I am the first to admit that I am HORRIBLE at predictions, but this is one that I feel pretty safe making…. There is no way that Lane Kiffen goes unscathed into the annals of College Football Happy Land!!
He has left an unsightly ring on grandma’s antique coffee table in every living room he’s ever visited. He immediately insulted his coaching peers in the SEC after his hiring and continued to show no respect for his conference and commissioner. Al Davis fired him and had some unkind words to say-I know, consider the source, but he may be smarter than we thought. Norm Chow demanded an apology before even discussing the USC Offensive Coordinator position. He associates himself with characters like Ed Ogeron who knows no bounds when trying to get a recruit on the roster and who BRAGS about recruiting players who are “no angels” . And, he gets “play time” with stand-up citizens like Lil’Wayne.
I think UT is at fault for hiring him. I don’t fault him for leaving for a better job, but how could Mike Garrett think that he’d do anything at SC that deviates from the trail he’s already left?
My Southern Baptist grandmother’s “southernisms” apply here: “Be sure you sins will find you out” and “Pretty is, as Pretty does”…..
Charlsa: I really do not know much about what you posted, but I have a question for you that was passed on to me (kinda lateral)Why is the team known as “Crimson Tide”? Where did the Crimson originate? Just jersey colors? Why not some other one? Anyways I was hoping you knew some history behind the naming of our National Champions.
Thanks
Sue
Hey Sue,
I checked my facts on this one since much of what I’ve heard before is foggy. Here is what I found:
Early accounts of the U of A football team, refer to them as the “varsity” or the “Crimson White.” Another popular nickname was the “Thin Red Line,” which was used until 1906. Hugh Roberts, a sports writer in Birmingham is often given credit for the name, “Crimson Tide” as he described the 1907 Auburn/Alabama game. Apparently, it was very rainy that day and the Alabama red clay turned to mud. Although Auburn was heavily favored, Alabama held them to a 6-6 tie, thus graduating to their newfound nickname, The Crimson Tide.
The elephant’s association with the University has 2 stories. In 1930, Wallace Wade was the head coach. He put in the 2nd string to start the game for the first quarter. In the 2nd Quarter, he sent in the starters. Officially, after the 1930 game with Ole Miss, the Atlanta Journal writer, E. Strupper wrote:
“At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble; there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, ‘Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,’ and out stamped this Alabama varsity. It was the first time that I had seen it and the size of the entire eleven nearly knocked me cold, men that I had seen play last year looking like they had nearly doubled in size.”
Sports writers continued to refer to Alabama as the “Red Elephants” afterwards, referring to their crimson jerseys. The 1930 team shut out eight of ten opponents, allowing a total of only 13 points all season. The “Red Elephants” rolled up 217 points that season, including a victory in the Rose Bowl over Washington State.
Another account says that the Rosenberger’s Birmingham Trunk Company had an elephant logo on its luggage that the team used to travel to the Rose Bowl in 1930. The luggage company’s trademark was a red elephant standing on a trunk. Reporters in Pasadena saw this logo when the team arrived and coined the phrase by associating the player’s large size with the elephants on their luggage.
It wasn’t until 1979 that the elephant became officially the mascot and symbol of the team and of course today, the mascot is known as “Big Al.”