"Saban loves us! He really, really loves us"

[quietfan 233]

Interesting take from B'ahm News' Ray Melick:

http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/rm....xml&coll=2

Nick Saban loves us!

Well, maybe not you. But he loves us, the media.

We know, because he told us so Thursday. His exact words to the media were, "I still love you. Don't worry about that."

Of course, it came at the end of a short diatribe about how he wouldn't be getting beat up over the way he denied he was going to be the Alabama coach right up until the day he accepted the job if it weren't for "the media."

"Take the media out of all that happened to me, I wouldn't have any issues in my life," Saban said Thursday. "I respect what you do, but all that was created by speculation and innuendo about what might happen. The horse was always way ahead of the cart on that one."

He's right, of course. If the pesky old media had just not kept asking him those ridiculous questions, he would never have had to answer them.

Unfortunately for Nick (and maybe for the media), it's our job to ask questions. And sooner or later, someone is going to write or say something that Nick may not like. He could even lose a game.

Oh, and what happens when some old-timer in the athletic department dares tell Nick, "that's not the way we do it here." Because you know that's going to happen.

This is, after all, Alabama Football.

But that's down the road; for now, it's enough that Nick Saban said he still loves us!

So much for all those people who have described Nick Saban as a tiny tyrant, a bully and dictator who would terrify babies and go out of his way to kick dogs!

Could this be a new Saban?

Listen to his answer when asked about evaluating players.

"Why is that important?" Saban said. "What we want to do is take all the players we have and teach them how to improve. Evaluating them is not critical. The issue is, I don't want players to feel they are being evaluated. I want them to feel they are being taught. I want them to feel they are going to improve based on what they are being taught."

True. What do those whole "first team, second team" designations do except potentially damage the evolving sense of self-esteem that college students struggle with on a day-to-day basis?

"Your job is to create expectation and make predictions and I love that," Saban said, going back to his "love" theme. ``It creates interest. But it's not my job. My job is not to say we look good or bad, or that short guys need to get taller or tall guys need to get skinnier. I don't do that. I just take what we have, coach it and hope they play up to their potential."

This hardly sounds like the kind of guy who has been described as the scourge of office secretaries and various underlings who dared to interrupt his constant focus on all things football with such distractions as "Good morning, Coach" or "Nice haircut, Coach."

This is a Nick Saban who is obviously feeling the love. As former Michigan State coach George Perles said when Saban was hired by Alabama, "Nick's had more honeymoons than most people. Maybe he loves honeymoons."

Well, who doesn't?

So here's hoping this time, the honeymoon lasts. After all, Nick, remember: Alabama fans are with you.

Win or tie.

[WAR-MATT 2]

This is sad.

[AUslug 1]

I would love eating broken glass if someone ponied up $32 Million.

[abrnfanatc 6]

So now there are two key words for the tahders and Slick Nick.

Dominate and Love. Hmmmm...