Alabama Football: The Rewards for Writing for Alabama for Three Years

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Closing my third season as a writer who primarily covers the University of Alabama football program is a milestone I would not have thought would have brought me so much mixed emotions.

I sincerely thank RollCrimsonTide.com for letting me get my feet wet, and I will always be grateful to Benny Bice and Mike Lacy, the owner and chief editor of Touchdown Alabama Magazine for bringing me in and getting me credentialed.

I still work for them, and they put out a terrific product despite having me as their feature writer.

My first season was magical. Not only did I gain full credentials to all the games, but I got to interview and get to know the players and coaching staff in a way every fan would enjoy doing.

Terrence Cody would tease me when he saw me, and we developed a joking relationship.

After the Tennessee game, as I walked off the field with the players after Cody's second block that saved the day and a shot the national championship game which they did go on to win, Cody saw me on the field as he was headed to the locker room and said, "Hey, not bad, huh?"

And I said, "Not too bad for a fat guy, not bad at all." And he acted like he was going to tackle me, and we had a laugh.

When I last saw him at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, he asked me if I was going to write about him any more and I laughed and poked him and said when he hangs that Crimson helmet up, I was through with him.

That got a "Man, that's cold" comment from him along with a big smile and a poke back.

There became many players I enjoyed cutting up with, and in that first season, the line between fan and writer were very blurred.

I was more a fan living out my dream than a journalist doing a job objectively.

The second year was tough. I missed interviewing Joe Paterno, something I had lined up, because my father, a down-to-the-core Auburn man, passed away and I was attending to all that.

That cast a pall over the rest of the year.

I also learned that second year that Nick Saban expects the reporters to be as prepared as his football team is.

The staff at Alabama always allows me to question Saban after the game at the press conference. It's quite an honor since usually only about five to six reporters get that opportunity.

I had the perfect question all ready to ask. I was going to be the next reporter to get to question Saban when the reporter picked ahead of me asked that very question.

Saban thought it was a great question and greatly elaborated the answer to a room full of reporters who were thrilled to get good nuggets from Saban.

And then they handed me the microphone.

Oh God! I had nothing else ready! I knew from talking to players that the worst thing you can to Saban is "I don't know." If you make a mistake and he asked what you are thinking, say anything but "I don't know." Make up something, make up something good, but never say you don't know.

And here I was about to say, "I don't know what to ask, that other reporter asked my question." I panicked and thought they'd never allow me to ask another question ever, so I instantly summoned my inner swagger and out came a question.

In that game, Alabama had red zone issues and Saban was clearly hot about it. So I asked the worst possible question in the opinion of all the other reporters in the room.

I asked, "Coach, when we had it 1st-and-goal with two running backs averaging seven yards a carry, why did you throw the ball three times and have to settle for a field goal?"

It was a question we had all grumbled about and wondered aloud in the press box, but was not something you want to ask Saban.

I got that stare that Saban gives to reporters right before he lights into them and got the heat from Saban about reporters who second-guess coaches as armchair quarterbacks.

His comment that this was just what the opposing team's coach would be thinking too of course made sense as did the rest of his explanation. But he was clearly upset.

At the next press conference, I didn't raise my hand, didn't volunteer to ask a question, I just wanted to go unnoticed and just interview the players later, but they had no part of that. They called on me as if I had asked to get the next question.

I was floored, here I was with nothing ready again. How could this happen?

But I summoned up a question that I don't even remember and got an answer that I can't remember either. I was just happy it was over.

Since then, I have 10 questions ready, written down on a pad and I'm always ready now.

That year I learned that Preston Dial was the biggest practical joker on the team, that Trent Richardson is terrified to fly in an airplane and that if you're on a long plane flight, don't sit near William Vlachos, because he'll eat all your food and snacks if you fall asleep.

I learned that some players are great interviews and offer up all kinds of things, and some are very closed and reserved, like Julio Jones, who acted like he'd rather have a root canal than come to these interviews.

It was a year of learning to balance fandom with writing, and it was a tough year for me and the team as well. A shocking loss to South Carolina was just the beginning of painful losses.

By the end of the regular season, Auburn defeating Alabama and winning a national title was hard enough, but that my father didn't live to see it cast a pall over the season.

But fan mail made it all worthwhile. One letter that brought tears to mine and my wife's eyes was from a man who was an Auburn fan with a dying Alabama fan father.

He wrote to say that in the last days of his life, his father asked him to bring his laptop so the son could read him my articles because he wanted to know "what Larry has been writing."

He said that this was a daily ritual until he passed, and he wanted me to know what joy his father got from reading my work and feeling connected to the team. The son said his father's last words to him was "Tomorrow will be good, we'll see who he has picked to lose this week."

The man said that sharing those moments with his father was a special time and made his father very happy, and he just wanted to share this with me. I thanked him and will always have that story in my heart.

It made me feel it was OK to be a little biased. It was and is who I am, but I knew I had to build a reputation of calling them as I see them and not just tote the Alabama line.

This year, I called them as I saw them and pointed out the problems I saw on a team that could achieve championship status easier should they fix them.

I raised the ire of the staff by calling for the head of special teams, coach Bobby Williams, who has failed miserably time after time over the past two seasons with kick and punt return coverages and in guiding our kickers to actually improve over their high school records.

But it was something that I felt had to be said, despite the fact that Williams and Saban are very close and have a long history together.

In this, my third year, I have the confidence to say what I believe and not care about the repercussions.

That has extended both to the Alabama team and staff and the publications I write for. I have respectfully refused to write an article I didn't personally believe in, and I have tried to choke down my share of crow for articles I wrote that didn't quite to fruition as I had foreseen.

After three years of writing, I had met many goals, including several here on Bleacher Report. I have more LIKED articles than any writer, garner more comments and have the second most fans of any active writer.

These were goals I thought were unattainable three years ago.

I thank everyone who ever bought a magazine I've written in, who has read an article on one of the many Internet sites I've been on and commented, liked and chosen me as a favorite writer.

I will be eternally grateful to Aaron Glatzner and Joe Yanerella two of the great men here at Bleacher Report I have worked with and for. Their help and patience will always be treasured.

To the readers and many of the fellow writers here, many of whom I feel are somehow part of my extended family as well as friends, I have come to look forward to your comments as wish I could spend a day with each of you.

Since this is the end of my third regular season here, my associate editor, Rich Thomaselli, thought it would be a good time to write a personal story of my experiences here so far and I'm glad he did so I could take the opportunity to say thanks to so many people.

In ending, my message is, be true to your team, whoever it is, be true to yourself and never sell out what you believe in and follow your dreams. Mine was to see how far I could take this writing gig, and I hope there's still mileage on that odometer.

Thank you for allowing me this seeming self-aggrandizement of an article. Now let's all get ready for championships and bowl games.

Tighten your chin straps, this could be a rough ending, you keep reading and I'll keep writing. Stay tuned.