When Alabama head football coach Nick Saban first arrived in Tuscaloosa, he was greeted at the airport by fans in a frenzy of almost messianic zeal. The “chosen one” had arrived to pull their beloved program out of decade-long doldrums and return it to heights of glory that can only be imagined.
The surging crowd jostled to touch their anointed savior, to bask in the radiance of his magnificence. One inebriated woman snared Saban in a sloppy embrace and made herself into a YouTube star with her now-famous kiss.
The consensus among the delirious Bama fans at the airport, as well as those in living rooms, barbershops, cafés, and water coolers around the state, was that it wasn’t a matter of if, but when Saban would restore the Tide football program to dominance.
Most non-Alabama fans, including the majority of those in the media, snickered into their hands, writing off the hyperbole as just version 236 of the same unrealistic expectations that were bandied about by the most unrealistic fanbase in college football year after year.
Saban’s unsteady first season, which included a November loss to mighty mite Louisiana-Monroe, gave the naysayers even more fodder. The Magic Saban certainly looked human.
Fast-forward. One year after one of the most ignoble defeats in Alabama history, Saban and the Tide sit undefeated and number one in the BCS standings with just two regular season games remaining.
The team wrapped up the SEC West crown with a road victory at LSU and will face Florida in the title game. Alabama is two short putts and a makeable drive from landing on the BCS National Championship green.
Tide fans who predicted an imminent return to glory feel vindicated—and the bandwagon is full. The sidewalk fans who meekly put away their Bama gear after last season’s loss to ULM have pulled it out of storage and are waving it for all to see.
Phrases like “rightful place,” “ahead of schedule,” and “return to domination” are being tossed around by a fanbase that unrealistically considers anything short of at least an SEC championship to be a down year. With its current run, Alabama set the bar, and it set the bar high.
Regardless of what happens over the final three games, the expectation among most fans has been set. Saban will bring them the national title(s) they crave, whether it happens this season and/or next.
But is the unexpected success this season a blessing or a curse?
While Alabama’s romp through the schedule cannot be ignored on the national scale and deserves merit, it’s also a matter of tremendous timing and luck. Alabama vaulted onto the national stage by drubbing Clemson, a preseason Top 10 pick.
Clemson is why you should never have preseason polls. Who knew the team would be a train wreck so disastrous that the Tigers would can head coach Tommy Bowden in midseason?
The Tide made its bones by throttling the preseason number one, Georgia. But the Bulldogs, too, have become a shell of their projected selves. Injury thinned the roster and hubris took the ‘Dogs down.
The LSU team that took Bama to overtime fielded one of the most inconsistent Tiger teams in five years and vomited up 50+ points to both Georgia and Florida. The Bengals also had a freshman quarterback contribute four interceptions, one returned for a score.
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about 1 month ago
Well done article and I find myself agreeing so what. As a Bama fan I am thrilled with the success of this year. But I know for every positive action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
For example. For 25 years the greatest coach in history walked the Bama sidelines winning 6 official national champions, 13 SEC champions, coached countless All Americans, future pros, and some the down right best players to ever weigh pads: Namath, Stabler, Perkins, Jordan. Then came the time between the Bears death and now. Sure we had 92 but that seems to simply have been a calming of the storm before it returned full force.
Now Im finding myself waiting on the shoe to drop on us now. Every program has gone through its ups and downs. Some manage to find a middle course with being good most of the time and great or bad part of the time. Alabama doesnt do that. Alabama is either kings of the world 1958-1983 or low 1992-2007. There is rarely an in between.
about 1 month ago
Kevin, this is a very good article. I could barely detect the fact that you are an Auburn fan.
You made some very valid points that do ring true. The 'too much too soon' factor could very well backfire on Saban. Having said that, what choice does Nick Saban have in the matter?
The team came along faster than anyone expected, and things have gone Alabama's way. I seriously doubt he is sweating that problem, and I know that Alabama fan's are not worried about it.
It has been a while, but this is by far not our first trip down this road. Please let us enjoy it!
How does that song go? No such thing as a girl too pretty or a car too fast. That applies here!
about 1 month ago
kevin,
this is an excellent first offering on B/R. great article.
expectations are the main folly of LSU fans this year, most of whom(the reasonable ones anyway) predicted 3 or 4 losses and then when they happen, still go bezerk.
i would hope most bama fans would give saban 4 years before expecting anything.
fan expectations can be the worse thing about a fan base and i say that in a universal way.
i look forward to more columns in the future.
about 1 month ago
some folks just can't be happy-If Bama had a few losses the article would read "Bama overpaid coach for average season" Why dont you stick to writing about the leagues that a winning season makes the fans happy and dont write about the SEC powerhouses where we expect not only to win SEC championships but National Titles. I guess we could get in the chicken conference with USC and play unranked opponents all year and complain that we are not ranked in the top 5 all the time, and not have to play a conference title game and sit at home the first weekend in Dec and move up the polls because some of the good teams have to lose. When you look at records an average SEC team will usually beat the top teams in the other conferences. Ask Ohio State who got blistered by a 2 loss LSU team that was very lucky even to get into the national championship game. I just hope we make it to the championship game because I truly feel we can beat Texas Tech- they have not faced one team that has a good defense but more importantly a good pass rush. I just hope we make it.
