Link: WSJ Article with Mrs. Terry: Bama fans are unappreciative, but we're not leaving

[CoastGhost]

In other news...can someone recommend a cheap bourbon that's good for cooking and drinking?

Just to lighten the mmod.

Evan Williams

 

[Stonewall1959]

I think perception is everything. Obviously, their perception is an unappreciative fan base. I can empathize will that sentiment. However, I think that their worldview (by world I mean Alabama Football) is certainly inaccurate. Do I think that we have been spoiled by Saban? Absolutely. Do I think Bama fans are unappreciative? No, I don't think so.

In fact, I think (but do not know for sure) there are many fans, such as myself, who have been taken back but the success we have experienced under Saban. Whether it ends 2 years, 6 years, or 15 years from now, I do not think the current dynasty is able to be fully appreciated because it is a work in progress. What I mean is, I think that we are still smack dab in the middle of it. I myself am numb to it. I pinch myself to make sure it is real.

We are living in a very special time in Alabama Football. I make the comment all the time to my wife, "This must have been what it was like under Coach Bryant". Sadly, I was 2 when he won his last championship, so I can only go on what I watch and read.

I guess my point is, saying the fan base is unappreciative of what CNS is doing may be confusing apathy for awe. I know I am certainly in awe of what the program has accomplished during his tenure. I cannot shut up without adding that it is certainly hard to make a case for not being appreciated when you have a statue in front of the stadium... Please forgive that comment, CNS.

I'm an older guy (54) and was going to school at Alabama in 1978 and 1979, during Coach Bryant's back to back national championships. This is exactly what it was like. We didn't just expect to win every game, we expected to win them convincingly. I never expected the Golden Days of Alabama football to ever return once The Bear passed on. But, for this Alabama fan, I sincerely appreciate what's been going on at The Capstone since Nick Saban showed up and am so happy that some of my younger friends have been able to experience it as well.

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

What's interesting to me is her comments track something that Saban said in one of his earliest press conferences -- that reasonable expectations were a key part of a successful and stable program, and unreasonable ones can undermine what you're trying to build. The same theme emerged earlier this year when he said this team was being weighed down by unfair comparisons to earlier squads. Then it was the fans leaving early. Now this.

Makes me wonder if her comments are as much about them as they are about the rest of us. The Sabans have never been anywhere for very long. Maybe they are indeed struggling with the expectations of others. Or maybe they are grappling with this being the final stop, and they having to make a longterm commitment to a job and a place for the first time in their lives.

 

[CoastGhost]

At least she took the heat off poor Jameis

 

[Big tide fan forever]

You clearly haven't heard the very serious Gus to Texas rumors then

I have but don't give two cents about it

 

[TIDE-HSV]

What's interesting to me is her comments track something that Saban said in one of his earliest press conferences -- that reasonable expectations were a key part of a successful and stable program. The same theme emerged earlier this year when he said this team was being weighed down by unfair comparisons to earlier teams. Then it was the fans leaving early. Now this.

Makes me wonder if this is as much about them as it is about the rest of us. They've never been anywhere for very long. Maybe they are indeed struggling with the expectations of others. Or maybe they are grappling with this being the final stop, and making a longterm comitment to a job and a place for the first time in their lives.

I think you are completely correct. I think they're adjusting to a whole new context. There have been successful runs before; much longer runs, in fact. However, there's never been one this successful. I think there's a certain amount of adjustment going on, on their parts...

 

[1Dawn]

Thanks for your words Selmaborntidefan: Maybe she said it because of our fan base's tendency to have vocal nitwits without brains (Updyke is a great example) who start screaming about firing coaches the moment we lose. TF is a well-moderated site but think about a few things here:

a) many fans gave up on us in the LSU game in 2012, right here on TF, you can go read some of the moronic spew
b) the day we lost to aTm some nitwit started a "Fire Doug Nussmeier" thread, like a complete idiot (it was squelched)

How in the world would you feel if you did a monumentally outstanding job but had just one day when it all didn't go well (2011 LSU and 2012 aTm) and that one day was all anyone talked about for the year?

