A home full of Steeler fans

I thought I'd share a video of a taste of how big sports can be at my house.  Besides myself, my family is big on the Pittsburg Steelers.  We haveve our downstairs family room decked out as well as my youngest brother's room.  There is a lot of steeler merchandise and much more. 

I have a digital media class as well so I and we had to do an interview video so I decided to interview my 14 year old brother on why he is a steeler fan and his opinion on a few things steelers.

And for those of you wondering why I am not a steeler fan, I like college football better than NFL for one thing.  If I had to choose a favorite NFL team however it would have to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  I started liking them when they had Mike Alstott on the team, it was really fun watching him run over people and the defense was awesome. 

So here is the video of why my brother likes the steelers.  It also includes shots of some of the steeler memorabila

http://youtu.be/uPu_1kuBVx8

When I became an Alabama fan

Many of you might be wondering why I am a big Alabama fan, me being from Ogden.  The truth is I haven’t always been an Alabama fan.  When I was little I knew next to nothing about Alabama, and I was doing the unheard of as a BYU fan and I was rooting for Utah in the 2009 Sugar Bowl where the Utes beat the Crimson Tide 31-17 concluding their undefeated season.  Alabama was just another school to me that was in the SEC that I never seemed to care about.  That all changed on April 7^th 2010.

On that day, I received my mission call to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Alabama, Birmingham Mission.  I was really excited to serve and because I would be going there, I decided that I would look into Alabama Football.  I remembered watch the National Championship earlier that year between Alabama and Texas and I was happy when Alabama won 37-21 but I never thought it would have meaning to where I would spend two years of my life starting later that year. 

When I first got to Alabama, I was kind of shell shocked as to what to do and at all the differences. I mean there were no mountains, trees everywhere and the humidity was so strong I could hardly walk from the house we were staying at to our car without breaking out in a sweat.  As time went on though, I really came to love the people there and that is what contributed to my devotion to Alabama Football.  The first area I served in was a place called Cullman.  It is about midway between Birmingham and Huntsville for those of you who know at least the major cities in Alabama.  While there, I really loved the atmosphere and the people.  Days were long especially on a Saturday when Alabama was playing but it was still worth it.  Although I could never watch an Alabama game, many members of the ward would update me and my companion on how the game went and especially how they were going to kill Auburn later in the year. 

At Christmas, we were invited over to spend the day with a family of die-hard Bama fans.  This guy never missed a game, whether home or away and he was always vocal about his favorite team.  He was a very active member of the church and he loved the missionaries.  So on Christmas, he got me and my companion our own Alabama Sweatshirt, T-Shirt, Clock, and Hat.  It was really awesome to receive such great gifts from this great family. 

Overall the mission went great, and as far as the football atmosphere goes, Alabama is one the best states for football.  It seems like the entire state shuts down for a big game, especially a rivalry game.  Alabama has won the National Championship 2 of the last 3 years (Auburn won the other one).  I will definitely be cheering for Alabama for the National Championship. Not because I am a bandwagon jumper, I owe my devotion to Alabama to my mission. 

Championship Weekend

(Above) Alabama players hold up to SEC championship trophy after beating Georgia 32-28  (below) two Stanford players with the PAC 12 trophy with Roses in their mouths.  They will play Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on January 1.


This was a really big week for college football in determining who will be playing in the big BCS bowl games.  Championship week features games such as the Pac 12 Championship, The Big 10 Championship, The ACC Championship, The SEC Championships and many other conference championship games.  This week in college football usually provides several highly competitive games that come down to the wire with all teams battling for conference supremacy.  This weekend was no different. 

In what seemed to be an underscore game with usually little importance to the BCS, the Mid Atlantic Conference Championship turned out to have major significance this weekend.  It featured the Kent State Golden Flashes against the Northern Illinois Huskies.  Both teams came into this game with only one loss and both were playing for the chance to sneak into a BCS game.  It was a really good game that went into double overtime where the Huskies prevailed 44-37.  Because of that win, they jumped in the BCS standings from 21 to 15 and earned a spot in the Orange Bowl.  Many people might not agree with the decision to put them in the BCS but all the same they will get their chance to prove themselves against a team from a major conference. 

In other Championship games Wisconsin beat Nebraska 70-31 in the Big 10 Championship to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl.  Stanford edged out UCLA 27-24 to win the Pac 12 crown as well as joins Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Florida State beat Georgia Tech 21-15 in the ACC title game and will be playing in the Orange Bowl.  And Louisville snuck past Rutgers in the Big East to join the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. 

