Late in the spring semester, I wrote a column about how the athletics program at Alabama is not only among the best in the nation, but a part of our lives, culture and identity as students at the University.
Looking back on that column, I’d say I got it right.
Unless you’ve absolutely refused to open your emails or turn on the TV, you should know that Alabama is having what is arguably its best year athletically. Obviously, you have the national champions in football and gymnastics, but Alabama has proved it has more talent than just on the gridiron and in the gym.
The women’s golf team has quickly become one of those programs. When you look at the team closely, they’ve been there ever since the arrival of head coach Mic Potter, especially in the last two seasons. For the past two years, the Tide finished in third, but they have finally come away with some hardware this year to earn the program’s and Potter’s first ever national title.
Speaking of golf, the men’s team did very well, too. The Tide entered the NCAA Tournament last week as the No. 2 seed, dominated course play for the first three days of the tournament and won its first two matches against Kent State and California to earn a chance at the national title against Texas. It was a hard-fought match that literally came down to the last hole, but the Tide could only come up with the second-place finish.
Still, for a team that had previously never finished better than tied for third,it’s a huge accomplishment. What’s more, the Tide is only losing one senior off this team and is returning a lot of young talent in Cory Whitsett and Justin Thomas. Look for the Tide to be strong again next year.
Of course, the team that’s making headlines for Alabama so far this summer is the softball team. As I write this, the Tide is currently down 1-0 to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Women’s College World Series Championship series. While a championship is the only thing for which the team will settle, that they made it there in the first place is a testament to the talent present in the team and coaching.
And who didn’t breathe a sigh of relief when Alabama finally made it past the semis? The past two times Alabama has made it there, they choked and were unable to make it to the big game. The fact that they were on the cusp so much so recently was heartbreaking for the team. But for them to finally overcome that hurdle is perhaps one of Alabama’s feel-good stories of the year.
So, that leaves Alabama in one of two scenarios: Three national championships and two runner-ups or four national championships and one runner-up. And while the Tide’s faithful fans will always want that second option, the fact that our athletics have been so dominant in so many different sports is unbelievable.
Athletic Director Mal Moore has done a fantastic job with the sports teams at Alabama, and it’s showing. Not only that – the amount of support for the teams has also been incredible. The amount of tweets I’ve read that had #rolltide or #champs! is really gratifying to see.
Alabama fans can only hope the trend continues in the future; however, if this year has proved anything, it’s that Alabama isn’t just a football school anymore.
