BamaOil
Registered User
- Nov 18, 2018
- 549
- 407
This is a post that I've been thinking about for a while now, and initially wanted to post when I joined not too long ago, but held off until now. This post ended up being really long, and I apologize for that, but hopefully it will add value to this board.
I'm from Alabama. Yes, that Alabama. For one reason or another I decided it would be a good idea to start playing hockey in 100 degree (F) weather several years ago. I've been a fan of hockey ever since I played NHL94 on the SNES. Up until 2014, I never had a team to pull for, and then I decided to choose the Oilers. I researched almost every team before making my choice, and I don't regret it. I've watched almost every game the last 3 years. Being about as far away from Alberta as possible, you may be wondering why I didn't choose something easy like Nashville. I'll tell you why.
The reason I picked the Oilers is because of the similarities found with the team I've been a fan of the longest, the Alabama Crimson Tide (College Football). I graduated from college there, and have been to too many games to count (and have thrown up in just about every bathroom possible in that stadium, including luxury boxes). Anyway... Alabama is, historically, one of the top 3-5 teams in college football. They have practically as many national championships as Notre Dame. As far as college football lore is concerned, you could certainly make a case for Alabama being one of college football's "original six". You don't have to be a football fan to know the name Bear Bryant...it's as synonymous with sports dynasties as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson.
However, during the time I was in college (2005-2009), we were a clown show of a program. Hadn't won a national title since 1992. Won a conference title in 1999, but it was a fluke and went 3-9 the next season. Went through a really dark period of mediocre to terrible head coaches, including one head coach who got fired for having an affair with his secretary, and another who never even coached a game -- he got fired for making lewd comments at a strip club. We even lost scholarships and got banned from playing in bowl games for 2 years because we got caught paying players. Overall, season after season went by with mediocre success at best, and complete embarrassment at worst...and at a football crazy state like Alabama, anything less than perfection is unacceptable.
Even worse, and this will be what resonates here most, is that Alabama's problem was a poisonous OBC had been running the athletics program, and really entire university, since 1992. Down here in the south, we call them good ole boys -- a slightly different term, but the meaning is the same. All of the Trustees were holdovers from the Bear Bryant days in the 60s: former players during that time under him, relatives of players, Bear Bryant's son, grandson, nephews, etc. I'm in a particularly good position to comment on this because I actually worked for the athletics department during my time at the university. The culture had become lackadaisical, complacent, quid pro quo backdoor deals, and just resting on one's laurels because they knew the fan base was so fervent that they would spend money no matter the product on the field.
Does this all sound familiar yet? I chose the Oilers because I see what I saw with Alabama: an amazing program with a passionate fan base; a program that was once at the very apex of its sport; a program that has lost its way, and, hopefully, a program that is about to follow what Alabama did in 2007.
I will always remember the day: January 3, 2007. I skipped class to watch the press conference. The rumors were true: Alabama hired Nick Saban as the new head coach. Immediately the tone was different. Saban wasn't messing around, it was time to turn the program around. Phrases like "I want our team to be the most hated team to play against" and "You have to be a relentless competitor every single play to be a champion" will forever be etched in my memory. Everybody knew things were about to be different. 5 national titles in 10 years and almost near perfection every single game since...the rest is history. It's been a wild and fun ride, and I enjoy every second of it. I even the losses, because I know this will never happen again in college football. Trust me when I say this: the terrible times make winning championships feel so much sweeter. The college kids now at the university have no idea what it was like to be bad, and the passion isn't there like it was when I was in school.
What didn't get reported that day in 2007 was what really happened: in order to get Saban to come to Alabama, we agreed to either completely purge our OBC or entirely stay away from everything football related, and let Saban be in charge. Saban became the judge, jury, and executioner of the football program, he had complete and total control over everything. Forbes magazine would put him on the cover about a year later accompanied with the title, "Nick Saban is the Most Powerful Coach in Sports". It was the removal of the OBC, or at least handcuffing them, that changed everything.
This story has relatively nothing to do with hockey, and yet seems so poignant as to the current situation we find ourselves in here. The Oilers find themselves at a crossroads: do we keep doing things the way we've been doing it since 2000, or do we find another way? Pro sports is way different from college football, you can't just go and recruit the best players if you have a great coach, but the lessons learned still apply here. This isn't just about the GM, it's not just the OBC, it's the culture, it's everything. The only burning desire to win that I see is McDavid. Hitch is just doing the team and some of his Edmonton buddies a favor. This board has discussed ad nauseum all of the issues with player personnel and lack of team identity, so I won't even go into all of that. I can't offer any commentary on what to do to fix the team that hasn't already been discussed here. Ultimately, we must change the culture around this franchise. Now is the time to begin the change that everybody needs. Will we end up changing, or will it be more of the same? I truly hope we all get to see the type of change Alabama got to see.
