This is an opinion song title caption contest

After a disappointing season that ended on a wrong note, Alabama football mascot Big AL has been plodding along with heavy metal gloom in his heart while pondering the transfer portal. It all came spilling out in the “What song is he playing?” caption contest in December.

The mood around Kalen DeBoer’s 10-4 football team has been ominous and thudding, like a Black Sabbath guitar riff. A few captioneers recognized the guitar Big AL was playing as belonging to legendary Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. (The lefty Gibson SG with cross inlays along the fret board were a subtle hint.) Once the guitar was identified, it only made sense to choose a Sabbath song. There are several gloom and doom songs in their history that fit the bill: Paranoid, Into the Void, Changes and Iron Man carried the day in this contest.

Today, finally, we celebrate these heavy caption slingers simply as “winners.”

Truth is, there were lots of great entries in this caption contest. You didn’t necessarily have to identify Big AL’s guitar to win. But it made judging this thing a lot easier.

We started these recent caption contests as a way to reward my Crowe Jam subscribers. (The newsletter is free and pops in your email box every Wednesday morning.) If you would like to be eligible to win a print – and more importantly, to be among the first to get in on future caption contests – please subscribe today by entering your email in the box below:

Here are the official Big AL Black Sabbath song caption winners:

Jordan Brown was the first to recognize Tony Iommi’s lefty Gibson SG with the cross inlays. His Black Sabbath song choices were Changes and Into the Void.

Gary Bowens followed with Paranoid.

David Essex is a Crowe Jam subscriber and now a three-time song caption contest winner. The dude knows his guitarists. In his entry, David explained his choice, “Once I went with Tony Iommi, I had to find a Sabbath song that has a “heavy catharsis” element … so I’m going with Iron Man based on the frustration of the main subject in the song …”

Well played, y’all. Send me an email to confirm (A) you are a Crowe Jam subscriber and (B) wish to collect your winning print.

There were several popular entries that showed up a few times: Deacon Blues, On the Road Again and (Can’t Get No) Satisfaction … all excellent choices.

Here are some of the other fun captions:

(These first couple of titles are from two of my favorite real singer/songwriters!)

“Keep On Smilin’” – Donna Hall Foster

“Oh, Suzanna!! Won’t you cry for me, I come from Alabama with no more Saban victories!” – Grayson Capps

“Steamroller Blues” – David Morris

“Flirtin’ with Disaster” – Greg Crabtree

“Truckin’” or as Big Al may call it “Trunkin’” – Don Prosch

“Should I Stay or Should I Go?” – Robert Gray

“Desperado”- Big AL is using Joe Walsh’s red Telecaster playing the classic Eagles song – Winston Smith

“The Thrill Is Gone” – Dianne Greene

“Stuck Inside of Tuscaloosa With the Memphis Blues, Again!” – Maury Brook

“It’ll Be a Blue Christmas Without You” – Bill Plott

“Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day – Jessica Lee Baker

“Don’t Tread on Me” Metallica – Mike Aaron

“Take this Job and Shove It!” – Dave Taylor

“You can’t always get what you want” – Gina Jordan Wirtz

“Gonna Fly Now” from Rocky – Dianne Jones

“Walk Away” – Trey Leblanc

“Lord Knows the NILs I’ve Seen” – Jeremiah Woolsey

“Give Me Three Steps” – Dirk-Amanda Young

“Na na, Hey, Hey Goodbye” – Cary H. Scott

“Alabama Getaway” by the Grateful Dead – TL Ensey

“Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay – Watching the TIDE ROLL Away” – Lawanda Bohannon

And we’ll end with this closing number:

The “Heart Bend Song” from Ted Lasso – Josh Bean

“I’m heartbent – In my apartment – Cause all you left – Was your fart sent”

“And after you’re gone – I wrote this song – Because all that left is – My disappointment.”

“Now that Dabo’s there – And SMU, too – Makes me wish my schedule – Was full of poo, too”

“We should be in – This is pure sin – Because all you’ve done now – Is make the Gumps sad.”

There were too many to include them all. Thanks to all you crazy kids for playing!

Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe

JD Crowe is the cartoonist for AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix. Give him a holler at [email protected].