Tomorrow is finally the day. The day that the whole LSU football nation has been waiting for since January 3, 2007. The day that Nick Saban, former LSU head coach, announced his return to college football as the head coach of Alabama. Here is a brief overview of how this came to be.
In 1999? (maybe 2000), Nick Saban was in his first year as head coach here at LSU. He took over a program that was struggling, and began turning the program around. Fast. In 2003, he took the team to the BCS National Championship game and won. This gave LSU our first football National Championship since 1958. The championship game was held on January 4, 2004. On January 4, 2005, exactly one year after that game, Nick Saban was announced as the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. While Tiger fans were disappointed at his departure, many understood that he was moving to a different level. When the Dolphins played the Saints during the 2005 season, the game was held in Tiger Stadium due to Hurricane Katrina. Saban was warmly recieved back "home." During the 2006 season, Alabama fired their head coach and began looking for a highly qualified coach who could win championships. Many rumors were circulating all over the place that Nick Saban was at the top of the list. In a mid-December press conference, Saban denied all rumors that he was considering the coaching job at Alabama. He said he was not going to leave the Dolphins. However, on January 3, 2007, the day that LSU played Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, Nick Saban was announced as the new head coach at Alabama. Thats when the whole of the Tiger Nation turned on Saban. He lied about leaving LSU for the Dolphins, and then he lied about returning to Alabama. Alabama is another SEC school, and not only that, they are also an SEC West school, meaning LSU plays them every single year. This game has been highly anticipated since that day. Tomorrow will be his first time back in Tiger Stadium "Death Valley" since becoming head coach at Alabama.
This game and the return of Nick Saban has been one of the, if not THE most talked about sports story this week. Every day there are articles about the game, tv stories about the game, everything. More than anything else in the sports world. Also, College Gameday, the Saturday morning college sports show on ESPN is being broadcast from the LSU Campus. Also, to make it even better, Alabama is ranked #1 in all the polls for the first time (this is the first week they're ranked #1) in a long time. They are 9-0 and looking towards and SEC championship and a possible BCS National Championship. Tiger fans here at LSU would love nothing more than to see all that go by the wayside thanks to a loss to our beloved Fighting Tigers in Death Valley.
I have been looking forward to this game for such a long time. This is the single game that I have been anticipating this season. The atmosphere is going to be incredibly electric. Record attendance is expected as a possibility. There is going to be additional securty around the Alabama team (for obvious reasons, fans hatred of Saban). My only gripe is that thanks to CBS the game is at 2:30. In the afternoon. This is going to be an extremely eciting game. I can't wait until kickoff in 23 hours and 37 minutes. It's going to be fun...
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4 comments:
I always like underdogs and upsets, so I'll have several reasons to cheer for the Tigers tomorrow. You band people better do your part to inspire the team and the fans.
Enjoy all the hype and buzz. They have the chance to take a number one down. The question outstanding is what LSU team will show up?
At the end of the day, either you or Zeke will have bragging rights over the other. (for the outside reader, Zeke is one of Josh's best friends and he is in the Alabama band that will also be at the game).
While we did not see you specifically, we caught a glimps of the gold section of Bengle Band in the background. We heard your group pumping up the crowd. You guys sounded great and the crowd really got into your pep music.
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