I'm from Alabama. Yes, that Alabama. For one reason or another I decided it would be a good idea to start playing hockey in 100 degree (F) weather several years ago. I've been a fan of hockey ever since I played NHL94 on the SNES. Up until 2014, I never had a team to pull for, and then I decided to choose the Oilers. I researched almost every team before making my choice, and I don't regret it. I've watched almost every game the last 3 years. Being about as far away from Alberta as possible, you may be wondering why I didn't choose something easy like Nashville. I'll tell you why.
The reason I picked the Oilers is because of the similarities found with the team I've been a fan of the longest, the Alabama Crimson Tide (College Football). I graduated from college there, and have been to too many games to count (and have thrown up in just about every bathroom possible in that stadium, including luxury boxes). Anyway... Alabama is, historically, one of the top 3-5 teams in college football. They have practically as many national championships as Notre Dame. As far as college football lore is concerned, you could certainly make a case for Alabama being one of college football's "original six". You don't have to be a football fan to know the name Bear Bryant...it's as synonymous with sports dynasties as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson.
However, during the time I was in college (2005-2009), we were a clown show of a program. Hadn't won a national title since 1992. Won a conference title in 1999, but it was a fluke and went 3-9 the next season. Went through a really dark period of mediocre to terrible head coaches, including one head coach who got fired for having an affair with his secretary, and another who never even coached a game -- he got fired for making lewd comments at a strip club. We even lost scholarships and got banned from playing in bowl games for 2 years because we got caught paying players. Overall, season after season went by with mediocre success at best, and complete embarrassment at worst...and at a football crazy state like Alabama, anything less than perfection is unacceptable.
Even worse, and this will be what resonates here most, is that Alabama's problem was a poisonous OBC had been running the athletics program, and really entire university, since 1992. Down here in the south, we call them good ole boys -- a slightly different term, but the meaning is the same. All of the Trustees were holdovers from the Bear Bryant days in the 60s: former players during that time under him, relatives of players, Bear Bryant's son, grandson, nephews, etc. I'm in a particularly good position to comment on this because I actually worked for the athletics department during my time at the university. The culture had become lackadaisical, complacent, quid pro quo backdoor deals, and just resting on one's laurels because they knew the fan base was so fervent that they would spend money no matter the product on the field.
Does this all sound familiar yet? I chose the Oilers because I see what I saw with Alabama: an amazing program with a passionate fan base; a program that was once at the very apex of its sport; a program that has lost its way, and, hopefully, a program that is about to follow what Alabama did in 2007.
I will always remember the day: January 3, 2007. I skipped class to watch the press conference. The rumors were true: Alabama hired Nick Saban as the new head coach. Immediately the tone was different. Saban wasn't messing around, it was time to turn the program around. Phrases like "I want our team to be the most hated team to play against" and "You have to be a relentless competitor every single play to be a champion" will forever be etched in my memory. Everybody knew things were about to be different. 5 national titles in 10 years and almost near perfection every single game since...the rest is history. It's been a wild and fun ride, and I enjoy every second of it. I even the losses, because I know this will never happen again in college football. Trust me when I say this: the terrible times make winning championships feel so much sweeter. The college kids now at the university have no idea what it was like to be bad, and the passion isn't there like it was when I was in school.
What didn't get reported that day in 2007 was what really happened: in order to get Saban to come to Alabama, we agreed to either completely purge our OBC or entirely stay away from everything football related, and let Saban be in charge. Saban became the judge, jury, and executioner of the football program, he had complete and total control over everything. Forbes magazine would put him on the cover about a year later accompanied with the title, "Nick Saban is the Most Powerful Coach in Sports". It was the removal of the OBC, or at least handcuffing them, that changed everything.
This story has relatively nothing to do with hockey, and yet seems so poignant as to the current situation we find ourselves in here. The Oilers find themselves at a crossroads: do we keep doing things the way we've been doing it since 2000, or do we find another way? Pro sports is way different from college football, you can't just go and recruit the best players if you have a great coach, but the lessons learned still apply here. This isn't just about the GM, it's not just the OBC, it's the culture, it's everything. The only burning desire to win that I see is McDavid. Hitch is just doing the team and some of his Edmonton buddies a favor. This board has discussed ad nauseum all of the issues with player personnel and lack of team identity, so I won't even go into all of that. I can't offer any commentary on what to do to fix the team that hasn't already been discussed here. Ultimately, we must change the culture around this franchise. Now is the time to begin the change that everybody needs. Will we end up changing, or will it be more of the same? I truly hope we all get to see the type of change Alabama got to see.
