Week 9 - LSU

Tide Fans –

This one hurts…this one really hurts. I apologize for the delay, but I honestly just now have the time and energy to write a post. New Orleans / Baton Rouge kicked my butt, and broke my heart. I have gone through all of the emotions in the past day and a half…anger, frustration, humiliation, and depression. Alabama football means so much to me, and I am just crushed right now at the fact that we will not repeat as National Champions, and more than likely have no chance to play for an SEC championship. Our destiny has taken a different path this year, but there is one thing I do know for certain…I am still very proud to be an Alabama fan! No discouraging loss will ever take that away from me, and I hope it never will any of you. Now is not the time to give up on our team…we must stay positive and finish the year strong. Everyone wants to see us down…everyone wants to see our fans bicker about this and that. I am not going to give them the satisfaction. I am going to remain focused on the remainder of our games, and continue to support our team just as I would if they were undefeated. Our team needs support now more than ever, so I ask that you remain positive, and look forward. We have some big games ahead, and can still make some noise…plus, how fun would it be to ruin Auburn’s dream season? No it’s no consolation for another championship season, but it sure would be fun!

I have so many stories from this little excursion to Tiger Stadium, but I will just address a few. I will start out by saying that LSU fans are crazy – I knew this, and was fully expecting it. It is usually kind of a “friendly” crazy if you will. I don’t know what it was on this trip, but wow…crazy is not a strong enough word. I saw things that were just downright disturbing, and at one point while walking through a “carnival” like tailgate area, was pretty sure I was having an out of body experience. Strange dances, weird music, ridiculous outfits, and things hanging from trees that people were drinking some sort of alcohol from. I literally felt like Will Ferrell in Old School when he shot himself with the tranquilizer dart…everything sort of moved slow motion as we walked through, and was just really weird. I really felt like saying…”Your crazy….you’re crazy man!” Thankfully we made our way through Sodom and Gomorrah relatively unscathed. We did enjoy some good Cajun cooking with another (more mature) group of LSU fans we encountered, so that was nice. They can be crazy…but some of them are really nice…until you lose to them. More on that later…

Sitting about 2 miles up in the steeply pitched upper deck of Death Valley we watched the game unfold. Maybe it looked different on TV, but it seemed our team just came out flat with no real fire. We had several opportunities to drive down the field and score points against LSU, but poor execution prevented this. Our defense actually held LSU, minus about 3 plays which is all they ended up needing. 3 busted coverage’s on our part made the difference. I felt like we could have still beaten them, but our offense was just sputtering, and the plays were not there. I really got tired of us trying to run up the gut after being shut down time and time again. Do we not have a toss sweep anymore?? I am not a coach, but it just seems we really needed to throw some different looks at them in the second half. It just felt as if we were handcuffed…we have the playmakers…let’s get them the ball! This type of game is so frustrating as a fan, because you know we have the ability to beat the other team, and somehow we just don’t execute or run the right plays and it is just painful to witness. We had plenty of opportunities to score, we just didn’t get it done, and made some stupid mistakes. Falling for the trick play on 4th and 1, and not holding them at the end on 3rd and 13 were the most disappointing. You can’t let that happen if you want to win the game!
I could go on and on about different things we could have done differently, but what is the point. We lost a game we should have won, and that is the most frustrating thing about it.

If you have never been to Tiger Stadium after a loss, let me tell…it is not fun. I warned my wife about this minutes before the game ended. LSU fans know how to party, but they do not know how to treat people after they win. Constant in your face chants of “Tiiiiiigah Bait”, and choice expletives were yelled at us as we made our way back to the car. Now, I know we have some sidewalk alumni that don’t know how to treat the opposing fans as well, but this was ridiculous. Every single group of LSU fans we passed on the way to the car were just downright crude. I don’t mind if they want to yell “Tiiiigah Bait” at me, but the language and crude other things that were said were just wrong…it was pure hatred. Again, I know we have our share of bad fans, but this was ridiculous! Learn how to win with some class – you won the game…have fun, party, celebrate, whatever…just don’t be complete asses to the people from the other team. I lost a lot of respect for LSU fans this weekend, and as a matter of fact…they can all “bleaux” me!

Now that I have that off my chest…looking forward. Again, I ask you not to give up on our team. Yes – losing sucks, and I hate it more than anyone…especially when we play poorly. You have to remember…this is a completely different team from last year. We have a very young defense, and our offense, while they still returned many starters, we lost a lot of key leadership guys, and I think this is making a difference – especially on the O line. Something is just not clicking right like it was last year…maybe it’s not having Mike Johnson, or maybe it’s not having Colin Peek to help out with run blocking. Whatever it is, it is effecting everything we do offensively. It all starts on the line, and we play as they play. I am not blaming anyone here, just think we are missing an intangible that we had last year. The defense is a completely different story – they are very young, and I believe have played about as well as they can – this defense will be very good next year, as they have had time to grow up. You have to take a step back and look at some of these areas objectively before you start just yelling “We suck, fire the coach, etc…” We had a lot of changes to the championship team, and we are seeing the effects.

Next week will be another tough test for us, as Mississippi State brings in a pretty solid team. Do not get all pissed and sell your tickets, and just give up – we need to support this team. I will be there, rain or shine, and I am going to be yelling my ass off. I love The Tide, and look forward to what we can still accomplish this season…let’s finish strong! It is hard to be a Tide fan after a loss like this past Saturday, but just step back and thank God that you are, because there is nothing better than being an Alabama Crimson Tide fan!

Until next week…Roll Tide!

Jason