Who is Coach Paul Bear Bryant

1. Alabama Football.
2. Alabama Football.
3. Alabama Football.
But seriously, who doesn't love a winner. And Coach Bryant just oozed "winner" from his pores. And, the thing is, he produced winners, not only in football, but in life.

You know another thing I loved about Coach Bryant? That man could lose more gracefully than anyone else I've ever known. The fans could be pitching hissy fits (that's southern for a tantram) but Coach Bryant would be so calm under pressure and just so graceful. Now he might have had a hissy fit when he was all alone, but his mama must have taught him well, for he knew how to behave in public.

Please check out the Bear Bryant and Alabama sports items on www.CoachPaulBearBryant.com

Get your "Bear" and "Alabama stuff at www.CoachPaulBearBryant.com
You'll find great gift items for a Coach Bryant admirer or an Alabama Crimson Tide football (or Alabama Crimson Tide sports fan, in general). Things like hats and beanies and posters and books by Coach Bryant. Items are being added every day.

Sports Noses

I doubt you have thought of this angle, but you might enjoy a new page I've created on my All-About-Noses web site, called Sports Noses. Click over to see some great videos and read more about The Bear and Alabama football. There is video on the 2008 recruits that you might find interesting.

I married a man from Alabama. A man who just happened to be a huge Alabama football fan. And he was a great admirer of Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. He never missed watching Coach Bryant's show on TV. As a young bride, I learned that we didn't talk about anything much when Alabama was playing - we listened to the radio - Philip agonized over every play. Our three children became Coach Bryant fans and now it continues with the grandchildren - two of them even have their rooms painted in Alabama colors and decorated with Alabama stuff.

As a young couple with not much money, we'd occasionally scrape together enough for tickets to a game. I tell you, nothing was so exciting as to be at Legion Field stadium (shown at right) in Birmingham on a Saturday afternoon when Coach Bryant and his Crimson Tide burst onto the field. Just remembering it makes me get that butterfly feeling of anticipation in the pit of my stomach. The roar of the fans was deafening and the band was awesome. What wonderful memories!

One of the highlights of Philip's life is attending A Day in Tuscaloosa. His brothers, assorted kids, and grandkids all meet at Dreamland in Tuscaloosa before the game to get a heaping helping of those delicious ribs and that great 'nana puddin', as my grandsons would say. This year A Day attendance broke all kinds of records. Philip says there's something about Saban that reminds him of the Bear.

So now our kids and grandkids have Dreamland ribs, banana pudding, Alabama football, and our hero, Coach Bear Bryant in their blood. We can sit back and relax. The torch has been passed to the next generation.

Find Bear Bryant and Alabama sports items on www.CoachPaulBearBryant.com

This past Tuesday, January 15th, our oldest son, Phil, got a craving for some ribs, so we headed to the nearest Dreamland. That would be Huntsville, Alabama in our case - about two hours from our home in Nashville - but worth the drive to make the birthday boy happy.

Satisfied and happy we were after consuming those delicious ribs, BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, and of course, banana pudding, and a new addition to their menu, brownie a la mode. Kinda hard to stay awake on the drive back to Nashville!

Here's a link to the Dreamland web site, where you can find the different locations, hours of operation, menus, and more: www.dreamlandbbq.com

Locations:

• Tuscaloosa, AL (original restaurant)


• Birmingham, AL


• Huntsville, AL


• Montgomery, AL


• Mobile, AL


• Northport, AL


• Roswell, GA


• Norcross, GA (Peachtree Corners)

Philip and the grandsons, Jackson, Jordan, and Christopher, along with our son, Phil, began their A Day trip early this year, leaving Phil's house about 6:00AM for the four hour drive to Tuscaloosa. Did I mention that Philip had a heart attack February 19th? He's doing well but never had any doubts about keeping up the A Day tradition. Hopefully, just one day of Dreamland ribs and banana pudding won't clog up the arteries too much. They had a fantastic time and arrived home about midnight last night I am truly thankful that they again had the opportunity to make wonderful memories with their father and grandfather.

