General
This is an opinion column.
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It’s no state secret that people cringe when Sen. Tommy Tuberville enters a chat.
His latest belching bellicosity about people suffering in Los Angeles is a perfect example. Because Californians voted for Democrats, says Tubs, then those affected by wildfires should suffer and receive no help from the federal government. Gross, right?
But it’s always shock-jock style rhetoric from the representative of Alabama. Why does he do it? Some people get off on that kind of thing, apparently. Gotta wonder, though. Is Tuberville’s nasty brand of politics the thing that kept him out of the College Football Hall of Fame?
Tubs was on the latest ballot along with Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. Saban and Meyer were voted in and Tubs was not. Fair? Not really.
Saban and Meyer were great, but so was Tuberville.
After all, Tubville was 4-3 all-time against Saban and 2-1 all-time against Meyer. No other coach can claim winning records against those two titans.
Tubs is the real reason Alabama hired Saban. At Auburn, Tuberville never lost to Meyer, winning against Florida in back-to-back years.
As for his love of controversy, Tubs has always had a habit of saying and doing questionable things. When he was at Ole Miss, he famously proclaimed that he wasn’t leaving Oxford unless it was in a “pine box.” A week later, he decamped for Lee County, Alabama.
Do I agree with Tubs’ disgusting form of statecraft? Obviously, no. Am I big enough to look past that and advocate for him to be in the College Football Hall of Fame? Yes. Despite his current brand of ugliness, Tubs should be in the Hall because he was a Hall of Fame-worthy coach.
Tuberville finished his college career with a record of 159-99. That’s good enough for the Hall, but Tubs was best when the lights were brightest. In what I like to call big-money scenarios — championship or playoff games and games against Top 10 opponents — Tuberville was 19-23 for his career. That’s more big-money victories than Darrell K. Royal (18) and Shug Jordan (15) and both of their names are on stadiums.
Tuberville dominated the Iron Bowl while at Auburn, was robbed of a shot at a national championship in 2004 and won three national championships as an assistant in Miami. At Ole Miss and Auburn, the “Riverboat Gambler” was brash and cocky and enriched the SEC with his personality.
“Fear the thumb,” Tuberville said before winning five in a row against the Tide. But he wasn’t done there. Tubs won six in a row, setting the all-time winning streak record for Auburn against Alabama.
On top of all those things, Tuberville also helped get the Confederate flags removed from Ole Miss football games. It’s unbelievable now, but all completely true.
The shock-jock Senator, who wouldn’t exist without the people he loathes, once went to war against Confederate flags while he was a coach of the Ole Miss Rebels … And, amazingly, he won! Tubs should probably be in the Hall of Fame just based on that fact alone.
Now the Ole Miss Admiral Ackbar Rebel Land Shark Black Bears identify with so many different mascots it’s hard to keep track. All thanks to Tubs.
But in order to get elected, Tuberville spit on his legacy of inclusion and diversity and embraced a culture of hate. Love him or laugh at him, Tuberville has always been a rank opportunist. It all begs the question. Is Tuberville too embarrassing to be in the College Football Hall of Fame?
Alongside Saban, the answer is yes, and I suspect that Saban’s inclusion in this latest class is ultimately the reason why Tuberville was left off. No one wants Tuberville around these days.
Is Tuberville getting what he deserves? Maybe, but there’s still hope for the Senator of Stupidity.
I have a feeling that Tuberville isn’t finished writing his legacy when it comes to college football. And here’s a scary thought. How it all ends could determine the future of the sport that set him up for life.
A couple weeks ago, there was a grassroots movement among college football coaches. They all started agreeing that Saban should be the commissioner of college football. Never mind that a commissioner of college football cannot exist based on the sport’s current structure, and never mind that Saban doesn’t even want that job, college football is so broken that the coaches of the game want someone to regulate everything like a dictator.
What’s the answer for this broken sport?
College football needs fixing at the federal level, and so think about this as Inauguration Day approaches. If anyone is in a position to be a future government-appointed czar of college football, then it’s Sen. Tuberville.
How does that make you feel? Probably about like eating raw chicken.
When it comes to college football and Tubs, let’s just hope the whole thing doesn’t catch on fire.
BE HEARD
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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”
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