Alabama Crimson Tide: FanSided 250 rates Tide high but not high enough
By Ronald Evans
Fans of the Alabama Crimson Tide expect to be rated No. 1 in everything. See how close the Tide is to the top in the FanSided 250.
The Alabama Crimson Tide has a history of being No. 1 in football, gymnastics, men’s and women’s golf and softball. The football dominance alone drives such a passionate fanbase it once filled 101,000-plus, Bryant-Denny Stadium for a spring game.
Speaking of Bryant-Denny, it is already one of the top two or three college football venues. An in-progress $500 million facelift will make it clearly the best college stadium.
The Alabama Crimson Tide is blessed to have currently and in its past, the greatest two coaches in college football history. The campus is one of the most beautiful in the nation.
Beyond the gridiron, University of Alabama graduates have become Senators, a Supreme Court Justice, award-winning journalists and authors, Olympic gold medalists, world-renowned scientists, CEOs of international corporations, founders of non-profit digital media giants (Wikipedia) and national philanthropic organizations (Habitat for Humanity), military and U. S. foreign service leaders and film and television personalities.
From a modest-sized town in west Alabama, the University of Alabama has influenced a state and the nation. The school now attracts almost 60 percent of its students from outside the state of Alabama. Among the current 38,000-plus enrolled, to the multitudes of University of Alabama alumni, being an Alabama Crimson Tide fan is a shared passion.
Others may see Alabama Crimson Tide fandom expecting to always be viewed as No. 1 as delusional. They may be correct. It is understandable why so many outsiders label the core quality of Alabama Crimson Tide fans as arrogance. In that context, Alabama football fatigue can be understood and expected.
Our football arrogance is historical. It goes back to the 1926 Rose Bowl game. A downtrodden South, too often on the wrong side of history picked itself up after the Tide’s Rose Bowl upset of Washington. How much was the game celebrated outside the South? The Rose Bowl website recounts the several times the train carrying Crimson Tide players home had to stop for celebrations.
"In nearly every town the team’s train passed through on the way back to Tuscaloosa, Southerners saluted the Crimson Tide. In New Orleans, nearly 1,000 Tulane students held a rally at the train station."
Enough of history lessons. Crimson Tide arrogance is not so strong we can’t congratulate winners. Click the link below to see the universe of the hottest fandoms encompassing the worlds of sports and entertainment.
As far as the college category, where Alabama was No. 2 – congratulations to the No. 1 selection, the Clemson Tigers.
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Taking off our Crimson-colored glasses for a moment, and placing all of fandom in a proper context, the Alabama Crimson Tide did pretty well. Just not No. 1