Just my biased opinion- Roll Tide
about 1 month ago
"Saban’s unsteady first season, which included a homecoming loss to mighty mite Louisiana-Monroe"
Hate to be a stickler but Louisiana-Monroe was not the homecoming game. That was against Houston in October, which Alabama won. It was a beautiful start with Bama scoring a safety on Houston's first possession and continued with the score at 23-0 to end the first half. But then everything fell apart in the second half and the game came down to a last second, game saving, interception by Bama in the endzone. Typical of the entire season. It was the most humiliating victory I had ever seen.
about 1 month ago
You are correct. My error. I will edit Thanks for pointing that out.
Auburn fans can relate to humiliation this season. Nothing like beating the Dores off Vandy on the first two drives and then going into an offensive shell for 3-plus quarters and then losing thanks to a missed PAT. Dismal.
about 1 month ago
I hate to say it, but if Tennessee gets Mike Leach, they'll be back in the mix very soon...
about 1 month ago
Quote from the pirate himself:
"I don’t know. I’ve always figured I was going to be here, you know?’’
about 1 month ago
Yes, Alabama should go out and purposefully lose the next two games, just to curb expectations for next year. Because, as all football players know, the ultimate goal is not to win every game you play, but to keep the fans expectations in check.
about 1 month ago
I should read more of your stuff. This was very good and from the other comments an AUBURN fan too? I think you have a little Saban envy you! :)
about 1 month ago
Great analysis, Kevin. It'll be interesting to see the Tide fans react if 'Bama drops a game against Miss. State or Auburn. Certainly, a loss to Auburn would be devastating, and it would almost guarantee that preparations for Florida would suffer.
Still, I think Alabama fans recognize that this year is almost miraculous, considering how young the team is. With a Top recruiting class already contributing, and another Top 5 class (possibly even another #1) in the works this year, Alabama's future under Saban is looking good. If 'Bama fans can't recognize this, then they will never hang on to a coach.
Welcome to B/R!
about 1 month ago
It's amazing that Bama gets slighted for doing something only one other BCS conference team has been able to do: stay undefeated. Sure the league is down this year and Bama has had some ugly wins, but they've won. Even the almighty Florida has not been able to accomplish that.
As a Bama fan I can say that Saban has done more and accomplished it much sooner than I or any reasonable Bama could have expected him to. Of course we want to win championships, but for right now all we were asking for is to field a competitive team that plays consistently and wins all the games it is supposed to win. So far this year this team has done that and then some.
about 1 month ago
Bama could have avoided all this by losing to Ole Miss.
about 1 month ago
So sorry to disappoint you. We can't ALL lose to Ole Miss now can we?
about 1 month ago
In Sabans defense this is truly his first full season of recruiting spring and summer practice and so on. I myself i'm satisfied with the fact that we are just going to the SEC Championship in "one" year. That should be enough for any fan after what we have went through the past 5 or 6 years.
GOOD ARTICLE and i agree with the guy earlier you can barley tell you are an Auburn fan and that my friend is good journalism!!!!
about 1 month ago
Too much? Too soon? Yeah, cause winning really isn't the point. I'm so torn up about all of this success we're enjoying. It's just too much, too soon.
Are you kidding me?
about 1 month ago
Stupid article. Yeah, winning is a bad thing. It really destroyed Pete Carroll's career by winning big so soon. Bob Stoops just never recovered from winning the NC in year two at OU. Richt is on the hot seat, because he won the SEC in year two at UGA. Jim Tressell....I could go on and on. Good coaches win, and they win soon. Period. They will have a "down" year every now and then...but they almost always follow that up with a 10+ win season. With the talent Saban is bringing in now--a "down" year for Bama will be 8-4 and a chance to win 9 in the Peach Bowl. I'll take down years like that while rebuilding the team once every 3-4 years--and so will every other Bama fan. And Saban will be loved for it. Just your typical barner whistling past the grave yard.
about 1 month ago
Kevin,
Good article. This question has been being asked for several weeks now. The answer to is quite flatly, no! Alabama players and fans should enjoy the ride we're having this year. Next year the Tide loses all of it's veterans on the lines of scrimmage, and there is a likely quarterback controversy at the helm.
