Whether I know you personally or just happen to watch you on television or read something about you, if you have wronged me or mine, there is no coming back. Last week, Tim Tebow crossed the line, and I'm calling him out for it.
Alabama and football are synonymous. Gameday is sacred here, and when you look in the stands before kickoff, it's a wall of crimson that greets you. Recently, come halftime, some of the stands are not overflowing the way they once were, and Coach Nick Saban stated in a recent press conference his disappointment in the student section during the past several home football games held in Bryant-Denny. Saban said, "There's got to be a spirit that makes it special to play here because that's what makes it special to be here." His heart is in the right place, and Saban has standing. He is one of us. However, Tim Tebow felt he needed to chime in, as his opinion mattered, and he overstepped into the crimson territory.
Tebow didn't just side with Saban, he went on to insult the Crimson Tide by saying how "entitled" Alabama fans are, and that's where it started to get ugly. The SEC sportscaster said "Listen, as a student, you've done nothing to win all these titles, OK? You spend a little bit of your daddy's money to show up at a game and to go to school there. You say you're the best fans in college football. Well, you need to show up."
While some might recognize Tebow as a former NFL player, or recognize him as the pretty face of the SEC Network, or even know him as the less than suitable replacement for Neil Patrick Harris on Disney's Christmas Day Parade, I'm sorry to say, Tim Tebow, you are a washed up Heisman winner and National Championship Quarterback from almost a decade ago. Alabama students are diehard fans, but you can't hate a student body for leaving when they already know the outcome. We might expect the titles and the championships, just like the university expects the best from its students, we expect the best from our team, and we love them for it.
So Mr. Tebow, when you really think about it, if it wasn't for our "daddy's" money pouring into the university in the first place, there wouldn't be a stepping stone for our incredible football team. The football program generates a lot of money for the university, but so do the students. The student body isn't acting entitled, we are just being human because we are frustrated with the opposing teams, and we become bored out of our minds. I'm sorry if I don't want to stay for the second half of the game baking in the sweltering hot upper bowl at noon when the score is 50-0. It is unrealistic.
There are so many reasons why Alabama students don't want to stay for the entire game, but probably the most significant is most teams in the SEC stink. Yes, I said it, because it is true. Growing up in an area and in a family who has roots in the BIG TEN, I can see the difference. While all the teams aren't the best up North, at least there is some competition on a weekly basis. Every single game this season at Alabama has been a blowout, which is great because we all want a winning team. However, the best part of football games is being on the edge of your seat and not knowing who is going to win. Lafayette wasn't cutting it, neither was Arkansas. Look at games like Penn State versus Ohio State. The score was so close, it made fans want to stay. Trust me, I want to stay. I love football, but a mercy is a mercy, and who wants to stay for a bloodbath?
Remember Tebow, Saban is one of us, so he can comment. You are not. Mr. Tebow, you are not a member of the Crimson Tide. You could have been a part of our Family, but you chose to wear Florida's jersey over Alabama's, so until you are one of us, keep your snide, insulting, and condescending comments to yourself. Roll Tide!