G ame week is here, and the national media attention increases. There have been several articles about Alabama and Nick Saban appearing in newspapers and sports publications around the country.
A couple of comments about this story (SEE STORY BELOW). First, it is interesting to see how outsiders are writing about Alabama. There’s some very vivid and interesting commentary on the program like this: “The University of Alabama is a sprawling campus of brick buildings, and leafy shade trees. It stretches more than two miles from one end to the other and has the charming look of a venerable Southern campus—faded red brick and washed-out stone markers. Rising out of this setting is a monument to college football, a towering mountain of concrete visible from miles away. Bryant-Denny Stadium is larger than every single NFL stadium.”
One major theme of the article is that Saban doesn’t care about external pressures or expectations because Saban’s own interntal expectations are higher. He doesn’t need the salary to make him a winner—he wants to win already. Saban talks a little about the times he let external forces make his decisions, and he regrets them. He talks in the article about how leaving LSU was a bit about external expectations. And that was a decision he regretted.
The story quotes one of Saban’s lectures on the dangers of expectations, and how these expectations can kill the positive energy around a football program. He also talks about golf as metaphor for life. All things considered, another interesting portrait of Saban.
Here’s the very LONG article about Saban and the expectations in Alabama (Flash required to read):