I think you have a very good point. I will say I was saddened when I read her words, as I would like to think she knows how thankful we are for them. I do not know of a fan who is not very thankful for them. I wish she knew that, as well. Still, Terry Saban loves the person who puts their all into the games who is Coach Saban. He wants nothing more than to win each game. For instance, Coach Saban was apologizing after the MS ST game and said the blame for the poor play went to the coaches and he took responsibility. Still, we won and fans complained. From her point of view, that may be hard to take as she sees first hand what he has to do to make it happen. When I saw him on the press conference, something about his look saddened me. Maybe he was just tired after the game, I don't know. I even thought, does he really need to apologize for winning the game, but not looking spectacular?

I did want to share something about Ms. Terry that is very positive. My dad, who is 81, is a life long Alabama fan. He seriously gets high blood pressure watching the games due to his passion! A few years ago, he wrote to Coach Saban about his concerns about the players "getting idle and proud", prior to playing Florida. He also shared some of his Bear Bryant memoriabilia he had received through the years while stationed in the military at various places. A note came to my dad from Ms. Terry with only one day in between. It was written in a football themed card with a long message. She told my dad that Nick was aware of this point, but their concerns were about the hundred plus young players understanding not getting idle and proud. She told my dad she would share his message when Nick got home for the night. She thanked my dad for sharing his thoughts and memorabilia. I asked my dad where he sent the note and he said he just looked up their address in the phone book and sent it there. Oh well...guess that worked well. He was so proud of the card he would not let us touch it much and unless we had just washed our hands for fear of getting it dirty. He later placed the card in his safety deposit box and it has been there since.

When we lost against LSU last year, I went out and bought Coach Saban a coach appreciation card and wrote him a message about how much I appreciated him and all he does, not just when we are winning, but also after a hard loss. I thought he probably needed appreciation more when we lost than after many wins. Sure he is going to get appreciation when we win, but what about when you try so hard and lose? I also sent Terry Saban a thank you card for all she does for the program and community. I guess my point is that they do try so hard and we as fans do need to realize how different it would be without them. This is a very special time for Alabama fans, like the golden years of Bryant days.

I think they do know they are appreciated on some level. Maybe Ms. Terry was having an off day, maybe her words were twisted, maybe she had heard some comments from someone who made her think that and applied it to all, or maybe it was when the stands were not so full in the student section. Who knows...

I sincerely hope she knows the fans DO APPRECIATE THEM and all they do. We really do.

 

[BigBama76]

She is speaking the truth. But I think it pertains to the younger fans and yes even the fans around my age (29). They don't realize how good we have it.

I hope this never gets in the way of her happiness here though.

As an old timer I've been asked by a few younger fans is this what it was like during "Bear's" heyday and I tell them no there was never this level of 24/7 hype or interest.

I hope that what she said or meant has been misrepresented or not written in the proper context.

As a more than 55 year fan and an alum I want the team to represent the University with the integrity and sportsmanship it deserves. I want them to be the type of hard fighting team that other teams dread playing. Anything beyond that is gravy and no matter who the coach has been over the years I've not often been disappointed that they didn't live up to my true expectations.

 

[russtang]

I really don't think she means that we as a fan base do not appreciate her and CNS as individuals.

She means a lot of fans don't really appreciate where we (Alabama Nation) are as a program at this moment of history. 3 out of 4, going for 3 in a row and 4 out of 5, and griping about only winning by 25 or 13 points.

I guarantee you she knows just how hard and remarkable it is to do what CNS and Alabama football has done the past 4 years. It's dang hard and probably won't be done again.

We don't really look forward to winning as much as not wanting to get disappointed by a loss.

 

[cbi1972]

Let's say you overachieve at your job consistently. Then your boss expects you to perform like that every single day, when there are other employees doing mediocre work. You wish that your boss would be more appreciative of all that you do..instead of just always expecting it.

http://xkcd.com/664/

 

[KrAzY3]

The Barn's A-Day crowd was boosted by the excitement of a new coach and the fact they were saying goodbye to the trees.

Somehow, that trumps Alabama fan's excitement over winning a National Championship. Just dwell on that for a little while...

And I can't blame anyone for not wanting to pay a lot of money to see us play Chattanooga.

