Alabama may see a political novice on the ballot for Governor at the next election, and here’s CBS Sport‘s (that’s right) Dennis Dodd to tell you about Tommy Tuberville, former coach of Auburn. The fun part? It’s all about who you root for:
Celebrities, actors, athletes and — of course — reality show hosts have already won office seats at state and national levels. Few have experience dipping their toes into the roiling waters of Alabama politics where the conversation starts with one basic question: Who ya pullin’ for?
Another Alabaman’s perception of you depends on the answer: Bama or Auburn.
So you can see why a Tuberville candidacy would be so divisive, uniting, inspiring, perspiring — anything but boring. For 10 of his 21 years as a head coach, Tubs had his greatest success leading the Tigers to an 85-40 record and an SEC title….
Fifty-eight percent of the state’s elected officials are Republican. It’s no secret the majority of state’s fans support Alabama.
“If you can connect with voters on an education message, that’s a big plus,” French said. “Tommy has recruited. He’s seen underprivileged youth come into his program and go out the other door and be a successful professional the rest of their life.
“Those are powerful messages. It’d be fun to package him, to be honest. I might want to dust off my credentials and go with him.”
Sounds like it might be a fun campaign. Would he be like former Governor Ventura and take it very seriously and honestly? I still remember ol’ Jesse saying, “I don’t know, but I’ll hire the best expert in the field to answer that question.” His simple honesty about not knowing everything, contrasted with the highly doctrinaire answers of the other two candidates (Coleman and Humphrey), won it for him. The relative lack of ideology was quite entrancing. His rough edges were less so.
