Memo fuels Tide's conspiracy theory

They've pointed fingers at Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer, SEC commissioner Roy Kramer, and even Alabama's own Gene Marsh. Everybody has been a target except Saddam Hussein -- and there were whispers about him.

Grassy knoll theorists have nothing on Alabama fans.

But now -- at long last -- they have some hard evidence that appears to back up their suspicions.

A decision in a Tuscaloosa courtroom Thursday led to collective shots of "Aha!" from Tide fans. They feel the decision to allow the contents of the motion filed by attorney Tommy Gallion and his team of lawyers in the case of Ronnie Cottrell and Ivy Williams vs. the NCAA to be made public was the confirmation they needed that things were certainly stacked against Alabama.

Remember, it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

Alabama fans believe several memos allegedly sent between Fulmer and Kramer are the smoking gun. We say allegedly because at this point that's all they are.

Of course, nobody has ever actually seen what is allegedly known as wind either, but we're pretty sure it is out there.

The alleged memos seem to be notes between two chums, two buddies who share common interests. In them, Fulmer is complaining about Tide booster Logan Young buying players from "our" state, which seems to infer that Tennessee is the state of choice for both Fulmer and Kramer. The fact that Kramer would have liked nothing better than to move the SEC offices out of Alabama and to Nashville was never much of a secret.

It also has been suspected all along that Kramer knew of the Albert Means auction and did absolutely nothing to warn Alabama about the situation, which in some people's eyes is at best a lousy way to run a conference and at worst complicity in conspiracy.

But what does this mean for Alabama?

Nothing actually. So what if Fulmer and Kramer and the NCAA wanted to see Alabama brought to its knees? It won't change anything. Will knowing it make Alabama fans feel better? It shouldn't. Will it get back lost scholarships or lost prestige?

Don't forget, Alabama is not innocent in all this. The Tide program was playing fast and loose with the rules even if it was on an uneven playing field.

Specifically, what does any of this have to do with Cottrell and Williams' charges that the NCAA has damaged them and should be forced to pay?

In reality, nothing. In theory, plenty.

Gallion and attorneys Delaine Mountain and Michael Rediker are trying to show that this organized conspiracy not only brought down Alabama, but it spilled over to two perfectly innocent football coaches.

At least, that's what they are hoping it shows. If they can sell the conspiracy theory, then they can likely win the case against the NCAA. If they can't sell it, they don't have a whole lot of ammunition left in their guns.

They sure don't have to sell Alabama fans. Those folks have bought into the conspiracy theory hook, line and sinker for years. It has been the lifeline needed to grab onto while the Alabama football ship was going down faster than the Titanic after that little dust-up with the iceberg.

But unfortunately, nothing will change the fact that Alabama has won only 10 of 25 games the past two years and that a trip to a lower-tier bowl like the Music City Bowl was widespread cause for celebration among fans of a team that used to include the Sugar Bowl on preseason schedules.