What Role Has Being Alabama Had In Our Resurgence?

davefrat

Hall of Fame
Jun 4, 2002
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Hopewell, VA
it's a philosophical question to be sure, but what do you all think? what influence has being at bama had on saban's success? how has it aided in facilitating the greatness we now enjoy?

i ask because i was thinking the other day about the fact that i'm no more passionate about alabama football today than i was during the doldrums of the dubose to shula years. i followed those teams as closely as i do this team...i just don't have to pay per view games on the internet or drive to sports bars to watch us anymore. of course, i'm more satisfied with recent results, but i knew the coaches and the rosters and the opponents back then as well as i do today, and i cheered just as loudly.

the core of our truly devoted fanbase is massive, and the same people posting here a gazillion times were posting back when we were going 4-8. we have an incredible fanbase and a university truly devoted to success on the field.

saban mentioned when he was hired that bama was one of the few truly great places for college football. how important to you think bama being bama is in our success under saban and do you think there is any other place he could have built what he has now?
 

B1GTide

TideFans Legend
Apr 13, 2012
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The resurgence is a result of the arrival of an extraordinarily talented and driven coach. However, there are only a few programs that might allow a coach like Saban to reach his full potential, and Alabama is one of them. He can teach young men anywhere, but to win championships he needed to have an opportunity to teach really talented young men. That means that he needed a school with tradition, fan support and great facilities to attract great players.

Any school can win occasionally - it takes a program like Alabama, with a coach like Saban, to do what is happening now. It takes both.
 

Barnstormer

New Member
Dec 7, 2011
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Good question. Saban and the Bama fanbase fit hand in glove. He has a fanbase that cares about the team and their performance, including all the little things, as much as he does, and it's not just lip service. Look, by way of comparison, at the pathetic attendance at the Pac12 championship game between Stanford and UCLA - a rematch even! All those empty seats due to a little drizzle and the fact that it was a rematch. . . They had, what - 30k in attendance? We know all about rematches - they're precious and they *should* provoke great enthusiasm. Our support also translates directly into recruiting success. See A-game attendance; see Cooper's post game comments about his experience as a freshman in a game such as the SECCG - "that's why I came to Alabama."

It's easier to play ball when you know 100,000 folks got your back. I know the roar heard by players (and recruits) on the field must be intoxicating. The tenacious support of the fan base feeds into the tenacity of the team - not one bit a' quit in an Alabama team. A non-Bama fan neighbor poked fun when A&M went up by 20 in the 1st. I confidently told him that Bama was still in it, because they refuse to quit. They lost, but they sure as hell did not quit. Neither did the fans. All Alabama needed was the spark, the catalyst to ignite the fire. Saban was and is it. Saban and Bama - like peas and carrots.
 

AgentAntiOrange

1st Team
Dec 30, 2009
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Norman, OK
Success breeds success. Past success meant we had the facilities, the fan base (just in terms of numbers), a passionate/knowledgeable fan base (The RV crowd, the long term fans, the true believers in tradition), the money (national notoriety and alumni/boosters), the "name", the wow factor, and an automatic recruiting base both from instate kids and what the rest of the above provides us in national recruiting. In other words, everything to succeed was in place except a coach and depth/talent level. Any coach who could bring the stability and ability to galvanize the BamaNation was going to have success.

Tradition and history don't guarantee future success but when that tradition is deep rooted and long standing it's tough to turn around. Tme elite programs in this country would be hard to keep down....the Arkansas, the Auburns, Louisvilles, etc....will always struggle to cross into the elite landscape with us. We all trend up and trend down but the true elite's have been big dogs for close to a century and mid levels have been struggling to get there the same amount of time.

Not to put any of those programs down but honestly....will AU ever be on equal footing with Alabama over a 50 year span? OSU over Oklahoma? Anyone in Texas over UT? UCLA over USC? Probably not.

Bama being Bama means everything, imo.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
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Saban is the immediate driving force. But Alabama is one of the few programs that Saban would have left the Dolphins for -- for precisely the reasons B1GTide cites. Total control, passionate fan base, and as close to unlimited resources as you'll get outside of Austin, Texas.

Also, I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, but I think Dr. Witt's handling of both the Mike Price situation, and the decision to terminate Shula, had to catch Saban's eye. In both cases, Witt held the most public face of the University accountable for professional conduct on and off the field, for both results and progress on the field, and for developing players for life after football.

In the Price debacle, he faced down the BOT, despite being on the job less than 90 days, essentially saying, "It's him or me. You can't have both." The BOT backed down, and the Price supporters have since admitted they were wrong, despite the ensuing upheaval of the four Shula years.

I've said many times before that Saban and Witt may have divergent exterior presentations, but are far more alike in substance than they are different.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, "Yea, though they be but little, yet they are fierce." I think that's why they get along so well, and a big reason Saban came when we didn't have the position of strength that he himself has since created.
 
