Coach Nick Saban ripped into Alabama fans during his weekly radio show the night before Thanksgiving, saying they had become entitled and that they should show more appreciation to the players whether they win or lose.
Saban erupted during Wednesday night’s “Hey Coach Show” at Baumhower’s Victory Grille in Tuscaloosa after a caller asked the coach how he felt about being criticized whenever Alabama fell short of expectations by not blowing out teams that had been widely considered a lesser opponent.
“For example,” the caller said, “with Arkansas, we were supposed to blow them out and then you don’t do it, and it was because you have created such a game atmosphere that we go to the games knowing we’re going to win. We just don’t know by how much.”
Saban blasted the question in a nearly 3½-minute tirade that was somewhat reminiscent of Oklahoma State University coach Mike Gundy’s epic 2007 rant, in which he exclaimed “Come after me! I’m a man! I’m 40!” while excoriating a journalist for writing a negative piece about his quarterback.
Saban, for his part, defended his players, and pointed the finger at those whom he said lacked perspective of what student-athletes deal with on a daily basis.
“Rat poison is rat poison, and the media is always going to create it,” Saban began. “But the reality of the world is not what you read on the internet. It’s not what somebody thinks, it’s not what somebody’s opinion is, it’s not what the line is on the game. Alright, it’s certainly, what the biggest one is, is everytime a team loses two games, everybody says that team’s like done. And it’s really just the opposite.”
“When I came here, everybody was happy to win a game. Now we're not happy to win a game anymore. We're not happy to win a game at all. We think we should win games by whatever, and I don't think that's fair to the players either, because our players work their butt off to be the best that they can be, and to get criticized for what they work hard for to do so that you can be entertained, so that you can enjoy and have pride and passion for what they accomplish in what they do. And they're not perfect, they're just college students!"
Saban said fans are too narrowly focused on wins, referencing the Crimson Tide’s one loss this season, a 41-38 heartbreaker against Texas A&M on October 9. In other games this season, the Tide struggled but managed to pull out wins against LSU (20-14) and last weekend vs. Arkansas (42-35). Earlier in the season, Saban’s team also barely escaped a loss at Florida 31-29.
“Like Texas A&M lost two games before we played, I said it’s a dangerous team, because these guys have pride in performance, they wanna have a good team, they’ve had two disappointing losses. That makes them dangerous. They’re humiliated by what’s happened the last two games. The same thing when we played LSU, everybody says ‘Aw they lost two games in a row, they’re not any good anymore, all right we’re just gonna blow them out, it’s just the opposite. It’s just the opposite of that. They’re competitors, they have moms and dads, they have pride in performance, they have things that they want to accomplish and they want to do, and they wanna be good, they don’t just throw in the towel, they work harder to try to get better, and everybody wants to beat us, and so we’re gonna get everybody’s best game, and I don’t know why people can’t understand that ... And you can say it’s not fair to our players that they get everybody’s best game, but they do, and they have to be able compete through that and play over that, I don’t know, When I came here, everybody was happy to win a game. Now we’re not happy to win a game anymore. We’re not happy to win a game at all.”
The crowd at Baumhower’s began applauding and cheering in agreement with Saban, whose voice grew louder as he continued to drive the point home.
Saban also suggested that the fan base had become spoiled by his team’s recent run on national championships.
“We think we should win games by whatever, and I don’t think that’s fair to the players either, because our players work their butt off to be the best that they can be, and to get criticized for what they work hard for to do so that you can be entertained, so that you can enjoy and have pride and passion for what they accomplish in what they do,” Saban exclaimed.
I mean, c'mon, gimme a break, this is not professional football. These guys aren't getting paid to play here. They're representing you all, you should be proud and happy to support them, and appreciate what they do and have some gratitude."
“And they’re not perfect, they’re just college students, they go to school everyday, they gotta study, they have to run extra after practice when they miss study hall. I mean, c’mon, gimme a break, this is not professional football. These guys aren’t getting paid to play here. They’re representing you all, you should be proud and happy to support them, and appreciate what they do and have some gratitude. And you know what else, nobody wants to win worse than they do. Not me. Not you, I don’t care what kinda fan you are, nobody wants to win more than the players that play. Nobody.”
“That was magnificently said,” Alabama radio announcer Eli Gold began saying, before Saban cut him off with a final point.
“And nobody feels worse than they do when they lose. Nobody! So for all you self-absorbed folks out there that can’t look past your own self to appreciate what other people are doing,” Saban said rhetorically, throwing up his hands in exasperation.
Alabama faces cross-state rival Auburn on Saturday in the Iron Bowl. The Crimson Tide also faces Georgia on Dec. 4 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the SEC championship.
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