What you just hit on is at the heart of the disconnect, and I really wish more people would and could engage this issue directly. The simple fact is that the Sabans can't relate the point you just made any more than you relate to their point, because you're not talking about the same thing!

They're talking about Alabama, and you're talking about their opponent, and that's a world of difference isn't it? I understand your viewpoint, because for other SEC teams, I really won't sit down and watch them play Cupcake St., but I'm not a fan of those teams either. However, I pay to see Alabama. I don't pay to see LSU, Texas A&M, etc...

The Sabans can't understand why Alabama fan's can't get excited to come support Alabama players for Senior Day (one of, if not the greatest senior classes in the history of college football!), and you can understand why someone wouldn't want to pay to see Chattanooga. Those are two different things entirely! That's the problem, that's the entire issue right there.

Imagine, for instance if someone tells their kid they won't come watch them play, because they think the game will be boring. Does their kid want to hear that? Oh hey, you're playing a lowly team and that would be boring. Wouldn't the kid go hey, you're supposed to come to support me, to watch me play! That's what should be going on to an extent with these young men, that's what the Sabans expect, that's what I expect, it's not about who ever Alabama is playing, it's about Alabama! It's about supporting, and appreciating their accomplishments.

So, when Terry says anything along the lines of Alabama fans being unappreciative, and any Alabama fan sees fit to respond something about another team entirely, then yeah, that's the point isn't it??

 

[BigBama76]

I read several forum comments before I read the article and I've got to say my take on it is she's not talking about the fans. She's talking about the players, especially the young ones and possibly others within the program who may be getting complacent. She may also be meaning some of the students, which jives with Coach Saban's comments about the students leaving early.

The article itself doesn't give us much context. There's no I asked this question and this was the response. Her quotes are interspersed with what the author wants to say.

Coach Saban will always let you know what he's thinking if you just pay attention and he has talked as much or more about the difficulty of dealing with complacency, young players not understanding things and overall team chemistry than any other year with the exception of 2010. I think it is hard as you bring in the talent level he's recruited for many of these players to accept that they aren't "the man" much less a starter. As the number of these type players has increased due to our success I can see that the team has reached a "crossroads".

 

[dirtroadlizard]

I remember her singing Rammer Jammer the last time we played at JH. I wouldn't give two cents for any article in the WSJ . Alabama Football is bigger than all of us and is probably sometimes overwhelming for the Saban's . Stick in there Miss Terry , you're the Queen in Alabama ! rtr...

 

[MOAN]

I got a feeling the Saban's are sitting back, (well miss Terry anyhow), with a you know what eating grin enjoying watching the Bama fan base squirm! Complacency within the fans can and does carry over to the players you know! Do you all of the sudden feel a sense of urgency to focus?

We fans do not play the game but we are part of the process according to coach! If we are not getting better then we are regressing. Can we do more to be better fans? I say the answer to that is yes! No more clutter for me! I am worried about one team and one team only from here on out!

 

[IH8Orange]

I'm not going to read the entire thread, so if I missed something, someone can just educate me.

However, she didn't qualify WHO she felt was unappreciated by the Alabama fans. The inference perhaps that the author is attempting to make is that either she or Coach Saban feels unappreciated, but that wasn't clearly stated.

I tell my kids all the time that they should appreciate all that they have more than they do. I'm not telling them that I don't feel that they appreciate ME enough. I'm saying that they don't appreciate enough how we've been blessed by the situation in which we exist. I tell them that they should visit one of the third world countries where there's inadequate housing, services, roads, infrastructure, health care, law enforcement, and freedom.

One of the things that Coach Saban has been on the warpath about this season was the lackadaisical or flippant attitude that some of the fans at the games had. I don't think that he was angry because people weren't staying to the end to see HIM. He was angry because he sees the effort and sacrifice that everyone on the team, even those that only get to play late in the 4th quarter of blowouts, have made so that we can have a team that is so dominant that it bores some of the fans to the point that they can't stand to stay until the end of the game. He wants fans to appreciate the players... ALL OF THEM.

That may be what Ms. Terry is alluding to more than saying that she or Coach Saban doesn't feel appreciated.

