The realm of sports have shaped and shifted communities ever since they first started being played. Being involved in sports and being constantly exposed to sports creates a certain level of comfortability with sportsmanship and competitiveness. For every Team A, there is a Team B who wants to defeat it and in essence that is how sport rivalries are born. While exploring through research of the Eastern United States, strong evidence stuck out that sports rivalries in these communities played a large role in how they were shaped. Furthermore, Appalachian communities thrive off of sports rivalries and within those rivalries the communities unify and become stronger. In particular, the film We Are Marshall precisely demonstrates this point and
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The article itself comes from History.com and was authored by the History.com staff. The article was published in 2010 and covered the background of Alabama and the tragedies that took place in Birmingham. During the 1960s, Birmingham, Alabama was notoriously known for its racial discrimination and segregation. The bombings that happened within Birmingham were sadly no accident and actually common. “By 1963, homemade bombs set off in Birmingham's black homes and churches were such common occurrences that the city had earned the nickname ‘Bombingham’,” (History). During this same year, 1963, Paul William “Bear” Bryant of the University of Alabama was coaching a phenomenal Crimson Tide football team. Coach Bear being the most legendary figure to coach for Alabama, was able to put together a winning team during a time where hope seemed to be lost. As head coach, Bear is known for his unlimited successes and plentiful wins. What most tend to look over was his ability to give people of Alabama something to look forward to and cheer for when it seemed as if no one could be excited. With bombings happening on a regular basis and racism at its peak, it would have been a myth to see a football team in this region thrive. “The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15 was the third bombing in 11 days,” (History). In 1963, Coach Bear produced a 9-2 season with the Crimson Tide. Ultimately, to end the season on the first day of 1964 with a win over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. With hundreds of thousands of people glued to their t.v.’s during the game, the entire state of Alabama was able to rejoice and celebrate for the first time in a long while. The past year for the state of Alabama was filled with racism troubles of fighting off the uprising of the KKK and mourning over the death of four girls in the Birmingham church bombing.
The article itself comes from History.com and was authored by the History.com staff. The article was published in 2010 and covered the background of Alabama and the tragedies that took place in Birmingham. During the 1960s, Birmingham, Alabama was notoriously known for its racial discrimination and segregation. The bombings that happened within Birmingham were sadly no accident and actually common. “By 1963, homemade bombs set off in Birmingham's black homes and churches were such common occurrences that the city had earned the nickname ‘Bombingham’,” (History). During this same year, 1963, Paul William “Bear” Bryant of the University of Alabama was coaching a phenomenal Crimson Tide football team. Coach Bear being the most legendary figure to coach for Alabama, was able to put together a winning team during a time where hope seemed to be lost. As head coach, Bear is known for his unlimited successes and plentiful wins. What most tend to look over was his ability to give people of Alabama something to look forward to and cheer for when it seemed as if no one could be excited. With bombings happening on a regular basis and racism at its peak, it would have been a myth to see a football team in this region thrive. “The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15 was the third bombing in 11 days,” (History). In 1963, Coach Bear produced a 9-2 season with the Crimson Tide. Ultimately, to end the season on the first day of 1964 with a win over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. With hundreds of thousands of people glued to their t.v.’s during the game, the entire state of Alabama was able to rejoice and celebrate for the first time in a long while. The past year for the state of Alabama was filled with racism troubles of fighting off the uprising of the KKK and mourning over the death of four girls in the Birmingham church bombing.