Nick Saban Hits the Nail on the Head

[latracey]

"Nobody wants to win more than the players do; and nobody feels worse than the players when they lose..." Nick Saban had some wise words to a fan who wanted to know why Alabama didn't win games by more than what they did. I think this also applies to how it feels to be Mario Cristobal, or a University of Oregon football player.

 

 

[shawnski]

It's true

Add in the fact that they're only 19 years old too.

The vast majority of them handle things exceptionally well.

 

Me, not so much 

[Coach Eric Boles]

I was going to post a thread with the video, but I’ll just put it here!
 

I completely agree. 

 

 

[1Ducker1]

Ill be honest, I root for my team to win and if they lose I am disappointed--I guess that is not ok?

 

If you have a team like Bama you expect it to pummel other weaker teams. AND!!! Ive seen Saban go off on his team(players) for not scoring more and playing better against much lower/weaker tier teams.--People are fickle I guess.

 

Also playing for free????? what? a 200,000 scholarship is free??

 

I have to add one more thing----Ive seen Saban and Cristobal go way off the charts chastising a player/players for making 19 and 20 year old's mistakes.

Edited November 25, 2021 by 1Ducker1

[30Duck]

On 11/25/2021 at 9:33 AM, 1Ducker1 said:

I root for my team to win and if they lose I am disappointed--I guess that is not ok?

 

My take on it was that Saban wasn't telling anybody that they shouldn't be disappointed. 

[Coach Eric Boles]

On 11/25/2021 at 1:04 PM, 30Duck said:

 

My take on it was that Saban wasn't telling anybody that they shouldn't be disappointed. 

Right, it’s  not about being disappointed. Of course you can be disappointed in a loss. But some take that to an extreme. They want a coach gone who will possibly have won the conference title in three times in four years. They want the QB benched as soon as there’s one bad throw, even if it was a breakdown by the OL. I would say that’s a small portion of fans though. 

[Jon Joseph]

The reason Bama lost a game where it was a 2 TD favorite and struggled against other teams?

 

Look at the guys from the 2020 team who went to the pros.

 

The Bama OL is average at best.

 

The Bama pass D is mediocre.

 

This is not a vintage Bama team yet it has won the SEC W, is ranked #3 and could be the first 2L team in the PO?

[1Ducker1]

Maybe disappointed isnt THE word. But I havent seen any statements or opinions on the 2nd 3rd and 4th comments I made.

 

There will always be some that are over critical and there will be others that are not critical at all. Its the way sports have always been.

 

 

[Coach Eric Boles]

I made it more about the coaches, but I think Coach Saban just had his players in mind. For him, they’re kinda like his kids. Parents yell at their kids for doing things incorrectly, but at the same time they don’t want a stranger calling them a dumb piece of crap for it. That’s where I think he’s coming from. 

Edited November 25, 2021 by Coach Eric Boles

[DanLduck]

On 11/25/2021 at 9:33 AM, 1Ducker1 said:

Ill be honest, I root for my team to win and if they lose I am disappointed--I guess that is not ok?

 

If you have a team like Bama you expect it to pummel other weaker teams. AND!!! Ive seen Saban go off on his team(players) for not scoring more and playing better against much lower/weaker tier teams.--People are fickle I guess.

 

Also playing for free????? what? a 200,000 scholarship is free??

 

I have to add one more thing----Ive seen Saban and Cristobal go way off the charts chastising a player/players for making 19 and 20 year old's mistakes.

I'll respond to your comments, but don't take it personal.

Have you ever played organized team sports?

Have you ever coached college age sports?

How do you know what the coach is saying to a player? Do you know the background to his comments? Do you know what had already been said in practice? 

We watch and assume. 

 

There is a huge difference between being paid for performance and being a student athlete. I think as fans we gloss over those differences to fast and easy.

 

I also think because D1 players are so talented we make assumptions about their maturity. They are still kids. In some states they can't even buy tobacco or alcohol (not that I want them to), but those are things for "mature people".

I know I was very inconsistent at that age. I played hoops in college, not D1, but I know how hard it can be to do everything required as a student athlete. 

 

No one is saying we fans can't have disappointed expectations, but calling kids names, or calling for benching, or booing, or wanting coaches fired is over the top in my book.

 

My coach used to say a game or a season was a microcosm of life. You have some success, some failure.

You make mistakes, you perform well.

The important thing was how you responded to each.

 

College athletics is a learning class. Like any other subject, the kids are learning valuable life skills.

Learning to deal with adversity is perhaps the most important. It is obviously something many fans have not learned yet.

[Haywarduck]

I am disappointed in the coaches when the players lose. I also realize there is no one more disappointed in themselves when they lose, than the players.

 

 It is the job of the coaches to prepare the players, put the players in position to succeed, and make adjustment to better empower them to be successful. 

 

While failure is surest way to success, it doesn't have to happen on game day. The big failures should happen in practice and the lessons learned then should empower them to give that extra ounce of effort, and the understanding of the decisions to win on game day.

 

This was the magic of Coach Wooden back in the day. His players weren't coached on game day, and the coaching happened at practice. This type of coaching just isn't seen anymore, but the important stuff should happen before, way before gametime.

 

It is amazing to watch an Alabama win when expected. It is also important to know it is a tough process to set up student athletes with all it takes to win all the games expected along with some you weren't.

 

Maybe Saban was protecting the players, but he also may be disappointed in himself and the coaches for not having the players as ready as they should be.  

[1Ducker1]

I wont take this thread any farther re the topic. 

 

However I have played organized baseball, football and basketball and I know how tough it all can be, especially football which is BRUTAL.

I also played semi pro and pro music for 25 years in the Portland area and I sure know what it feels like to be rejected.

 

I also know and accept that people will say good and bad things about everything incl sports at every level.

I used to umpire Pee Wee baseball games and you would be amazed at what parents say and do.

 

As I've stated before we all have our version of fandom.

[1Ducker1]

One more thing.

I would never condone calling any coaches or players names. That is BS.

[Jon Joseph]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

[Mike West]

One of the constant things I've observed about fans is their lack of patience.  Casey Brooks (Rich' daughter), was a dear friend of mine in college.

 

I can't repeat the things she told me fans said about him back then( this was just before Brooks turned the program around the corner).  

 

Look at the Texas, Miami, Tennessee and Nebraska ( much less so) fans. Not to mention the Fuskies.  None of those programs have been contenders more than ten years running.  Look at Michigan.  About the same.  

 

If a coach is thin skinned he won't make it.  Yet some fans clearly lack the ability to discern the direction a program is headed. 

 

Some people just aren't intelligent enough to add their two cents.  Doesn't mean they don't have a right to demonstrate that though.  And even those that are, provide comments that are pure epic fails. 

 

Nobody's perfect.