Back to the Basics: Alabama Prepares for a Shot at the National Championship

Alabama fans should not crown the 2009 Crimson Tide football team National Champions at this point in the season, as many pundits and so-called experts have suggested.

The University of Texas football team is a more than worthy opponent. The Longhorns, too, are undefeated, highly ranked, and properly focused. They are the Big 12 Conference Champions.

All the recent chatter of which conference is best and who should and should not have received this or that award is idle chit-chat. But when the pigskin takes flight at kickoff on Jan. 7, it won't matter what has been written or who said what. The only thing that will matter is what gets done on the field of play in that moment.

The Longhorns take note that Mark Ingram won the Heisman Trophy. The Men in Crimson likewise respect Colt McCoy as one of the most prolific passers and rushers in college football history. He is regarded as one of the most decorated athletes in college sports. At game time, it will fade into a Crimson and Orange clash. 

Until then, it will be discussed ad-nauseum. Prior to game time, the television commentators will bring it up over and over again. They will regurgitate everything that has been said leading up to the event.

Even the slightest hint of controversy, sensationalism, or antagonism toward a coach or player on the field will be reviewed for the television and radio audiences. It won't matter how they set the stage, how dramatic the entrance is to the field by either team, or how loud the fans are on either side of the Rose Bowl.

What will matter is how well the teams have prepared for the collective battle of wills. How focused each player is in that moment. How the team will respond in the Coliseum against an opponent who desires to dominate you from start until finish and shatter your dreams.

Keep in mind, these are young men ranging from 18 to 23 years of age. Although they have been battle tested through a full season and conference championship, they have not played in a game of this magnitude. For some, this is the one shot they have worked for throughout their entire life. Consider that for just one minute.

Coaches will have to prepare a game plan that is flexible enough to adapt to schemes they have not seen the opposition lined up in during the regular season. They will get new looks from the opponent. They will also be tested on how well they have prepared to handle what the adversary has done with precision in prior contests.

This game is for the National Title, the Coaches Trophy. If your team is not prepared, as a coach you are exposed to a nationally televised audience as a buffoon, in one of the grandest events in sports entertainment for the entire year. As a player, you will not want to enter this battle unwary. It would be foolish; a grievous mistake.

Since the end of the conference championships, the teams have retreated from the field of play following hard fought successful title wins. After a season long successful campaign, the teams collectively have faded into the background.

Some of the individual players have stepped into the regional and national spotlights to receive a few coveted awards.

In some ways, there has been a softening of the athlete's disposition, a retreat from battle and a time to reflect on what has been accomplished. There has been time to privately take satisfaction in a job well done as an individual and as a teammate. It is a very dangerous place to be when such a large prize has yet to be captured.

Resting in high class hotels, sleeping late, rubbing shoulders with giants of the past, eating fancy five course meals, and finally receiving the smiles and gratifying pats on the back from the head coach that have been much anticipated for the entire season.

Being greeted by a "friend of a friend" who seems very kind and generous. An innocuous bump in the hall or foyer of the grand hotel by a guest or daytime visitor. Later to find out the encounter wasn't set up by a friend, the bump was calculated, planned. An agent was attempting to make first contact.

These are just a few of the snares and traps that the high profile athletes must negotiate through this period and must avoid at all cost. These are the moments that try a young star's resolve and patience. This is where his character is put to the test. What action is taken when no one is watching?

Let it go, says the still quiet voice. Retreat.

It's time to get your mind right. Return home, get back to the basics and re-focus on the single remaining preseason goal. The accolades are over and the coaching assistants are ready to take the players to a new level of preparation.

The campus is different this time of the year. Finals have been completed, the regular students have gone home for the break. The campus is no longer bustling with excitement; in fact, it's more peaceful during the semester break.

Restaurants and sandwich shops are less crowded. Fewer stares taken by the casual passerby. Life is more simple, and in some respects, more enjoyable than usual. The campus bars are quiet, only a few cars on the streets to pass by and rustle the leaves.

Down-time with teammates is more available. Camaraderie returns to an all time high, bonding is intensified by the absence of outside distraction. The players are focused on the common goal like never before during the regular season.

More focus on each others movements on the field. More focus on the rival players' movements on film. The cascade of information regarding a single postseason opponent is more overwhelming than the entire regular season of preparations.

The hard work has paid off and the team is one step away from greatness. An accomplishment that will place one team in the record book for as long as mankind wishes to remember this monumental achievement. For places like Tuscaloosa and Austin, the memories are eternal.

The drill is the same for superstar, starter, backup, scout team, and gray shirts. If you are on this team, it's time to go to work. Longhorn or Crimson Tider, both are preparing in similar fashion. Both intend to walk away as a champion. Only one team wins. One walks away with dreams shattered and stomped into a tiny million pieces.

Back to the fundamentals. Drills and skills, scrimmage and film review. Conditioning, speed and agility training, stressing the body until it pains to repeat the exercise or lift the weights one more repetition. The athlete pushes himself, and is encouraged even more by the trainer, to the point of exhaustion and impotence.

Waking up sore, needing an extra 10-15 minutes just to rise and return blood flow to the stiffened muscle groups. Painful first morning movements, right or left foot out of a warmed bed into the cool air and onto a chilled floor, wondering what exercise, hit, or fall caused this particular new strain or stitch felt on this day.

Into the steam, sauna, or whirlpool to dispose of the malady for the day, a dip into the ice bath and back into the heat. Over to the trainers bench for bandaging and taping. Then to the locker for re-dressing into the undergarments, repositioning the armor over the shoulders, chest, hips and thighs. Fastening the cleats tightly to the feet.

On the practice field to loosen and stretch. Repeating the ritual established in fall camp. Answering to the cadence of the strength and conditioning coach as he yells out the next movement. More drills, skills and scrimmage. The players will compete at full speed. Fights may break out, injuries can occur. Peril lurks on every down.

In my own memory, I recall the year 1979. Alabama had completed an undefeated season and was preparing to play the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Sugar Bowl for a possible repeat National Championship.

One week before the game, Steadman Shealy was out for a casual run, stepped on a pine cone, twisting and injuring his ankle. The fanbase held their collective breath until game time when the Alabama quarterback took the field and guided his team 82 yards down the field in seven plays, seven rushing plays, for the go-ahead score.

This is where they are; this is where they will be for the next three weeks. Preparing through practice, repetition, film study, intense workouts in the weight room and on the field of play. Completely focused on winning an eternal championship. The win will be for personal achievement, but also a collective work for the coaches, teammates, and for the fanatic spectators who have supported them through their collegiate career.

Only a few short breaks to enjoy. Christmas with the family, maybe a chance to kick back on New Year's with good friends to watch other teams play in their respective bowl games.

After New Year's, two more days of intense practice. A day of travel and then the walk through. Then it's show time. Who will be ready? Who wants this game, who wants to be a Champion?

The jury is still out. The question remains unanswered until the final second ticks off of the game clock on January 7th, 2010.

"If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride, and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards." - Coach Paul Bryant.