10-10-2004, 09:46 AM
Quote:UAB hasn't done anything. You've beaten teams that range from pathetic to mediocre. The FSU/UAB game was humiliating because UAB simply doesn't have the athletes to compete with a team with the speed of FSU. Dan Burke is your tailback, and he ran for 20 yards on about as many carries against FSU's defense. Your offensive line deteriorated play after play in the face of the FSU defensive line. You talk about how much your team has done, but meating MSU is nothing to be proud of. Beating Cincinatti is nothing to be proud of, especially when it takes the last play of the game to do it. Beating LSU was something to be proud of. Beating FSU at FSU would have been something to be proud of. You say you almost beat Georgia last year, well Alabama was 4 plays away from a perfect season. But that doesn't mean ******, we went 4-7; we sucked.
That being said, I'll now say this. Is Alabama's recent history something to be proud of (besides 2001, when they won the SEC and went to a BCS bowl)? Absolutely not. I don't give a damn about beating Ole Miss or Kentucky. I care about beating Tennessee. I care about beating LSU. I care about beating Florida. I care about beating Georgia. I care about beating Auburn. You'll notice that every team I just listed is in the top 25, 2 of the in the top 5, and ALL of them in the SEC. Beating teams in C-USA is nothing to be proud of if you want to compete on a national level.
If UAB this year had Alabama's schedule last year playing against last year's teams, they'd be lucky to win 2 games. We played both teams who competed for the national championship (Oklahoma and LSU), Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss with Eli Manning, Arkansas, and Auburn. How can you expect any Alabama or Auburn fan to give you any credit with the kind of opponents you play, even if you win 9 or 10 games a year?
I replied with this........
Of course UAB isn't on the same level as FSU. We just simply aren't that good yet...period. But to sit there and say UAB is the same club team that it was back in 1988 just simply isn't the case. We have made leaps and bounds since then.
UA and Auburn have had AT LEAST over 50 years for their football programs to grow...and in the case of UA, over 100 years. How can you sit there and honestly expect UAB to play like Auburn is playing this year when UAB has only been in Division I-A play since 1996? It's just not going to happen.
No, UAB is not as good as Auburn, but they should be respected for what they have done inside their own conference, and with the talent they have been given. UAB has to compete with UA and Auburn for in-state recruits, so obviously, we never get the top of the line recruits.
I don't know if you pay attention to sports websites or the local newspapers here in Birmingham, but all of them have recognized the fact that UAB is simply better than Alabama this year. True, UA has A LOT more talent, but Croyle is no longer there to lead the time, and Shula is having a hard time organizing the talent for big wins. Paul Finebaum, one of the biggest UAB haters, actually admitted the other day that UAB would probably beat UA in a close game, assuming the game was at home for UAB and UAB played like they did against Baylor.
And you're definitely right about Kentucky and Cincinnati. UA beat Kentucky. Who cares? That's about the same level as UAB beating Cincinnati. Both teams suck, so there's nothing to be proud of.
MSU sucks this year as well, but whether they sucked or not, what matters is what's written on paper: UAB beat an SEC team. Period. There was a time when UAB didn't have a prayer againstt any SEC school, but the tide is turning, slowly but surely.
I know he will reply again, so can someone give me some fodder to use against him? :)