Alabama or Notre Dame: Which Tradition Is Greater?

As of Sunday, there were only 15 days remaining until the BCS National Championship showdown between the top-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide.

The megahype is in full gear for a matchup that has both the national media and rabid college football traditionalists drooling.

And why not,  as you are only talking about the two biggest name programs in college football history.  Although fans from programs such as Michigan, Southern Cal, Oklahoma and Ohio State may have conniption fits protesting that statement, there is really little argument that any real and significant discussion about the history and lore of college football begins with Alabama and Notre Dame. In fact, there have been some pretty classic games between these two storied programs, although the Tide and Irish have not met since a 37-6 rout by Notre Dame in South Bend in 1987.

The Jan. 7 matchup to decide the 2012 national title is already being tagged with creative billing such as "Catholics vs Cousins," "Catholics vs Champions" and even "Forrest Gump vs Rudy," and peripheral noise such as that only serves to fuel the fire for the ever growing hype machine regarding this marquee championship event.

The matchup, however, also raises an intriguing debate in my mind over which program actually has the strongest tradition. 

I feel it is a debate that has much merit, just in terms of creating a delicious and entertaining discussion about the sport that many of us have a deep passion for, and there is no doubt you would get equally heated arguments for both sides from two of the most passionate fan bases in the sport.

I am not really sure that anyone can make a defining statement regarding one program's tradition being superior to the other, as both programs are loaded with myriad iconic figures and symbols. And the amount of success enjoyed by both programs since their respective inceptions, both in terms of team success and individual accomplishments, have always tended to make the Fighting Irish and Crimson Tide programs that are either loved or hated on a national scale.

The following is a look at some of the most unique and significant aspects of each program's illustrious football history:

NATIONAL TITLES: A discussion about rating and poll services can be saved for another day, but the Fighting Irish claims 13 national titles while Alabama currently claims 14 such crowns. This makes this category virtually even, although of course the Irish aims to totally match the number of crowns by the Tide in Miami.

UNIFORMS: Another great element to college football is the fact that the uniforms for tradition-rich programs such as Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan and USC have remained basically the same and are as legendary as the coaches and players themselves for these fine football institutions.  The helmets for the Irish are among the most distinctive in college football history and set the gold standard (pun intended) for college football headwear along with others such as Michigan and USC. The blue and gold jerseys and pants are along the line of Penn State in that they are not really fancy but very distinctive and of course the Irish occasionally break out the famed green jerseys for big games as well.  Alabama also boasts some of the most iconic and traditional uniforms that have basically remained the same other than a few minor tweaks here and there through the years. Bama has basically sported the crimson helmet with the white numbers on both sides although at various times in its history Alabama has gone with white helmets. Alabama has stuck with the white pants with the crimson striping, and although the Crimson Tide's gear cannot be called flashy, it can be called classic.  Another category where I would rate the traditions basically even.

ICONIC COACHES: Any discussion about the coaches of these two fine programs has to begin with Alabama's legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant, who would no doubt be on the Mt. Rushmore of college football coaches, and who established the Crimson Tide program as a dominant one in the 1960s and 1970s. He is one of the sports all-time winningest coaches and a figure that had a significant influence and impact on the game for over 25 years, and whose impact can still be felt all over the Crimson Tide record books and in the state of Alabama. Bryant also won six national championships at Alabama.  Of course, even before Bryant arrived at Alabama in 1957, the Crimson Tide program had already been established by other famed coaches such as Wallace Wade, Harold "Red" Drew and Frank Thomas. Gene Stallings helped to revive the Crimson Tide tradition in the early 1990s after a period of struggle, leading Alabama to the 1992 national crown and is considered one of the most popular coaches of this football-rich school. Current Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban is quickly establishing another dynasty at UA, as he has already won a pair of national crowns in Tuscaloosa and is hoping to lead Alabama to its third crown in four years with a win over the Irish.  Many claim that college football's greatest coach ever is Knute Rockne, who was chronicled in a famed sports movie classic in Knute Rockne All American, and who won six national titles in South Bend. Rockne would certainly also be included with Bryant on that aforementioned college football Mt. Rushmore. Notre Dame also enjoyed an immense amount of success with legends Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz. Current Irish coach Brian Kelly  seems to be on the verge of making the Irish program a relevant one again, as Notre Dame has not won a national title since 1988. A slight edge in the category would go to Alabama simply due to the long and successful reign of Bryant while in Tuscaloosa and his overall impact  as a power broker in many areas of the sport.

