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Coach Saban Addressed UCF's "National Championship"

selmaborntidefan

selmaborntidefan

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Mar 31, 2000
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https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...s-ucfs-self-proclaimed-national-championship/



"If you honor and respect the system that we have, (despite) some of the imperfections that you understand that the system has, then you wouldn't do something out of respect for the system that we have," Saban told USA Today. "I guess anybody has the prerogative to claim anything. But self-proclaimed is not the same as actually earning it. And there's probably a significant number of people who don't respect people who make self-proclaimed sort of accolades for themselves."
 
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Get ready for the 41 references.

Personally I wish he didn’t say the last two lines because we are going to here the “Bama hypocrisy” line all summer long.
 
81usaf92 said:
Get ready for the 41 references.

Personally I wish he didn’t say the last two lines because we are going to here the “Bama hypocrisy” line all summer long.
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Alabama didn't self proclaim any of their championships. Of course UCF fans say the same, that someone else proclaimed them to be champions. While I agree with Saban, this isn't going to help.
 
81usaf92 said:
Get ready for the 41 references.

Personally I wish he didn’t say the last two lines because we are going to here the “Bama hypocrisy” line all summer long.
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Well, yeah. I had the same thought.

But as always, the critics will overstate their case. They might have a point if they just focused on 1941. But that's why it becomes obvious their beef isn't REALLY with 1941 so much as with Alabama. Otherwise, why would they go "but 1964, they lost blah blah and 1973 they lost to Notre Dame and 1978 they lost to USC blah blah blah."

The moment the critics go there, they lose the notion they actually give a damn about 1941 and expose themselves as envious.

I've never heard a single critic (okay, other than the Fixing the AP poll guy) who bashed us for 1964 ever say one single word about 1950 OU or 1951 Tennessee.
 
81usaf92 said:
Get ready for the 41 references.

Personally I wish he didn’t say the last two lines because we are going to here the “Bama hypocrisy” line all summer long.
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I may be wrong but I don’t think Saban had anything to do with claiming the ‘41 title. (Blue Font)


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B1GTide said:
Alabama didn't self proclaim any of their championships. Of course UCF fans say the same, that someone else proclaimed them to be champions. While I agree with Saban, this isn't going to help.
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The 41 Championship is one that even Bama fans have a hard time with because no one else recognizes us a champs that year. But the biggest problem with claiming it is that it is a catalyst for disputing just about every other championship pre 1992 that we have.

Personally I don’t care. I say 17 Championships ( take 66 and nix 41), but I wish we didn’t have to constantly have to hear it. And CNS referencing it, especially how he said it, is going to have this a reoccurring argument until next January.
 
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Personally, I don't feel comfortable about the '41 claim. But, that was a different time, under a different set of rules, which do not reflect the system that decides NC's today. The teams that played in this year's NCG was not decided by Bama fans, or UCF fans, but by a panel that was supposedly qualified to select the four best teams to compete for the National Championship. Unfortunately for UCF, they were not deemed as being one of those four. Sorry, guys, you had a commendable season. You should be proud. But beating a 3 loss, uninspired, demoralized, devastated, *u team, is not compelling enough reason for anyone else to proclaim your team as the best in the Nation. Better luck next year.

ROLL TIDE!
 
I guess I could be the contrarian and point out that not a single one of the pre-1961 champions knew at the time they were champions (which kind of takes the whole air out of the discussion).

I actually think we’d do better not claiming anything before then but that’s fine. When folks complain about legit post-61 titles (as noted) it makes their alleged concerns about legit champions pretentious and their bias more obvious.

(
 
selmaborntidefan said:
I guess I could be the contrarian and point out that not a single one of the pre-1961 champions knew at the time they were champions (which kind of takes the whole air out of the discussion).

I actually think we’d do better not claiming anything before then but that’s fine. When folks complain about legit post-61 titles (as noted) it makes their alleged concerns about legit champions pretentious and their bias more obvious.

(
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I’m kinda okay with that logic. But it’s kinda hard to give up those Rose Bowl National Championships.
 
Jonathan_FKLN said:
At least one team did.

Crimson Tide Returning from 1935 Rose Bowl

(I would embed the photo, but it doesn't belong to me.)
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Rose Bowl champions doesn't translate to "national champions," particularly not in 1934 when there were two other bowl games.

Hell, even the 1961 student newspaper at Alabama called it the first national championship.

It's fine to recognize "whatever," but the sudden claim of 1941 is an utter embarrassment. Saying "oh but we won" when even the folks at the time had no idea they had won one is absurd on its face.

