Everyone has danced around the real issue, so I'll lay it out in plain sight. We are too arrogant for our own good. We think that we don't have to make noise to enjoy a home field advantage. We don't have to intimidate the opposition. We are Alabama. That is intimidation enough.
Fast forward to the present. The "12th man" isn't a story from aTm anymore. It is a tangible, physical thing. I know. I've felt it. I was in BDS last October 1. I screamed myself hoarse. I stood the entire game. I watched the Tide feed off of the crowd's energy, and I saw the #5 team in the nation wilt under that energy.
Since that day, how many times have we seen Tide players trying to pump up the crowd during critical moments? That is something new. I don't hardly remember anyone doing that before that Florida game. If they did, it wasn't to the extent since then. How many times has Coach Shula mentioned the crowd noise and its effect on the game since then? You never heard that before. The teams before didn't know what they were missing.
Now we, as Bama fans, have been asked many times and will continue to be asked, by our beloved Crimson Tide, to exhibit a true home field advantage in Bryant Denny. Who will answer the call? I will, and I hope you will too.