Alabama football and Thanksgiving have a similar theme.
We know certain meals are foundational at Thanksgiving.
People equate a good menu with seeing dressing (with cranberry sauce), ham/turkey, mashed potatoes, greens, macaroni ‘n’ cheese, and a casserole. If any of these are absent from the table, then it does not feel like Thanksgiving. A successful game plan for the Crimson Tide works the same way. Before Nick Saban arrived in 2007, the foundation for Alabama was a power running game and a fearsome defense. Whether it was Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, Gene Stallings, or others, coaches for the Crimson Tide believed in running the ball.