Saban to Bama Fans: Stay the Whole Game or Else

Published on 25-Oct-2013 by Stacey Mickles

Football - NCAA    NCAA Football Daily Update

Share this article


Saban to Bama Fans: Stay the Whole Game or Else

When Nick Saban rants, it's usually against the media or his players, but not this time.

What has Saban fired up are Alabama fans.

Now, normally, Saban is very complementary about Tide supporters, but he was a little peeved at those fans who had the nerve to leave early during Alabama's 52-0 beat down of Arkansas last week. It moved him to send this little message:

“I’ve talked about players playing for 60 minutes in the game and competing for 60 minutes in the game,” Saban said. “And, in some kind of way, everybody that choses to go to the game should stay there and support the team for the game.

Then, he continued ominously:

“Maybe if you’re not interested in doing that, you should let someone else go who would really like to go because I have a lot of people who want to go."

Ultimate reason?

“We have lots of recruits there, we like to see an enthusiastic full stadium. We have a beautiful stadium and one of the nicest venues in all of college football, and I think we all should show our appreciation for it by staying and supporting our team for the whole game.”

I get Saban's point to a certain extent, but it's his own damn fault. The only close game Alabama played this year was at Texas A&M. All the other games were blowouts. Look at some of the teams and ask if this situation wasn't inevitable: Colorado State, Georgia State, and in a few weeks, Chattanooga. Who wants to stay for that sort of opposition when it's over at halftime, especially with a 100,000 fans all trying to leave together?

Have you ever sat in traffic after a football game in Tuscaloosa? Or for that matter, any game? It's not pretty. It's even worse when the game is late and you have church the next day. 

Saban knows Alabama fans are some of the most loyal fans in the country, and they've shown it every year by showing up. They even get 80,000-plus every year for the spring game. For him to even question fans for having the nerve to leave early is ridiculous.

Surely, Saban has more important things to worry about, like perhaps the game this weekend. If Bama loses to Tennessee Saturday, he'll definitely have a very vocal fan base on his hands. 

Be careful for what you wish for, coach.

Click on a photo to enlarge.