See pictures of the 2007 and 2008 A-Day games on my son's Nick Saban lens: http://www.squidoo.com/coach-nick-saban

08/30/08 Alabama vs Clemson Tigers (H) Atlanta-Georgia Dome
09/06/08 Alabama vs Tulane Green Wave (H)
09/13/08 Alabama vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (H)
09/20/08 Alabama vs Arkansas Razorbacks (A) Fayetteville, AR
09/27/08 Alabama vs Georgia Bulldogs (A) Athens, GA
10/04/08 Alabama vs Kentucky Wildcats (H)
10/18/08 Alabama vs Ole Miss Rebels (H)
10/25/08 Alabama vs Tennessee Volunteers (A) Knoxville, TN
11/01/08 Alabama vs Arkansas State Indians (H)
11/08/08 Alabama vs Louisiana State University (A) Baton Rouge, LA
11/15/08 Alabama vs Mississippi State Bulldogs (H)
11/29/08 Alabama vs Auburn Tigers (H)

Alabama 34 Clemson 10

The boys and men at my home were more than ready for this game, having gone to Huntsville earlier in the week for ribs at Dreamland and a day of shopping for all things Alabama. Game day brought nothing but 'Roll Tide', 'Go Bama', and various other loud shouts from the guys watching the game.

Alabama 29 Tulane 06 Go Bama!
Alabama 41 Western Kentucky 07 Yea Alabama!
Alabama 49 Arkansas Razorbacks 14
Alabama 41 Georgia Bulldogs 30
Alabama 17 Kentucky Wildcats 14
Alabama 24 Ole Miss 20
Alabama 29 Tennessee 09 The guys said this one was sweet!!!
Alabama 35 Arkansas State Indians 0
Alabama 27 LSU 21 Go Bama!!!
Alabama 32 Mississippi State 07
Alabama 36 Auburn 0 Way To Go, BAMA!!!

What a bunch of unhappy campers we were last Saturday night when Bama lost to Florida! It was the fourteenth birthday of one of the grandsons - a win would have been a great birthday gift - all the guys were at our house enjoying the tailgating efforts of my husband, Philip, and our daughter came over and made her fantastic potato soup. We were all set for a celebration. Unfortunately, it was not to be!

Looking for Alabama items for friends and family? Check out www.CoachPaulBearBryant.com

Philip and the Nashville gang got an early start this year, leaving our house around 4:45AM. Not long after their arrival in Tuscaloosa it began to rain a little. So they headed on over to the nearest Dollar General to buy rain ponchos for all. Of course, the grandsons had to check out all the pretty Alabama girls, staying near the cheerleaders for most of the day.
After stopping by a very busy Dreamland in Birmingham for ribs and banana pudding, they headed back to Nashville with full tummies, a bunch of new memories, and looking forward to a new season of Alabama Crimson Tide football.

'll never forget going to the Rose Bowl. I remember everything about it. We were on the train and Coach Thomas was talking to three coaches and Red Heard, the athletic director at LSU. Coach Thomas said, 'Red, this is my best football player. This is the best player on my team.' Well, shoot, I could have gone right out the top. He was getting me ready. And I was, too. I would have gone out there and killed myself for Alabama that day.
Reminiscing about the 1935 Rose Bowl trip and Coach Thomas.

How many people watch you give a final exam? [About fifty is the reply.] Well, I have 50,000 watch me give mine - every Saturday!
To English Professor Tommy Mayo (at Texas A&M) when questioned about his emphasis on winning and his salary.

Stephenson was a man among children - he didn't say very much, but he didn't have to.
About Dwight Stevenson, the center on his national championship 1979 squad. Bryant also called Stephenson "The best center I've ever coached".

Lee Roy was the best college linebacker - bar none. He would have made every tackle on every play if they had stayed in bounds.
On Lee Roy Jordan.

Sure I'd like to beat Notre Dame, don't get me wrong. But nothing matters more than beating that cow college on the other side of the state.
To a group of boosters before an Auburn game. This comment was widely reported, and Auburn upset the Tide a few days later.

