Crimson in clover

Tuscaloosa, Ala. —- Sam Atkins’ 11-year-old son Jake had never seen Alabama beat Auburn. His dad grudgingly agreed to take him to this year’s Iron Bowl after skipping the previous two —- “we haven’t even been competitive,” he lamented.

That six-game losing streak to the Tigers is a distant memory now as Alabama has re-emerged as a national powerhouse.

“I compare it to being saved,” said Atkins, who played tackle on Bill Curry’s Alabama teams in the late ’80s. “I feel like a major weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

Such evangelical fervor is not hyperbole, not along the banks of the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa.

Now the revival is on its way to Atlanta, which is where it began when the Tide made the cover of Sports Illustrated by dismantling Clemson in the season opener. Alabama and Florida will face off Saturday in the Georgia Dome for the SEC title. A win there and Alabama advances to the BCS championship game and gets the opportunity to win its first national title since 1992.

Along the way, the Tide have vanquished fashion-obsessed Georgia and bullied Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, humbling since-fired Phillip Fulmer. More than any coach, Fulmer is anathema to Tide fans, who blame him for blowing the whistle on ‘Bama recruiting violations dating to 2001.

Now Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville is out after resigning Wednesday. Losing 36-0 to the Tide didn’t help.

“It’s redemption,” said Atkins, who lives in Huntsville. “Everything’s better when Alabama’s winning. Food tastes better.”

Yep, those Crimson Dogs might as well be prime rib now that Nick Saban, the mercurial carpetbagger from West Virginia (by way of Toledo, Lansing, Baton Rouge and Miami), has seemingly erased the past 16 years of Alabama football from memory.

“I feel like a Boston Red Sox fan,” said Tuscaloosa native Amy Ashcraft, a sixth-generation ‘Bama backer.

For the record, the Sox went 86 years between championships. “It feels like longer,” she said.

Call it the curse of Dennis Franchione, one of the Tide’s seven football coaches following Paul “Bear” Bryant (who retired in 1982) and before Saban, the well-traveled coach who was hired in January 2007 and has rejuvenated the faithful.

“After [Franchione] left [accepting a job at Texas A&M] we got a bunch of his bobblehead dolls and knocked off the heads with golf clubs,” Ashcraft said.

[There was a rumor that Franchione was on campus Saturday as part of ESPN’s Iron Bowl coverage. It was unfounded, but just in case a fraternity unveiled a large banner depicting an extended middle finger in back of the network’s makeshift set —- not much of a welcome for the last Alabama coach to beat Auburn].

Room for a statue

Coaches don’t leave Alabama. They can retire, or be fired, but they can’t just quit. Especially when they split in lieu of NCAA violations, as Franchione did after the 2002 season.

Saban would never do that, ‘Bama fans say, even though he has left three college programs and one pro job in his 13 years as a head coach. His current contract allows him to exit Alabama on a whim, without financial penalty.

“His wife wouldn’t let him,” said Ashcraft, who recently splurged for a $350 tattoo on her lower back; “Bama Girl” is emblazoned over the school’s elephant mascot. “She [Mrs. Saban] loves it here.”

Who wouldn’t? Forbes magazine recently labeled Saban the most powerful coach in sports, noting his eight-year, $32 million contract. Among his perks: 25 hours of private use of a university plane, two cars and a country club membership.

Not to mention the deification that comes when you’re winning, and you’re doing so in a way that would please Coach Bryant: bulwark line play, a dependable running game and a quarterback who minimizes mistakes.

“He’s the next Bear Bryant,” Ashcraft said of Saban.

Her friend Joey Durrett of Tuscaloosa pointed toward a large statue of the legendary coach that overlooks the Walk of Champions leading into Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“There’s one empty space over there for another statue,” he said. “You’re going to see a statue of Coach Saban there one day.”

Ending the streak

But first he had to beat Auburn.

Last year the Tide lost to their in-state rival 17-10, although that defeat was overshadowed somewhat by the previous week’s humiliation to tiny Louisiana-Monroe. In Tuscaloosa. Saban struggled to keep the defeat in perspective.

“Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event,” he said after the game. “It may be 9/11, which sort of changed the spirit of America relative to catastrophic events. Pearl Harbor kind of got us ready for World War II, and that was a catastrophic event.”

He caught considerable heat from the national media for his comments, but not in Tuscaloosa. They understood. And it turns out Saban was right —- things have changed, quicker than even rabid Tide fans anticipated.

“I was thinking 8-4 would be good,” said Worm Christian, who arrived on campus at 7 a.m. last Friday to claim his usual tailgating spot in the shadow of Bryant-Denny.

“We’ve been here seven years,” the Tuscaloosa native said. He purchased season tickets —- for $2,100 —- even though he prefers watching the games on TV with friends on the corner of Stadium and University.

“Tide Pride,” he explained. “We’re recession-proof down here, at least when the Tide are winning. When the team wins, the whole community wins.”

Christian said he knew this year would be special after Alabama dominated Clemson 34-10. Outside of an overtime victory over LSU, the Tide have rarely been tested.

Can’t miss this one

Even Auburn fans had to take note.

“Auburn people have got to get over their jealousy,” said Tiger alum Charles Barkley, who attended last Saturday’s game. He was a big hit as he strolled across the quad, despite a T-shirt proclaiming: “Alabama, 11-1. Priceless.”

“That’s Charles,” said Tide fan Danny Alexander, of Jasper, Ala. “But he knows they’re not going to win.”

Alexander had little doubt, which led to a potential conflict. He’s getting married Saturday —- the same day as the SEC championship.

“That’s the only weekend she could get off,” Alexander said of his intended. “But we’re getting married at 1 o’clock [three hours before kickoff]. Then we’ll watch the game. I don’t know where, but we’re going to watch it.”

The honeymoon will have to wait. With any luck, it’ll last as long as Saban’s.

THEY MEET AGAIN

This will be the sixth meeting in the SEC title game between the Crimson Tide and Gators:

Year….Score….Site

1999….Alabama 34, Florida 7…..Georgia Dome

1996….Florida 45, Alabama 30….Georgia Dome

1994….Florida 24, Alabama 23….Georgia Dome

1993….Florida 28, Alabama 13….Legion Field

1992….Alabama 28, Florida 21….Legion Field

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP: ALABAMA VS. FLORIDA

at the Georgia Dome * 4 p.m. Saturday * CBS * 680 AM