Early on, some marble-mouthed clown called in and started bashing Alabama because they've never had a black quarterback in the NFL or one who started an entire season.
Finebaum bristled (I think the guy was a plant designed to direct the pace of the show) of course and threw out Walter Lewis as the alpha and omega of that discussion. Black quarterback, started, was a Heisman contender. Lewis closed the discussion. Period. Besides they have a black basketball coach. Duh.
Of course five minutes later, some inbred redneck fuck invoked the name 'Bahr Bryunt' and mentioned how he wanted to sign him a black quarterback and woulda 'cept for George Wallace....
Side note: I've made a game of it lately. How long does it take for somebody to mention Bryant on any given day. So far the longest the show has gone is about ten minutes.
I sort of agreed that it wasn't that big a deal, nobody really cared, this was 2011 and they would play whoever but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if Finebaum's little plant didn't have more substance than anybody realized.
Is one guy 28 years ago really the answer to that question? Does Walter Lewis absolve Alabama from everything forever?
Dameyune Craig, Pat Washington, Jason Campbell, Reggie Slack, Cam Newton, Rohan Davey, Jordan Jefferson, Jamarcus Russell, Chris Leak, Tee Martin, Quincy Carter....
How many of those guys have national titles? Campbell, Newton, Russell, Leak, Martin....
One guy at Alabama 28 years ago puts paid to all that?
Thought about it. Nothing is more important at Alabama than football. Nothing. Not academics, not research, nothing. Football is everything.
The starting quarterback is essentially the face of the "university" (and I use that term loosely). The starting quarterback is the most recognizable image of the school.
Dude was right. They don't want that face to be black. Not now, not ever.