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I was reading TI's recent note on Ben Hall, and found myself thinking, "Why would he, or anyone not a lifelong fan of Bama, want to go to Bama to play football right now? Why should we expect him to leave his home state to commit to Alabama when he is hearing from fans, players and probably coaches of competing schools that we're going down?" And then I started thinking about those young men who have committed to play here in spite of all that's going on. And I found this quote: "The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse." And that's the answer. These young men are warriors. They are either all-stars such as Croyle, who know that their path might have been easier elsewhere, or they are less touted prospects with a lot to prove. But either way they have eagerly embraced the challenge. And I believe, in a profound way, that four/five years from now the core of this class will look back with the same pride that Bryant's first class of recruits did, and will be remembered with the same fondness. These are the young men who will set the tone for Alabama football in the CDF era: "Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs and the burning in your legs, and the voice inside you that yells "can't", but you don't listen. You just push harder, and then you hear the voice whisper "can" and you discover that the person you thought you were is no match for the one you really are." ROLL, TIDE, ROLL! Roll, you Crimson Wave, across the plains to the east, and the cotton fields to the west, over the rocky tops to the north, and the sandy fields to the south. Roll until all gators and volunteers and bulldogs and war eagles have been engulfed by the hurricane of your mighty power, and all that can be seen throughout the South is the majestic hue of ... CRIMSON -- ROLL, YOU MAGNIFICENT CRIMSON TIDE, ROLL!!!
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