We don’t publish the work of others very often, but I appreciate mockery done right. For the rest of his days, Nick Saban will privately regret the series of decisions that led Alabama to the defeat that robbed him of a third straight national championship.
It’s wonderful when the pious are rendered human. The end of the Iron Bowl reminded fans of that, and this poem is a wonderful epitaph for the Crimson Tides’ hubris.
‘Twas the night they’ll remember – Chuck Porretto 12-01-2013 –
‘Twas the night after Auburn
and all through the land,
not a “Roll Tide” was uttered
by a Crimsom Tide fan.
They used to be boisterous,
they used to be loud,
they used to be boastful,
and cocky and proud.
But they lost all their swagger,
they lost all their swing.
For one little second
had changed everything.
The score it was even.
The clock had run dry.
When Nicholas Saban
then started to cry.
He demanded a second
be put on the clock.
The worse that could happen?
A miss or a block.
But fate it is fickle,
and greed has a price,
and what happened next
just wasn’t too nice.
The previous kicks,
wide left and wide right.
So he put in a rookie,
’twas not very bright.
The kick was a boomer
of 56 yards,
but the extra yard needed
was not in the cards.
And back in the end zone
a lone Tiger stood.
He caught that ol’ football,
he caught it real good.
He started to run,
he heard the cheers grow.
The Crimson Tide offense?
Too fat and too slow.
One hundred and nine
he ran for a score.
If needed he could have
run one hundred more
The crowd it erupted
while storming the field.
The Crimson Tide’s season
was settled and sealed.
A cry of “War Eagle”
soon echoed the plain.
Nick Saban’s expression
was one of pure pain.
And up in Ohio
they shouted “Go Bucks”
For it gave hope to all
well except for the Ducks.
And in Tuscaloosa
you could hear a pin drop.
And in Tallahassee
a tomahawk chop.
For the night after Auburn
the Tide does not roll.
The new boss in town
wears garnet and gold.