When our Canadian contributor Charles Blouin-Gascon asked us to figure out which of the 2014 CFP qualifiers were most like our team, my mind raced to the Tide faster than Matt Breida off the pitch with eight blockers.
There are so many parallels between Alabama and Georgia Southern that it's almost scary and it's something our other GSU writer Walt Austin has pointed out many times.
Crimson Is The New Blue
First, okay yea, there's the uniforms. Erk Russell chose the Eagles' getup as the team's first coach and though he was an Auburn grad, what he settled on sure does resemble the Iron Bowl's other half. Down to the number on the helmet, the single white stripe and even the damn grey face mask, only the hue gives away which team is which.
If we're nitpicking, Alabama has two stripes running down its pant legs and a little "A" logo on the V-neck of the jersey. Georgia Southern has no pant stripes and no team logo, probably because it couldn't afford them in 1981.
Erk himself is close enough to Bear Bryant as a program builder whose legacy set its identity. The original Adrian Peterson can be Mark Ingram, etc.
You Play To Win These Games
But winning is the real tie that binds.
Alabama claims 148,894 national championships, eight of which apparently happened before Rutgers played Princeton, but whatevs. The Eagles have no such luxury with most of their history spent in a division that actually settles its champion on the field, but six titles from 1985 to 2000 still made them the ruler of their own kingdom.
If we're comparing the two, for years it could be said Georgia Southern was the Alabama of I-AA. Today, (fingers crossed) the team is poised to become the Alabama of the G5.
You Only Say We're Obnoxious Because You're Not One Of Us
There's one other thing I hear about both programs, something that tends to come from those pulling for the opposition. I think it's something about obnoxious fans? Personally, I have no idea what they're talking about.
When you throw in Georgia Southern's nickname from 1924 to 1941, the Blue Tide, Ancient Aliens-style conspiracy theories start coming to mind.
Roll Eagles, Hail Tide, or something like that. Georgia Southern is Alabama.
What do you think, Eagles fans? Do you agree? Let us know in the comments and by voting in the poll below. Read the rest of the series here.