I left Texas A&M because my school called me. Mama called, and when Mama calls, then you just have to come running.
On why he had to leave Texas A&M with six years left on his contract.

What matters...is not the size of the dog in the fight, but of the fight in the dog.

I ain't never been nothing but a winner.

If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride - and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.

Tough times don't last, but tough people do.

The fun never goes out, but it changes with the years, with winning and losing.

Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don't quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don't quit until you reach it. Never quit.

It's not the will to win that matters - everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters.

Mama wanted me to be a preacher. I told her coachin' and preachin' were a lot alike.
Source: Wikipedia

Plenty of books on Coach Paul Bear Bryant at www.CoachPaulBearBryant.com

Alabama 52 - Western Carolina 6
Alabama 24 - Vanderbilt 10
Alabama 41 - Arkansas 38
Alabama 23 - Georgia 26 (I think I saw a hissy fit tonight in the privacy of my living room. But my lips are sealed. I'll never tell who. I must have been a tiny bit upset also since I reversed the actual score the first time I typed it in here.)
Alabama 14 - Florida State 21
Alabama 30 - Houston 24
Alabama 27 - Ole Miss 14
Alabama 41 - Tennessee 17
Alabama 34 - LSU 41 Ouch! That hurt to type that!
Alabama 12 - Mississippi State 17
Alabama 14 - Louisiana Monroe 21
Alabama 10 - Auburn 17

Alabama 30 - Colorado 24
PetroSun Independence Bowl at Shreveport, Louisiana. Game time is 7PM CST on Sunday, December 30th.
Game on ESPN.

At the beginning of the season I titled this segment "The Bear Would Be Proud". Actually, I don't think he would. He would, however, be a very gracious loser.

You could play four years and not be good enough to cost the University of Alabama thirty yards!
An irate Coach Bryant to a player who had just received his second fifteen yard penalty of the game.

He can't run, he can't pass, and he can't kick - all he can do is beat you.
Speaking of Tide QB Pat Trammel.

This is the saddest day of my life.
On hearing the news Pat Trammell had died in Birmingham in December, 1968.

All I know is, I don't want to stop coaching, and I don't want to stop winning, so we're gonna break the record unless I die.
When asked if he would break Alonzo Stagg's record of 314 college wins.

I know one thing, I'd rather die now than to have died this morning and missed this game.
After Alabama's 31-7 win over unbeaten Auburn in 1971.

Hell, no! A tie is like kissing your sister!
After being asked if he had considered going for a field goal when trailing by three points.

Regardless of who was coaching them, they still would have been a great team. I said early in the season that they were the nicest, even sissiest, bunch I ever had. I think they read it, because later on they got unfriendly.
On his 1961 team.

I didn't care if we ever quit practicing. I loved it. The only other guy I ever knew who loved it as much was Jerry Duncan. He would beg to practice even when he was hurt. I've actually seen him cry because the trainer told him he couldn't scrimmage.
On Jerry Duncan, his star tackle in 1964-66.

What the hell's the matter with you people down there? Don't y'all take your football seriously?
Upon calling Auburn at 6 AM only to find out that none of the coaches were in their offices yet.

Woody is a great coach . . . and I ain't bad.
After the Tide beat Ohio State 35 - 6 in the 1978 Sugar Bowl.

Here's a twenty, bury two.
After being asked to chip in ten dollars to help cover the cost of a sportswriters funeral.

I'm just a simple plow hand from Arkansas, but I have learned over the years how to hold a team together. How to lift some men up, how to calm others down, until finally they've got one heartbeat, together, a team.
When asked why he was so successful as a coach.

My Momma taught me not to wear a hat inside
When asked why he wasn't wearing his signature houndstooth hat at the superdome.

Source: Wikipedia

If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you.

If wanting to win is a fault, as some of my critics seem to insist, then I plead guilty. I like to win. I know no other way. It's in my blood.

