Alabama Football: Mercer should be seen as Auburn by the Tide

Alabama football doesn’t do itself any favors by thinking less of any opponent, let alone playing Mercer a week before the Iron Bowl against Auburn.

Do Alabama football fans want to win a championship or do they want to marvel in their own magnificence?

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The Mercer Bears bring their 5-5 record into Tuscaloosa to face the 10-0 Crimson Tide with only a 0.03% chance at an upset, according to ESPN. Stats LLC claimed that Alabama is taking “its usual late-season, nonconference breather before the Iron Bowl.” In fact, ESPN’s statistics does not even cover any numbers for the Mercer season leaders, as if the comparison is a futile effort. An Alabama victory seems inevitable.

Yet, should that even matter?

It wasn’t too long ago that Alabama football was a shell of its former self. Before 2007, the former powerhouse of college football was simply languishing in mediocrity. The days of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant were gone. Besides a boost from having Gene Stallings as head coach, there wasn’t much happening on the field to suggest that the Crimson Tide were anything more than a fading memory of football glory.

Four years of Mike Shula (26-23 record) almost confirmed the Crimson Tide deceased. At the time, athletic director Mal Moore was so desperate to find a top head coach that he flew to Nick Saban’s house to practically beg him to come to Alabama.

Even with Saban, it wasn’t a complete turnaround. Saban’s Crimson Tide went 7-6 in his first season.

Every football program has its ups and downs. Some more than others. However, to disrespect another program because of their record does nothing but show vanity and narcissism.

Anyone think Mercer cares what happens today? Do you think they’re scared? Heck, no.

They already went into Auburn’s home stadium and kept them to 10 points in the first half, this season. The Bears only allowed another touchdown per quarter in the second half. Sure, they lost 24-10, but they won respect for themselves when they saw dejected Auburn Tigers fans watching the game. Auburn expected a blowout that didn’t happen.

Chuck Culpepper of The Washington Post reported Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb’s comments after the Auburn game: “When you play in a game like that, you try to stay as close as you can for as long as you can. Because there’s no pressure on you. All the pressure’s on the other team.”

Does that sound like a head coach feeling the heat? Why should he? Lamb and his players have nothing to lose, and they get to play against the best team in the country on television in legendary Bryant-Denny Stadium. This will be Mercer’s national championship game, but the prize will be their pride instead of a trophy.

In the end, that’s all that football should mean: pride.

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Playoff rankings be damned. There are plenty of programs over the decades who have legitimate beef that they should have been playing for a national championship. Alabama has been one of them over the years.

Besides, Mercer is filled with young men who deserve respect, just like the young men who played for Alabama when a national championship seemed like only a dream. The current Crimson Tide should remember that.

No man or woman should ever take for granted what they have. The way that Alabama football needs to show that appreciation is to play against Mercer as if it is the Iron Bowl. The ‘rat poison’ of the media and the fans isn’t likely to cause an Alabama upset; however, treating Mercer lightly doesn’t prepare them for the game against Auburn, either.

Alabama football should never see the competition any differently, except in game strategy. When it comes to toughness and effort, the Crimson Tide should see every Mercer Bear as an Auburn Tiger: a player who needs to be defeated, each and every play, regardless of the scoreboard. It takes discipline and commitment to stick to that philosophy during the game against any opponent.

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To steal a line from Canadian rapper Drake, the Tide started from the bottom and now they’re here. Alabama knows what it’s like being Mercer, so they need to be the champions that they are by treating Mercer like any other opponent. A real champion shows what it means to be on top of the mountain to any and all challengers, because that’s how to show respect to where one came from and to the game they love so much.

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