I certainly can't underwrite anything that you said about quality of win. However, I would say that if a team goes 10-0 in the SEC, that is not an accident. To me, they were all quality wins whether it was a blowout or whether we had to find a way to win. We have two more SEC games left in regular season and hopefully our players stay focused and don't discount either of them.
Florida fans have already written Alabama off. While they are an infinitely better team in terms of talent, anyone can be beaten. I just hope the Florida players have the same mentality as the fans do.
If Alabama makes it all the way through it's regular season unscathed, you're looking at two scenarios. The first, and most unlikely, we beat Florida, win the SEC and play for the national championship. The second, and what is more likely, we lose to Florida and play in the Sugar bowl.
If either of those scenarios materialize, I'll be abundantly more satisfied than I thought I would have been if one had asked me in August what I expect!
No one with any degree of sanity would have predicted Alabama to be where it is at the season's beginning. Alabama is still lacking a lot of depth, but is building steam. If a team with less depth and talent than it's competitors can play with this much heart, imagine what we will do when we have it. Having championship talent and depth is an acheivement that is rapidly approaching!
I am proud of Alabama! They have done more with less than the other upper-echelon of NCAA football has this year. Nothing is too soon! This team has a lot of heart! Ten straight wins leans more toward methodical than accidental.
We are SEC West Champions! Roll Tide Roll!
about 1 month ago
Are Nick Saban and Alabama Doing Too Much, Too Soon? No
about 1 month ago
Kevin, you article was heart warming. Not for the meesage about setting high expectations or that Bama cannot sustain this type of performance but rather for the prime example of pointing out a how retarded Auburn fans are.
"Tulane, Western Carolina, and Arkansas State were freebies."
Too bad we didn't play Western Carolina you fuck. It was Western Kentucky. Nice mistake asshole, those schools are hundreds of miles apart and in different divisions (WKU is an independent). Same with the homecoming game. Auburn kids..... fucking retarded
Roll Tide Roll
from about 1 month ago
Way to show that Bama class we all hear so much about.
Western Carolina, Western Kentucky? Who cares. It was a crap team either way.
from about 1 month ago
I am a Bama fan all the way, but do show some class sweetie and not be so nasty...ROLL TIDE
about 1 month ago
A couple of things about Terry Bowden though. He couldn't recruit worth a flip, and he had a rather bad attitude. Pat Dye's recruits is what gave him the success.
In this day and age of college football, nothing can come too quickly for some fickle fans. Its the true fans that realize that football programs will have years of successes and years of failures. It has been that way for at least the last two decades.
about 1 month ago
Alabama under the guidance of Nick Saban should be solid for years to come. Alabama isn't the only National Power though in the SEC so its not gonna be a cakewalk. Tennessee will be back and will land a top-flight coach that won't miss a beat recruiting top-flight talent. Florida is on the verge of becoming a modern day Dynasty and they were close to be just that in the 90's. Mark Richt and Georgia will get over the 10-2, 11-1 hump one day and will win a National Title and they too land great classes. The we have LSU in Baton Rouge who has claimed back the talent laden state that they play ball in. Les Miles is a solid coach and will continue to land top 5-10 recruits with the quickness of ease. The Iron Bowl will produce some untimely upsets from time to time but overrall I think Bama reclaims that heated rivalry. Rich Brooks @ Kentucky does more with less as well as anyone in the country and they just landed a 5* QB and then you got "The Ole Ball Coach" in South Carolina who enjoys a challenge of building up programs from scratch while turning down "sure shot" opportunities like the head coaching job @ Miami and Alabama along with saying "I have no interest in the Tennessee job". With all of that said then you have Houston Nutt doing a great job @ Ole Miss and a guy that just arrived in Arkansas that loves the sling the ball around and took Louisville on a 41-9 dominate ride while beating Miami, Kansas State and Wake Forest OOC.
I think Saban will win a National Title in the next 3-4 years but this year I think their run will end soon enough. The team is very talented but very young and I'm curious to find out how they'll react against an elite program like Florida come December 7th In The Georgia Dome.
Saban has surely proven to be one of the Nations elite coaches in all the land no question about it.
about 1 month ago
Ok fellas and gals this is why the kids(and that is what they are) play the game everyone has ups and downs that is the greatness of college football. Coaches and players come and go ALABAMA is having a wonderful year considering the last few.... so i am glad to see the seniors getting what i think they deserve(a great season) so lets let the player play the game that we all love sooo much but dont get me wrong im a bama fan all the way and have been for 24 years.Every team in the nation can agree bandwagon fans are the worst right behind the fans that give real fans a bad name.So in short hahaha.ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!! sorry about the randomness of this reply it was a bunch of issues rolled into one but true college fans will understand.(this season has been a shocker for everyone i think)
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