I'll never give up on a player regardless of his ability as long as he never gives up on himself. In time he will develop.

The old lessons (work, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, fighting to achieve) aren't being taught by many people other than football coaches these days. The football coach has a captive audience and can teach these lessons because the communication lines between himself and his players are more wide open than between kids and parents. We better teach these lessons or else the country's future population will be made up of a majority of crooks, drug addicts, or people on relief.

Be aware of "yes" men. Generally, they are losers. Surround yourself with winners. Never forget - people win.

Sacrifice. Work. Self-discipline. I teach these things, and my boys don't forget them when they leave.

Set goals - high goals for you and your organization. When your organization has a goal to shoot for, you create teamwork, people working for a common good.

Losing doesn't make me want to quit. It makes me want to fight that much harder.

I'm no miracle man. I guarantee nothing but hard work.

What are you doing here? Tell me why you are here. If you are not here to win a national championship, you're in the wrong place. You boys are special. I don't want my players to be like other students. I want special people. You can learn a lot on the football field that isn't taught in the home, the church, or the classroom. There are going to be days when you think you've got no more to give and then you're going to give plenty more. You are going to have pride and class. You are going to be very special. You are going to win the national championship for Alabama.

Don't overwork your squad. If you're going to make a mistake, under-work them.

If you whoop and holler all the time, the players just get used to it.

If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, "Roll, tide, roll!"
After being asked of his dedication to the University of Alabama.

At Alabama, our players don't win Heisman Trophies. Our teams win National Championships.
After being asked why no Alaba

On December 29, 1982, sports history was made and an era ended with Bryant's final game, the Liberty Bowl. It was the same bowl he had taken the Tide to in his first year as head coach, and his final team defeated Illinois 21-15. With 323 career wins, Bryant was the winningest coach in college football history to that point. At Alabama, he tallied to 232 wins, six national championships, and 24 straight bowl appearances.

"I'd probably croak in a week if I ever quit coaching," Bryant once said. He was close - Bryant died 27 days after he coached his last game.
Source: Wikipedia

Paul Bryant was the 11th of 12 children born to William Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant in Moro Bottom, Arkansas.

His nickname stemmed from his having agreed to wrestle a captive bear during a theater promotion when he was 13 years old.

He attended Fordyce High School in Fordyce, Arkansas, where 6-foot-1 Bryant began playing on the school's football team as an 8th grader. During his senior season, the team, with Bryant playing offensive end and defensive line, won the 1930 Arkansas state football championship.

Bryant accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Alabama in 1931. Bryant played end for the Crimson Tide and was a participant on the school's 1934 national championship team. Socially, Bryant pledged Sigma Nu and, as a senior, married Mary Harmon, who bore him a daughter nine months later.

Bryant took over the Alabama football team in 1958. After winning a combined four games the previous three years, the Tide went 5-4-1 in Bryant's first season. The next year, in 1959, Alabama beat Auburn and appeared in a bowl game, the first time either had happened in the previous six years. In 1961, Alabama went 11-0 and defeated Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl to claim the national championship.The next three years (1962-1964) featured Joe Namath at quarterback and were among Bryant's finest. The 1962 season ended with a victory in the Orange Bowl over Bud Wilkinson's University of Oklahoma Sooners. The following year ended with a victory in the 1963 Sugar Bowl. In 1964, the Tide won another national championship but lost to the University of Texas in the Orange Bowl in the first nationally televised college game in color. The Crimson Tide would repeat as champions in 1965 after defeating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Coming off of back-to-back national championship seasons, Bryant's Alabama team went undefeated in 1966 and defeated a strong Nebraska team 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl. However, Alabama finished third in the nation behind Michigan State and Notre Dame.The 1967 team was billed as another national championship contender with star quarterback Kenny Stabler returning, but the team stumbled out of the gate and tied Florida State 37-37 at Legion Field. The season never took off from there, with the Bryant-led Alabama team finishing 8-2-1, losing in the Cotton Bowl.
Source: Wikipedia