I remember during the Georgia blackout game seeing two of the Georgia fans talking just before halftime and one of them is on a cellphone I believe and then he turns to the other and basically says, "I'm out of here." I remember thinking what a worthless fair-weather fan that was. I thought about how unappreciative this guy was to just basically decide that since his team wasn't performing up to HIS expectations, he would just leave and find something more interesting to do. I believe that I may have even thought to myself that I hoped that Bama fans would never be so callous about their team. Ha! We've surpassed that because now many fans just decide to leave because we're winning by TOO MUCH and it's just a burden to stay and watch the walk-ons get their moment in the sun. How many people would have left a game against UThug if we were bashing in their brains and leading by 35 points during the Shula years? Most people would have stayed in the stadium for the next three hours to celebrate. Now, some can't even make it until the mid-4th quarter.

 

[92tide]

You are taking her statements WAY TOO PERSONALLY. Seriously. It's gonna be OK.

unless i missed it, she didn't specify who was being unappreciative. could be the royal We

 

[Crimson1967]

Somehow, that trumps Alabama fan's excitement over winning a National Championship. Just dwell on that for a little while...

What you just hit on is at the heart of the disconnect, and I really wish more people would and could engage this issue directly. The simple fact is that the Sabans can't relate the point you just made any more than you relate to their point, because you're not talking about the same thing!

They're talking about Alabama, and you're talking about their opponent, and that's a world of difference isn't it? I understand your viewpoint, because for other SEC teams, I really won't sit down and watch them play Cupcake St., but I'm not a fan of those teams either. However, I pay to see Alabama. I don't pay to see LSU, Texas A&M, etc...

The Sabans can't understand why Alabama fan's can't get excited to come support Alabama players for Senior Day (one of, if not the greatest senior classes in the history of college football!), and you can understand why someone wouldn't want to pay to see Chattanooga. Those are two different things entirely! That's the problem, that's the entire issue right there.

Imagine, for instance if someone tells their kid they won't come watch them play, because they think the game will be boring. Does their kid want to hear that? Oh hey, you're playing a lowly team and that would be boring. Wouldn't the kid go hey, you're supposed to come to support me, to watch me play! That's what should be going on to an extent with these young men, that's what the Sabans expect, that's what I expect, it's not about who ever Alabama is playing, it's about Alabama! It's about supporting, and appreciating their accomplishments.

So, when Terry says anything along the lines of Alabama fans being unappreciative, and any Alabama fan sees fit to respond something about another team entirely, then yeah, that's the point isn't it??

We still had a huge crowd for A-Day. I know that upsets you that we don't fill the stadium for a glorified scrimmage, but that's life.

My son does not play football at Alabama. He is in high school sports and I watch every match, regardless of opponent.

Not everyone can afford to go to every game and I don't blame anyone for choosing LSU over Chattanooga. Also, how about giving us a better home slate, instead of having a quality non conference game in Dallas?

 

[bamanut_aj]

I got a feeling the Saban's are sitting back, (well miss Terry anyhow), with a you know what eating grin enjoying watching the Bama fan base squirm! Complacency within the fans can and does carry over to the players you know! Do you all of the sudden feel a sense of urgency to focus?

Seriously? If the Sabans are sitting around watching us squirm (which I obviously don't believe, and yes I saw your winky)then they are sick people.

And no I don't feel a sudden sense of urgency to focus. As a fan, during auburn week, running a 1.8 million dollar job in real life, 2 kids, etc, I'm as focused as I'm gonna get.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JD95]

Instead of wringing hands over the "lack of appreciation" part, why not focus on the more important statement "We have decided: this is where we are going to end our career."

 

[64met]

I am disappointed these stories always come out week of a big game. Second, IMO the comment Bama fans are unappreciative is casting a pretty wide net. What exactly do we as Bama fans need to do to show are appreciation? I mean we pack BDS every Saturday, enrollment is at an all time high, royalties from shirts, etc are through the roof in terms of revenue, best facilities, etc etc……. All of this IMO is a result of CNS. If that is not appreciation, maybe someone needs to define appreciation for me….