this would happen, most, if not all of you, would have taken it.  I certainly would have.

We have recently won a NC and have a chance to again this year.  We have the greatest coach in all of sports leading our team.  We have a coach that is dedicated and focused on football as much as we, the fans, are.  Is there problems with the team right now? Sure there are.  But is there anyone in the country that you would rather have to fix the problems than Saban? No way.  He will get the problems fixed.  And if he doesn't this year, I will not complain. We are now in the upper echilon of the SEC, if not the entire country.  That's not about to change anytime soon with Saban at the helm.  The players respect the coach and also respect their uniform.  They know what it means to wear that crimson color.  So, let's not boo the players or the coach.  Let's keep in mind how far we have come in such a short time.  Let's get some perspective. 

If not, we could always go back to the 2000s.

Their last recruiting class that beat Bama's in the Rivals recruiting rankings?  Well, it appears that Rivals updated their 2010 class rankings based on who actually enrolled (see USC), and the results.....  Auburn 6th, Alabama 5th.

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1121474

Not that it really means a hill of beans, but I remember all my Auburn buddies talking about how Chizik really handed to Saban on the recruiting trail.  It was all over talk radio and the papers. 

On another note, after reading Auburn's caption, it reminds me that, regardless of our affiliations with a particular school, we should keep Shon Coleman in our thoughts and prayers.