The game of the week however came in the Southeastern Conference Championship between the third ranked Georgia Bulldogs against the second ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.  The Winner of this game would join the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in the National Championship.  The game started slow with the Tide taking a 10-7 lead into halftime.  The game picked up in the second half with the lead going back and forth between the two teams.  With the score 28-25 for Georgia with 3:15 left in the game Alabama quarterback threw a 45 yard touchdown to freshman receiver Amari Cooper to put Alabama back on top 32-28.  Georgia got the ball back with what seemed like plenty of time to put the ball into the end zone.  Alabama thought they secured the game with an interception but when the play was called an incomplete pass, the Bulldogs had one last chance to get to Miami.  They drove the ball all the way down to the 8 yard-line when on first down with nine seconds left on the clock the Tide stopped Georgia at the 5 yard-line and time expired.  What a great way to end a high intensity game and year for the SEC and I’m not just saying that because I’m an Alabama fan.  Alabama will be playing in the National Championship against Notre Dame in search for their 15^th National Championship in football, 3^rd in 4 years.

I am very excited for this bowl season and for the BCS games because of what happened this past week.

The link below is a link to the Bowl Game and location for the BCS games as well as all the other bowl games this year. 

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8048429/2012-13-bowl-schedule

The Iron Bowl

This picture shows the significance of the rivalry
 including what happens when Auburn fans and
Alabama fans live in the same house.

 

This past week in College Football was Rivalry Week.  There were many great rivalry games such as The Civil War between Oregon and Oregon St.  There was the game between Ohio St. and Michigan, Florida vs Florida St., and USC vs Notre Dame among all the other rivalries. The one that has significance for me is the Iron Bowl which is Alabama against Auburn.  This is a big rivalry to determine yearly football dominance of the state of Alabama.  The National Champions have come from the state of Alabama for the past three years (two for Alabama, one for Auburn) so it is always a big game to end the season. 

Serving an LDS Mission in Alabama I know how big this rivalry is.  Everywhere you go within the state there are a significant amount of Alabama fans as well as Auburn fans, more for one side depending on where you are.  There are many flags and banners at houses, decorations on cars and the people there aren’t afraid to be vocal about their team and why they are better than the other.  The Iron Bowl usually falls on the Saturday of Thanksgiving Weekend, but when I was there in 2010 it was the day following Thanksgiving.  Forget Black Friday sales or the retaliating from the feasts of the day before, the day was ruled by this game.  I would even say that the Iron Bowl is just as big if not bigger than Thanksgiving itself. My companion and I had better luck talking to people on Thanksgiving, whereas on Iron Bowl day, people were freaking out even more on us when we would knock on the door.

  The rivalry is so big that ESPN even decided to make an hour long video about it called Roll Tide/War Eagle.  It goes in depth about the history of the rivalry, what it means to the state, and of course a number of different opinions from fans and players from both sides. 

This week was the 77^th Edition of the Iron Bowl which was played in Tuscaloosa.  Alabama came into the game 10-1 and still in the hunt for back to back National Championships.  Auburn on the other hand was 3-8, eliminated from bowl contention and without a win in the SEC.  Still Auburn would like nothing more but to ruin Alabama’s chance for another championship.  I have heard even that Auburn would rather beat Alabama than win a national championship.  I don’t know for sure if that is true, but the game is played for both sides as if nothing else mattered but to beat their in-state rival.

On to the game, Alabama jumped out to an early start due to some key penalties by Auburn and put the ball in the end zone to go up 7-0.  As the game went on Alabama proved to be too much for the reeling Tigers.  With a 42-0 lead at half time, the Tide began to take their feet off the gas.  After they scored on their opening drive of the second half to go up 49-0, they put in their back up players who also drove up and down the field on the Tigers first team.  The score remained the same the rest of the game with Auburn not able to do anything on offense and another year of boasting on who was the better team went the way of the Crimson Tide. Even though the score showed that Alabama is the better team this year, the game each year is still one of the biggest rivalries in all of college football.  Roll Tide reigns supreme for now and looks as if they will continue to for years to come.  What will Auburn do to stop them and gain back state-wide supremacy?   Ask a fan or a player and they will say the result will be different next year and that the Tide better watch out because the Tigers are coming.  I hope this post helps to educate all who reads a little more about why this is one of the biggest Rivalries in the Sport.

The video below is the first part of The ESPN 30 for 30 film Roll Tide/War Eagle.  For the other parts they should all be on youtube as well. 

