YouTube Gold: What It Means To Beat Alabama In Football

We have to admit, Duke Hating has always seemed stupid.

Of course, we grew up with quite the opposite, spending a lot of time in Cameron and around campus. Hating Duke? Who would do that?

Obviously we didn’t grow up where Jalen Rose did, where he resented Duke because it represented things that may have seemed impossible to him as a teenager, or for that matter, Chris Carrawell or Jon Scheyer, who didn’t like Duke as kids either.

We understand why people might feel that way now of course. There are a lot of very different perspectives in the world and you have to consider more than just your own view through Duke Blue glasses.

But in case you have trouble understanding it still, we have two words for you: Alabama Football.

Nick Saban has built a brilliant program but Alabama’s history of greatness goes back to Wallace Wade in the 1920’s. It’s a hundred years of mostly successful football and people get sick of sustained success. When Duke was better-than-average, before it became elite, we might have felt the way Tennessee fans felt Saturday, because beating Alabama means a lot and perhaps more considering Tennessee’s tough recent past.

This video is just the end of the game, the highlights, but you get a sense of the high level of competition. Alabama had an interception that was called back and then missed a field goal to go up 52-49. Tennessee got the ball back with seconds to go and got in field goal position.

Afterwards, the fans tore the goalposts down and marched them through town.

Because beating Alabama in football, like beating Duke in basketball, means something.