** This thread discusses the Content article: An Alabama Crimson Tide Fan's SEC Preview **

With the college football season rapidly approaching, Gatorsfirst.com is presenting a different take on the 2009 season every day for the entire month of August. We call it our ''Full Month of College Football Previews''. As part of the project, we are having fellow bloggers and other college football personalities from around the SEC and the rest of the nation give us their take on the current state of college football. This approach will allow us to bring you a much more in-depth look at the 2009 season than we could possibly provide on our own.


[/quote]
The next in this series is an interview with lifelong Alabama fan, Tony Orlando of Alabama Gameday to serve as a preview of the upcoming Crimson Tide season. We checked in with Tony to get the current state of the Crimson Tide, and to get his opinions on the BCS, polls, Nick Saban, and the expansion of the SEC.[/quote]
[/quote]

Gatorsfirst (G1): How did you become a fan of your team?




[/quote]
Tony, AlabamaGameDay (AGD): It’s impossible to grow up in Alabama without being influenced by the Tide, even if you hate them. Having grown up in the era of Bear Bryant, my memories are of crisp autumn days listening to John Forney calling the games, while the man in houndstooth stalked the sidelines.[/quote]
[/quote]
I’ve followed the Tide through championship seasons, and through years of failure. But never for one moment did the fans doubt that one day, Alabama would be back on top. It's almost a law of Nature. The Tide are part of the conversation again, and it has made all the years of aimlessness worthwhile. [/quote]
[/quote]
I’ve worn Tide clothing in locales as far apart as Miami, Florida and Dublin, Ireland. In both places, and dozens in between, I’ve been greeted with a hearty “Roll Tide!” by fellow fans. While I’m sure fans of many schools can say the same, it’s the shared culture – both good and bad – as well as the team itself, that brings Alabama fans together.[/quote]
[/quote]
(G1): Describe the gameday atmosphere.[/quote]
[/quote]
(AGD): Autumn Saturdays in Tuscaloosa must be seen to be believed. Fans arrive days in advance, parking RVs in every available spot, creating a crimson campground for miles in all directions. Food and drink are everywhere, and fans of all stripes converge to celebrate the team.[/quote]
[/quote]
Tens of thousands of people flood onto the Quad for tailgating parties that start at daybreak and last until Sunday. Casual fans in t-shirts and shorts mingle with Greeks in blazers and co-eds in sundresses, everyone high on Tide football.[/quote]
[/quote]
As game time draws near, the 90,000 or so with tickets head to the stadium, where the party resumes until the final gun. After serenading the vanquished foe with a round of “Rammer Jammer,” it’s back outside to pick things up where they left off.[/quote]
[/quote]
(G1): Give me some thoughts on your coaching staff. Are you satisfied? Do you wish your team ran different schemes? How is recruiting?[/quote]
[/quote]
(AGD): To say Alabama fans are ecstatic about Nick Saban is an understatement. People are naming their babies after this guy. Two top recruiting classes in a row, one undefeated regular season and a thrashing of Auburn has Saban in complete control of the program.[/quote]
[/quote]
Saban is a defensive-minded coach, and it shows. The 2009 version of the Tide should be stingy with points, and frustrating for opposing quarterbacks. Offensively, the team continues to improve, and may actually be helped by John Parker Wilson’s graduation. In all, the Tide is one of the favorites to win the SEC West this year, and is hoping for a rematch with the Gators in Atlanta.[/quote]
[/quote]
(G1): What do you think about conference title games? Was it a good idea to add to 12? Would you change something about the conference?[/quote]
[/quote]
(AGD): Having a title game is great in terms of exposure on a national level, and it avoids messy tiebreakers. The SEC is, top to bottom, the nation’s toughest conference, and a team that gets to Atlanta and wins the SEC title is, in most years, in the hunt for the national championship.[/quote]
[/quote]
To truly be a power conference, he SEC should dump Vanderbilt and possibly South Carolina, and pick up Georgia Tech and FSU, assuming the ‘Noles could get through a single season without some type of NCAA violation.[/quote]
[/quote]
(G1): How much did you like the bowl system pre-BCS? As a fan, how much do you concentrate on 'National Championships'? Has this changed in the last decade or so?[/quote]
[/quote]
(AGD): For Alabama fans, winning the national title takes care of all the other goals along the way. That’s really the only goal for the team, and Tide fans expect to be in the hunt every year. Those lofty expectations are sometimes unwarranted, but since the era of Bryant, Alabama fans have approached each season with an eye toward the big prize.[/quote]
[/quote]
I love the old-school bowl system, and the controversy it sometimes created. The BCS still has some of that, and while it doesn’t create a true national champ the way a playoff would, part of the fun of college football is insisting on your team’s superiority in the face of all contrary evidence.[/quote]
[/quote]
(G1): Are the polls a good idea in the first place? Should they play a role in determining a 'National Champion'?[/quote]
[/quote]
(AGD): Polls are fine, and the controversy they create is part of the fun. But we shouldn’t assume polls are an unbiased, scientific way to create a true national champ.[/quote]
[/quote]
College football is a caste system. At the top are the Alabamas, Floridas and Notre Dames; schools that are major football powers, have lots of money, and are allowed to pursue the national championship. On the lower level are the small and mid-level schools that sometimes throw up a Cinderella team, and are mostly shut out by the system. As long as you recognize this, then there’s no sense that anyone is being left out; there is simply a portion of Division 1 schools that are not allowed to compete for the national title. [/quote]
[/quote]
The polls recognize this, and tend to leave out the schools that can’t compete. Most of this is a money situation; if UAB goes undefeated, is ranked #1 and plays in a major bowl, ratings will plummet. Therefore, don’t expect a true, all-inclusive poll anytime soon. [/quote]
[/quote]
[/quote]