"http://www.youtube.com/embed/0ROiJGvKiP8"

 

Fight to the Finish

For those of you who haven’t been following College Football the past two weeks a lot has happened to determine the two teams that will play in the National Championship.  Two weeks ago, Number 1 seed Alabama lost at home in a close game to Texas A and M led by Freshman standout quarterback Johnny Manziel 29-24.  That game would have made many people believe that game would cost the Crimson Tide a shot at winning their 15^th National Championship.  They knew though that a loss by two of the top three teams that were ahead of them would put them right back in the championship picture.

This past week after the Tide rolled Western Carolina 49-0 that very thing happened.  The current top ranked team the Kansas State Wildcats traveled to play the unranked Baylor Bears.  At nearly the same time, the 2^nd rank Oregon Ducks were at home playing against the Stanford Cardinals.  At the end of the night the Bears beat K-State 52-24 and the Ducks went down 17-14 in Overtime.  With the top two seeds losing on the same night for the first time since 2007.  That leaves Notre Dame sitting on top of College Football and Alabama sitting right behind them with two weeks left.

Notre Dame finishes out the season this Saturday against an always competitive USC program and with a win they will secure a spot in the title game in Miami.  The Tide has a tougher test but a great shot nonetheless to meet them there.  They play this Saturday in one of the greatest rivalries in the nation, the Iron Bowl against the Auburn Tigers which I will talk about in a later post.  With a win they would go to the SEC Championship game against the 3^rd ranked Georgia Bulldogs with the winner, if both clubs are both at one loss, to head to Miami.

There is a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks of College Football.  Can Notre Dame and Alabama take care of business?  Or will another team sneak by them and create space for other teams to play on January 7^th in Miami? These next two weeks you won’t want to miss.  I am very excited to see what happens.  This is why I love College Football.   

(below is the current BCS Standing the top two teams at the end of the year will meet for the National Championship)
http://espn.go.com/college-football/bcs

Big Rivalry and Crazy Game 3

The big game this past weekend in College Football was the National Championship rematch between Alabama and LSU.  This was the third time in which the two teams have played within the past two years.  This was also the biggest game for both teams to keep their National Championship hopes for this year alive.  Anyone who missed this game, missed one heck of a game.

The two previous games were split between the schools in two highly competitive games. LSU won the game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama last November in Overtime 9-6 in a defensive battle in which neither team reached the endzone.  Alabama forced a rematch in the National Championship and dominated another defensive slugfest.  In that game Alabama held the LSU Tigers scoreless, not even allowing them across the 50 yard line. The Alabama Crimson Tide won that game 21-0 scoring the first touchdown between the two in the series late in the game.  So heading into Saturday there was a lot of hype to whom the better team is and who would win the rubber match.

Going into this game both squads were ranked high in the BCS Standings, Alabama ranked as the Number 1 team and LSU at 5.  Alabama was undefeated so far and the favorite to win their second straight National Championship, their third in four years.  LSU lost their only game earlier this year to the Florida Gators.  When it came to this game however, there was no question that this would be a highly competitive defensive war. 

Both teams this year once again have one of the best defenses in the Nation so a low scoring game with very few touchdowns was expected before the game was played.  The game lived up to expectations and defense ruled the game for both teams, however a stellar play on offense was the difference.  There was a total of five touchdowns between the two, compared to one in the previous two games combined.  With the score 17-14 for LSU late in the game, Alabama drove the length of the field and set up a screen pass from quarterback AJ McCarron to Freshman running TJ Yeldon with less than a minute left to score the game winning touchdown.  It was an amazing game played well by both teams in which I could go on and on with how great it was.  It was definitely a great way to end a great week of College Football and a game that I will never forget.   

Welcome

I'm Brody George I am currently a Sophomore at Weber State University.  I am currently finishing off my generals while I am searching for a major that I enjoy.  I have looked into journalism and I don't mind the writing, I am not very good at interviewing.

  One thing I have learned is that whatever I choose it will have something to do with sports.  I love watching, playing, and coaching sports especially football.  Currently I am an assistant football coach at Roy Jr. High School.  I have been coaching for three years there.   I enjoy the atmosphere and would do anything to be around football for as long as possible.

 I am writing this blog for my Media Writing Class but my primary focus will be on the different sports that affect my life. This could include how the Jr. High I coached did, college football, my fantasy teams and much more.

Some of my favorite teams other than Weber St. of course include BYU except when they don't have a good quarterback and their offensive coordinator is too conservative when leading a close game.  I served a LDS mission in Alabama so I have come to really like Alabama. Roll Tide number 1 in the nation right now.  Also I like the jazz for basketball.  Hope y'all enjoy my blog.