Editor’s note: ITK beat me to this subject, but as I was driving this afternoon these thoughts flooded my head, and I had to post them.
There are good reasons why Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban treats the media poorly.
The members of the press aren’t the brightest people in the world. Seriously, they CHOSE to be reporters. Of all the majors available in college, these geniuses picked the wrong one. Engineering? Big bucks. Pre-law? Pre-med? Both are pathways to good careers. But picking journalism? Please. These guys are morons.
As we have already established beyond question the mental inferiority of the press, we should now proceed to an examination of the internal working of the beat reporters, and why these intrinsic functions create tension. While not a truly hierarchical organization, the beat does have its own order. Reporters, even competitors, routinely talk and share thoughts, opinions, etc. This sharing of opinions tends to create groupthink. Such is evident in almost all the coverage of the waning days of the Mike Shula administration of Alabama football. There were so few dissenting voices because so many in the press suffered this affliction—groupthink.
Another function of the beat is that most reporters have little experience. This lack of experience includes two areas a reporter must cover: management and athletics. Reporters covering a beat, even a beat as lofty as that of Alabama Crimson Tide football, have little experience managing people. In contrast, coaches must manage other coaches, support personnel and players. Each of these requires specific talents. A coach must be able to soothe the egos of assistant coaches, coordinate numerous support tasks and babysit players. And it is even harder to do than it sounds. Yet, reporters have no clue about the difficulties involved in management, or how something printed creates ripples of trouble throughout an organization. Reporters also tend to be ignorant of athletics. Most haven’t played a sport, and are stuck writing about it because they were never picked for the kickball team at recess.
When you consider all the problems including the mental deficiencies of reporters and their lack of knowledge about the subject they are supposed to cover, is it a surprise Saban might resent them?
As a former sports reporter, I have to say, yeah, you’ve got us pegged. God job there, Seamus.
As someone who covered a beat (local politics, business, and even the police beat), the day I realized that I earned less per hour than service industry jobs was the day I figured out I made a bad choice.
Small pay divided by 60-80 hour weeks made me wanna cry!
Fortunately, I was picked for kickball at recess.
How smart do you have to be to know that when a coach says “there is not depth chart” he is lying? As a manager of people, Saban wouldn’t be doing a smart job without one, would he?
Speaking as a Bama fan, I can’t understand the rush to defend Saban all the time. He’s a fine cach and i’m glad he’s at UA. I would not want him to come over to my house for dinner.
Nobody is trying to defend Saban. I think the way he treats the press is funny. For many reasons. First, because I know how infuriating it would be to face the stonewall. Second, because a reporters job is to dig for information, not be served it on a silver platter.
And as for your not inviting Saban over for dinner, that would be your loss. Saban is one of the most interesting coaches around. Sure, he might be an introvert, but so were many interesting and successful individuals.