STADIUMS: Certainly two of the most legendary cathedrals in the sport although Notre Dame Stadium has pretty much remained basic other than a few expansions here and there while Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium has undergone numerous dramatic revisions over the past 20-plus years to become the stunning showplace it is today. Notre Dame's playing venue was given much of a spotlight in the movie Rudy as well as its historic campus setting which includes the nearby Touchdown Jesus. What Notre Dame Stadium lacks in flair and dazzle is more than made up for with pure history and tradition. Alabama has attempted to create a little more of that at Bryant-Denny with its plaza that documents the program's national championships and SEC titles and the statues of national championship coaches, but an edge goes to Notre Dame here in my humble opinion.

ICONIC PLAYERS: Both programs can boast a huge number of All-Americans, Hall of Famers and players who later went on to star in the NFL, and really the only significant edge that either program can claim is the fact that Notre Dame has seven Heisman Trophy winners while Mark Ingram is the Crimson Tide's sole recipient of college football's most highly coveted award. The Heisman Trophy is a sometimes-subjective award, however, voted on by a national media that has always had a love affair with the Fighting Irish in my view, although it was certainly hard to argue against recipients such as Paul Hornung, Tim Brown and John Huarte. Still for every Hornung, Huarte, Raghib Ishmael, Bob Golic,  Aaron Taylor, Chris Zorich, Joe Theismann, Joe Montana, Jim Lynch, Justin Tuck, Jerome Bettis, Johnny Latner and Leon Hart the Irish can offer up, Alabama can offer up such college football dignitaries as Bart Starr, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler, Lee Roy Jordan, Dwight Stevenson, Tony Nathan, Cornelius Bennett, Derrick Thomas, Mark Ingram, John Hannah, Don Hutson, Ozzie Newsome, Billy Neighbors and Demeco Ryans among so many other greats. This category is virtually a deadlock once again.

MYSTIQUE: As mentioned, the national media has always seemed to have a certain glow when it comes to the Fighting Irish program, and the national love affair has also made its way to Hollywood, which beautifully captured much of the charm of Notre Dame football in iconic films Rudy and Knute Rockne, All American. While Alabama has always been respected as a traditional name in college football, the national glow about the Crimson Tide has not been on the same level as that of Notre Dame. I don't know if that is due to the fact that there has often seemed to be a bias against southern schools due to the past issues of racism or whatever, or perhaps there being a longtime sentiment against Alabama simply because of its long tradition of success or maybe jealousy relative to Bryant's power and success.

There are many other things that can be weighed between the two schools.

Notre Dame is a traditional power that has gained its enormous success as an independent school while the Crimson Tide is the longtime powerhouse of the SEC, the nation's most traditional and successful football conference ever, and a conference that is even today seeking its seventh consecutive national title.

Notre Dame has its own television contract with NBC, but again that network has been able to document a lot of Notre Dame losses over the past few years as the Irish program has been largely irrelevant over much of the last 20-plus years. Alabama was creeping toward irrelevancy until the arrival of Saban in 2007, but even still the Crimson Tide was able to pick up a national title in the 1990s under Stallings and a pair of SEC titles in the 1980s.

South Bend has been the home of the College Football Hall of Fame, which is a nice showcase for college football and that campus, but the Paul Bryant Museum is a must-see attraction for all visitors and college football fans as well and Tuscaloosa is currently the home of the nation's most dominant college football program under Saban. Notre Dame is trying to get back to that point.

In conclusion, both Crimson Tide and Irish fans can make the claim that their program has the strongest overall college football tradition and it would be arguable with either side.

But, once again, that argument, and the combined level of excellence and success for both programs throughout the years is what makes this perhaps the most anticipated, intriguing and hyped national championship game in recent memory.

It is a dream matchup for purists who live and breathe college football.