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dadleyblane5

All-SEC
Apr 19, 2011
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DeFuniak Springs Fl.
Being Bama with all the history and tradition I would imagine has a lot to do with it. I'm like alot of folks in how I've been rooting on the Tide for years, even through the bad times. I just thank the Good Lord for our fortune and success right now. Bcuz it won't last forever. I'm gonna enjoy it while it does!
 

bamaslaw

All-SEC
Jan 16, 2005
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Atlanta, GA
I say us being Alabama probably bumped us ahead a year or two on the schedule. But at this point in his career, Saban can be successful anywhere, and he could have done it when he came back as well.
 

longinthetusk

New Member
Jan 20, 2012
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Huntsville, AL
What a great question and insightful responses. I guess I should communicate on this board more often. I usually don't when, as in this case, I have nothing new to add. I will say that CNS is exceptional and we are truly fortunate to have him. I often wonder how much, if at all, the Alabama tradition means to him. I imagine he respects it. I am quite sure he is not awed by it. Going back to the OP, sometimes circumstance and opportunity create a pivot point. I think the BAMA nation and all who lead it were at that pivot point at the end of the Shula tenure. I credit Dr. Witt and Mal Moore for the foresight to seek the best and for having the good sense to toss CNS the keys. That decision has led to extraordinary achievement and put BAMA on the the threshold of CFB greatness. A unique opportunity for a special man at a special place that knows am awful lot about greatness.
 

Crimson57s

1st Team
Aug 18, 2012
557
0
0
Being Bama with all the history and tradition I would imagine has a lot to do with it. I'm like alot of folks in how I've been rooting on the Tide for years, even through the bad times. I just thank the Good Lord for our fortune and success right now. Bcuz it won't last forever. I'm gonna enjoy it while it does!
^^^^^^ My feelings exactly!
 

Alasippi

Suspended
Aug 31, 2007
12,875
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57
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Coach Saban said to a friend of mine after his hiring, "If you think I could recruit at LSU, wait and see what I can do here.."

That speaks pretty loudly about the power of the Alabama football brand.
 

davefrat

Hall of Fame
Jun 4, 2002
5,172
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Hopewell, VA
Being Bama with all the history and tradition I would imagine has a lot to do with it. I'm like alot of folks in how I've been rooting on the Tide for years, even through the bad times. I just thank the Good Lord for our fortune and success right now. Bcuz it won't last forever. I'm gonna enjoy it while it does!
agreed. we're in a period that will not likely be repeated in any of our lifetimes.
 

cbi1972

Hall of Fame
Nov 8, 2005
18,139
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Birmingham, AL
Coach Saban said to a friend of mine after his hiring, "If you think I could recruit at LSU, wait and see what I can do here.."

That speaks pretty loudly about the power of the Alabama football brand.
He knows all about recruiting against it, that's for sure.
 

257WBY

Suspended
Aug 20, 2011
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1
0
Alabama is one of the ten or so programs that can quickly jump right back into the hunt after a down period.
 

bamafaninOhiO

All-American
May 11, 2010
2,114
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0
Dayton, Ohio
The resurgence is a result of the arrival of an extraordinarily talented and driven coach. However, there are only a few programs that might allow a coach like Saban to reach his full potential, and Alabama is one of them. He can teach young men anywhere, but to win championships he needed to have an opportunity to teach really talented young men. That means that he needed a school with tradition, fan support and great facilities to attract great players.

Any school can win occasionally - it takes a program like Alabama, with a coach like Saban, to do what is happening now. It takes both.
B1GTide,

I wanted to take a moment and let you know I appreciate your posting on this board. As a fan of the Big10 and another school (tOSU), I find your posts to be not only extremely insighful and knowledgable, but very respectful..even while putting across viewpoints that are different that ours as bama fans...
I always appreciate hearing others perspectives...and thanks for affecting my view of tOSU fans (which while living amongst tOSU fans, is sometimes jaded by a very passionate fanbase...)

and, I couldnt agree more with this post...

there are a few schools with that history which would have given Saban the platform to build from, and I am sooooooooo glad he picked Bama to have that success at...
 

theballguy

Hall of Fame
Nov 5, 2012
6,268
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Roll Tide Roll, Colorado USA
There's no doubt a unique synergy exists between the U of A -and- Coach Saban. They definitely complement each other. However, without Coach Bryant, would Bama be Bama? I have my doubts to a degree (takes nothing away from the fine institution UA truly is). But I do think UA could have potentially found another good coach after Mike Shula. Maybe we just didn't know how good CNS is when he was hired. I think now the two go hand in hand. Like CNS was meant to coach here. RTR
 

Bruce014

1st Team
Aug 29, 2012
752
82
52
Alabama
However, without Coach Bryant, would Bama be Bama?
Would Michigan be Michigan without Bo Schembechler?
Would OU be OU without Bud Wilkenson?
Would Southern Cal be Southern Cal without John Robinson?

All of the "superpowers" have had coaches who took them from being sky-high to orbit.
 

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