Nick Saban finds Alabama football fans not so special

Nick Saban has turned his attention to the latest existential threat to Alabama football – Alabama students.

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is generally unimpressed with Alabama football fans these days, and unimpressed with Alabama students in particular.

“I can honestly say I was a little disappointed there weren’t more students at the last game.”

Of course, one could argue Nick Saban is disappointed with just about everything these days. No doubt the eleven o’clock local start time didn’t help. As we all know, a student’s day generally begins right about eleven o’clock – eleven o’clock at night. Still, when your team wins, like, every game, people generally show up.

Alabama football discontent

Maybe it’s just kids these days.

“When I first came here, you used to play that tradition thing up there (on the video board) and everybody was cheering and excited and happy and there was great spirit.”

The good ol’ days, when men were men and you could get a data signal between classes.

“Now they don’t even cheer. They introduce our players and nobody even cheers.”

And they’re growing their hair long and got those tattoos all over their arms and I don’t know where ever. And what’s with these things sticking out through their noses and these rapping tunes?

Getting what they deserve

Seriously, Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium seats almost 102,000. Could be Alabama should have reined in the ego and held the seating down to 95,000 or so. Or maybe the food is just better at plain old Denny’s.

“Look, our players work too hard and they deserve to have everything and people supporting them in every way and have tremendous spirit for what they’ve done,” Saban said.

Putting all the funnin’ at Coach Saban’s expense aside, It’s unlikely even he is worried about players at Alabama getting what they deserve. The worry is Alabama getting the players Nick Saban thinks he deserves.

It’s all about recruiting

“There’s got to be a spirit that makes it special to play here, because that’s what makes it special to be here. And if that’s not here, then does it continue to be special to be here or not? That’s the question everybody has to ask, and I’m asking it right now.”

“There’s got to be a spirit that makes it special.”

Because you can’t hide empty seats, no matter how much you spend on a recruiting lounge.

And friend, if you haven’t attended an on-campus college football game, a college football stadium is nothing more than an oversized recruiting lounge.

For a decade, no one came within a light year of the Alabama football budget, easily 35% larger than its closest competitor. But the spending advantage is not what it used to be. Georgia, for one example, increased it’s spending on football by 7.8 million this year.

So you can excuse Coach Saban for asking these life and death questions, because at Alabama, the answers to these life and death questions will decide the number of Tide losses in 2020.