I'm not against the numbers - and we rule by all counts anyway - but the idea that the guys in 1941 knew they had won a national title makes claims to such rather lame.
 
81usaf92 said:
I’m kinda okay with that logic. But it’s kinda hard to give up those Rose Bowl National Championships.
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The funny thing is that it wasn't that difficult prior to the mid-1980s and Wayne Atcheson.

To have claimed 1941 in the first place is beyond absurd.
 
selmaborntidefan said:
Rose Bowl champions doesn't translate to "national champions," particularly not in 1934 when there were two other bowl games.
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This isn't a hill I will die on, but in the photo the team is standing under a "Champions of the Football World" sign. I think that represents a championship claim of some sort, which is all I am saying.
 
81usaf92 said:
The 41 Championship is one that even Bama fans have a hard time with because no one else recognizes us a champs that year. But the biggest problem with claiming it is that it is a catalyst for disputing just about every other championship pre 1992 that we have.

Personally I don’t care. I say 17 Championships ( take 66 and nix 41), but I wish we didn’t have to constantly have to hear it. And CNS referencing it, especially how he said it, is going to have this a reoccurring argument until next January.
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I'm of the view that the proverbial envy wouldn't stop the whining from "but you lost in 1964 and 1973 and 1978" regardless, but 1941 becomes the fulcrum that they can use.

Houlgate "recognized" us as champions that year.

My prior point, though, is this: nobody with a brain watched UCF beat Auburn and actually even thought they were national champions. NOT EVEN THE PLAYERS at the time thought that.

The players leaving the field after the 1942 Cotton Bowl had no earthly idea they'd "won a national championship," and this, to me, is what makes the claim absurd.

How in the hell can you win a championship you didn't even know you won? (Nap Lajoie winning the 1910 AL batting title was a different issue before anyone even tries that one).
 
Jonathan_FKLN said:
This isn't a hill I will die on, but in the photo the team is standing under a "Champions of the Football World" sign. I think that represents a championship claim of some sort, which is all I am saying.
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I get that, but I also see it for what was at the time.
 
selmaborntidefan said:
I'm of the view that the proverbial envy wouldn't stop the whining from "but you lost in 1964 and 1973 and 1978" regardless, but 1941 becomes the fulcrum that they can use.

Houlgate "recognized" us as champions that year.

My prior point, though, is this: nobody with a brain watched UCF beat Auburn and actually even thought they were national champions. NOT EVEN THE PLAYERS at the time thought that.

The players leaving the field after the 1942 Cotton Bowl had no earthly idea they'd "won a national championship," and this, to me, is what makes the claim absurd.

How in the hell can you win a championship you didn't even know you won? (Nap Lajoie winning the 1910 AL batting title was a different issue before anyone even tries that one).
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The loss to Texas and ND in bowl games in 64 and 73 doesn’t diminish the claim because it was the system we played in and we were national champs by that system. The only whiners with a leg to stand on those years are Arkansas and ND. What really attracts others in to disputing those two outside of Arkansas and ND fans is the 41 Championship.

The 41 claim is just stupid and close to UCF’s claim imo. We really had to reach with the houlgate on that one. If you want to give Thomas a championship then give him 45. But the 1941 claim is one of the most mind blowing claims of all time, and opens up the annoying conversation of legitimacy of Bama Championships.
 
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Their former coach (Scott Frost) has backed WAAAAAAAY off and pretty much made it clear he does not agree with UCF claiming the NC. He even went as far as being quoted that he wished his ring they were issued simply said "Peach Bowl Champions", because that's what they actually are. Not national champions. But if people in general would stop responding and giving life to this topic it would go away. I am VERY surprised Coach Saban elaborated the way he did on this topic since he already addressed it months ago. He normally stops addressing things he wants to make irrelevant. So, yeah, I'm a bit surprised.
 
Fans complained about the bowl system, so it was replaced with the BCS. After a few years they complained about the BCS system so it was replaced with the CFP. Now folks are complaining about the CFP.

The harsh reality - fans will complain about any system that doesn't favor their team. People like to believe that they want fairness, but what they really want is personal success.
 
B1GTide said:
Fans complained about the bowl system, so it was replaced with the BCS. After a few years they complained about the BCS system so it was replaced with the CFP. Now folks are complaining about the CFP.

The harsh reality - fans will complain about any system that doesn't favor their team. People like to believe that they want fairness, but what they really want is personal success.
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Like we tell our kids, "The fair comes in October". That's the only "fair" there is in life, and even that is still a rip off.
 
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