You remember the T-shirt: “Tebow cried. Cam Lied. LSU tried.”
There were different variations of the T-shirt after Alabama’s national championship run in 2009, which would be the first of five national championships under coach Nick Saban.

“This is not the end,” the Alabama coach said. “This is the beginning.”

But, before you can truly appreciate that national championship win, you have to understand the mindset, the personnel changes, the opponents and the obstacles standing in the Crimson Tide’s way.

The year before, the Tide was a victim of Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators. Tim Tebow ripped open the heart of the Crimson Tide as the Gators secured a second straight national title.

A stunning loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl gave the Tide back-to-back losses in a season which started with a win over a ninth-ranked Clemson team “that announced Alabama on the national stage.”

Gone from the 2008 team were leaders Antoine Caldwell, Andre Smith, John Parker Wilson, Glen Coffee and Rashad Johnson. Those players replaced with names like Greg McElroy, Barrett Jones, Mark Ingram, Mike Johnson, Julio Jones, and Trent Richardson.

AL.com, on the 10th anniversary of the 2009 national title run, takes a three-part visual trip through what became the foundation for a modern-day college-football dynasty.