The Biggest Game in Our Lifetime? The 2009 SEC Championship

We have all heard them. The stories of legends past. The stories of Knute Rockne and the Four Horsemen. We know of Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard. We have heard the stories of Bud Wilkinson's Sooners.

If some of us are old enough, we may remember Bear Bryant's Alabama teams or John McKay's Trojans or maybe even Woody Hayes's Ohio State teams. These are college football icons. They have and will stand the test or time.

Have you ever wondered what it must've been like when those teams were in their hey day? Have you ever wished you could go back in time and see those teams play? How cool would it have been to watch the Army-Navy game and see Roger Staubach play or watch Auburn-Alabama with Joe Namath? Well wonder no more.

This Saturday, you will know what it's like. You will be watching Tim Tebow and the undefeated Florida Gators play the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 SEC Championship Game. This is, without a doubt, the biggest game in SEC football history.

And that is saying something. It's the second straight year these two have met in Atlanta to decide the SEC Champ. It's the second straight year both were ranked No. 1 and No. 2. It's the fourth straight year the winner of this game will play for the National Title. The winner is already three for three in those four years.

If Alabama wins, they will tie Notre Dame atop the all time college football programs with their eighth National Championship. They will have come all the way back to the days of the Bear. The days when 'Bama was always a contender. Nick Saban will have 'Bama back as the dominant team in the SEC west for the foreseeable future. A win this week could easily parlay into multiple SEC and BCS titles.

If Florida wins, they are already there. This senior class will have a chance to got to the BCS Championship Game at the Rose Bowl and become college football icons. It will give the Gators three titles in four years. This will put them forever in the conversations with the all time great teams.

Tim Tebow will forever be linked with the great names of the past. Forty years from now, Lord willing, if they are still playing college football in this country, Tebow's name will come up every time some great QB does something amazing. Florida's name will come up whenever a great team gets on a roll.

Big games in the future will be measured against this game. All SEC Title games will pale in comparison. Whenever some pretty good east team meets up with a pretty good west team in a fairly meaningful SEC Title Game, the announcers will say something like "It's big. It's not Florida Alabama Big. But it's Big." 

And you can turn to your grandkids and say "I know what game he's talking about. I saw it. It was the biggest game ever."