Confetti fired through cannons, slowly fluttering back to the Superdome turf. Everyone was hugging. Nick Saban didn't even seem to mind the icy orange Gatorade bath in the closing seconds of Alabama's methodical deconstruction of LSU.
That January night brought a second national title in three years to Tuscaloosa. Through the chaotic celebration, Crimson Tide receiver Brandon Gibson quickly found the perspective.
"With everything that happened in April," Gibson said after the 21-0 win over LSU on Jan. 9, 2012, "it was sad, but I think the fact we brought this trophy back to Tuscaloosa, it means a lot.