Alabama is known for three things: Forrest Gump, 1960s civil-rights tensions and football.

Like in many southern states, college football is the sport of choice. The Alabama-Auburn annual meeting in the Iron Bowl is one of the most famous rivalries throughout sports. Alabama is divided by Crimson Tide and Tiger fans who have always had a strong dislike for one another.

This spring, though, basketball has been the sport on everyone’s mind. After the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, all the talk is about a potential Alabama-Alabama-Birmingham national championship game. Eight and nine seeds, respectively, both have upset No. 1 seeds on their way to the Sweet 16.

North Carolinians might not be fazed by this type of success, but it’s a special year for Alabama.

‘Everybody is buzzing about it,’ said Rep. George Perdue, a UAB administrator and member of the Alabama state legislature, whose district includes the UAB campus. ‘For at least two days, all of the headlines were about those two wins and spring football was bumped to the back page.’

‘There’s definitely more interest this year,’ Auburn Athletic Director David Housel said. ‘The success of both programs has spread the excitement throughout the state.’

Alabama hasn’t been in the Sweet 16 since 1991 and UAB’s last trip was in 1982. Rep. Oliver Robinson, the first full-scholarship athlete in UAB’s history, was on that 1982 team that went to the Elite Eight. He joined Perdue in the Alabama House of Representatives after a brief stint with the San Antonio Spurs. Robinson believes that UAB has a good chance of going farther than his team did 22 years ago.

‘They just have to play the game they’ve been playing,’ Robinson said. ‘(UAB head coach) Mike Anderson has molded this team into shape. In the last two or three minutes, it’s their game.’

Anderson uses the same high-pressure defensive system that Nolan Richardson used to bring Arkansas to the national championship in 1994. It causes teams to rush, panic and turn the ball over again and again. Against No. 1-seed Kentucky, the Blazers got 21 points off UK’s 16 turnovers.

Perdue, who is close with the team, said the secret is their endurance. UAB players are able to keep the defensive pressure for their 40-minutes-of-hell style because they run two-and-a-half miles every day.

‘You get that many steals and you’re going to make teams play differently than they’re used to,’ Perdue said. ‘I expect them to win at least one more.’

If UAB was to go on and beat Alabama in the finals, it would be the ultimate irony. UAB was part of Alabama until 1969, when it was divided into three separate campuses.

After a midseason slump, the Crimson Tide came on strong at the end of the season and in the tournament. With wins against Southern Illinois and Stanford, Alabama has exceeded all expectations.

‘It’s a big deal around here,’ Alabama freshman Michelle Fuentes said. ‘Everyone’s kind of in disbelief. We didn’t think we’d make the tournament but we just kept winning and winning.’

Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried has been surprised with the success of both teams, but he hopes for more than just the Sweet 16.

Said Gottfried, ‘Probably no one really thought that would happen, but that’s the NCAA Tournament. That’s why its the greatest show on earth. Everyone gets a shot at it, and anything can happen.

‘One thing our state hasn’t done is put a team in the Final Four. That’s what we’ve got to do next.’

Published on March 24, 2004 at 12:00 pm