When I originally started this series, I was hoping to do 10 lengthy posts to help cure the offseason blues. Real life intruded and now that we're less than two weeks away from the first Bama game, I'm not going to bore you all with Tolstoy length posts about road trips I'd like to take, but that'll likely never happen. With all of that in mind, I'm going to do the Top 5 in a single post.
To recap the countdown so far: #10 Rutgers, #9 San Diego State, #8 Washington, #7 Colorado, #6 Maryland
Now, onto the Top 5:
05: Miami Hurricanes - While the 'Canes of today aren't up to the standard of the 80s and 90s Miami teams, I think a lot of people unfairly write them off as being awful, which isn't exactly true. Granted, things have gotten a bit rougher for them since joining the ACC, but I think they'll right the ship eventually. That being said, who among these two fan bases wouldn't want to have a rematch of the 1992 national championship game? In '04 or '05, I was at an Alabama vs. Florida basketball game in Gainesville and ended up sitting next to a Miami fan that was in school at UF. That guy talked the entire game about how Miami was better in '92 and that Alabama got lucky. I encountered quite a bit of that while living in Florida, so I say let's line 'em up again.
Miami is a mega-fun place too and I would be at that game in a heartbeat (and from what they say about Miami fans, it sounds like it'd be an easy ticket to get.) I had a friend go to school at FIU and ended up spending about two weeks in Miami a few years back. I had an incredible time. Beaches, bars, Cuban food, etc. I think I had maybe one lousy meal the entire time I was there. I thought I would find Miami to be a tacky, miserable place but I ended up being incredibly surprised and I'd really like to go back again.
04: Boston College - Alabama and Boston College have only met twice in the modern era and Alabama lost both contests by a touchdown in what were, by all accounts I've read, both incredibly memorable games. I think plenty of Alabama fans would like to see a rematch of those games. I've only visited Boston once. It was on a windy and snowy New Year's Eve where I experienced a level of being cold that I didn't even imagine was possible. Despite the sorriest weather I've ever seen, I had a blast during my three days in Boston and I can't imagine how fantastic it would be to visit in the early fall. As a prominent site during the American Revolution, it would be a great trip for the history lover. Fans of seafood would be in heaven given the city's reputation as a haven for great seafood. Add to that Fenway Park and a million other places and this is a no brainer to be on the list.
03: California - Sweet mercy, I cannot tell you how badly I want this trip to happen. Though I've never been there, the Bay Area in general is a place that has totally captured my imagination. From the food to the music to the picturesque setting, the place is just begging me to go across the country to visit. I honestly can't believe I haven't made it out there yet. I even wanted to do my master's degree at Cal seeing as they have a great program for what I studied, but it was pretty unrealistic given out of state tuition, distance, etc. If Cal were one of college football's titans, this would be an easy number one pick for me, but it's still a solid pick at #3 (and I'd be able to shop at Shrimati's in person!) Cal and Alabama have no real history to speak of with each other and now would be a good time to start some. Alabama's 1-1 all time against Cal. We lost 13-0 to them in the 1938 Rose Bowl and then absolutely pasted them 66-0 at Legion Field in 1973. Mal Moore: Make this happen...PLEASE!
02: USC - I've never had a huge desire to visit Los Angeles, but seeing as it's the second biggest city in the country and home to the mighty Trojans, I figure a visit is in order. I'm sure that much like Miami, Los Angeles would take me by surprise and probably make me glad I visited. As one of the United States' entertainment epicenters, there'd be no shortage of stuff to do and we all know our Bama man in LA, BixBeiderbecke would throw the party to end all parties if the Tide came to town. Also, I know many Bama fans are foaming at the mouth to get a crack at USC. The media coverage on that one would be through the roof. Oddly enough, of the seven times the Tide and Trojans have met, Alabama's only two losses have come at home.
01: Texas - RBR user rtr called the Longhorns at #1on this list quite some time ago and with good reason. Austin is the perfect combination of football powerhouse and incredible city. Honestly, after going to SXSW and hanging out for a few days afterwards in 2008, I have to say I'm impressed by anyone that actually graduates from the University of Texas. I remember leaving the Parish Room at something o'clock in the morning after some Eastern European DJ was absolutely killing the place and eating at one of the late night pizza stands and wishing I'd found a way to go to school there. There is so much distraction in that town that I don't even know where to begin. Texas was another place I wanted to go for my master's degree, but the same considerations that made Cal not likely for me did the same for Texas. For the football related side of things, Texas is obviously quite the opponent and one of the few teams to historically completely own Alabama. This game would be epic and an amazing road trip for any Tide fan.