Thanksgiving is finally here, and soon we all can begin eating turkey until we burst. To Alabamians, Thanksgiving is always followed by the Iron Bowl. So, naturally, we all should be thankful to have great families and friends to spend Saturday with

, even though the family room will be divided with Bama fans sitting on one side and Auburn fans on the other. But as Alabama fans, what should we be thankful for? The past several years have given us plenty to be thankful for, and here are the top five reasons.

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    5

    Baylor University and Stanford University

    Wait, why should we be thankful for Baylor and Stanford? Just ask the Kansas State Wildcats and Oregon Ducks.

    Kansas State and Oregon controlled their destiny during the 2012 season, but in a wild and highly unlikely turn of events, both lost on November 17 to the Bears and Cardinal, catapulting Alabama and Notre Dame into the top two spots in the polls, and eventually leading to a showdown in the national championship game between the Tide and Fighting Irish.

    And, to use an old cliché, the rest is history.

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    4

    Tim Tebow

    The former Florida Gator, and current SEC Network college football analyst, beat the Tide in the 2008 SEC Championship game, and some Alabama fans went DEFCON 1. However, because of Tebow, the 2009 Alabama team fought through the season, and their primary goal was to go up against him one more time. That one loss motivated the '09 team to their success, which ultimately began arguably the greatest dynasty in college football history.

    Never thought you'd ever thank him, did you?

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    3

    Terry Saban

    This one seems pretty obvious if you ask me. Behind each great man is an even greater woman, and the Saban's are no different. Every opportunity Coach Saban has to tell us the first and foremost reason he's never leaving is because Mrs. Terry loves it here. Coach Saban is smart enough to know that when a woman is happy, you shouldn't fix what isn't broken. Not to mention everything she has done for the community, this selection is quite frankly a no-brainer.

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    Paul W. "Bear" Bryant

    We still wear houndstooth that he made famous on a football field. We have a museum dedicated to all of his achievements. He was the epitome of what a coach should be. Not only did he teach his players how to win on the field, he taught them how to be winners off the field as well. He made sure his players graduated, and he pushed them to be the best football players they could possibly be. No other coach has had as much influence on a university as Coach Bryant has had on the University of Alabama. As long as Tuscaloosa is still standing, we'll never forget his legacy.

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    1

    Mal Moore

    Where would this program be without Coach Moore? His influence has directed the University of Alabama into one of the most dominant athletic periods in the history of the NCAA. We all love and miss him, not only for what he did for the university, but for the city of Tuscaloosa and the state of Alabama.

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