Saban on expectations

[BamaInBham]

He has stated or alluded to the fact that the fans should appreciate what the team accomplishes even if it does not win a NC. i.e., last year was a great year even though Bama did not win even an SECC. I agree that it was. There was disappointment yes, but it was a great year and the fans should appreciate all of the skill and hard work done to accomplish it. He also mentioned the graduation of a number of players this year, it obviously meant a lot to him.

IMO, one of the few things that would drive Nick Saban from Bama would be the stupidity of a fanbase that did not properly appreciate the efforts of the players and coaches.

The garbage that Bama does not settle for anything less that a NC, i.e., anything less is a failure, is just that - garbage. When someone does all that they can do with great skill, there is nothing to do but applaud them and be grateful for their efforts.

 

[capnfrog]

I think a lot of it is "Media Expectations". Some of the media would truly like to disgruntle the Tide Fans. Any year we don't win a NC they can come back with something like "We didn't meet our expectations", or "The Coach let the team down". We don't need to fall into their trap, let them ramble on. I believe if we have a little luck, we are accumulating a wealth of talent to go along with it to at least be in the hunt every year. We may not win a NC but I sure am proud of the direction Coach Saban has Alabama Football headed.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

In a way, I hate to bring it up, but we have great numbers of "fans" who have only the most peripheral connection to UA. Several years ago, we had a gentleman who'd really posted quite a lot. He was almost savage in his criticism after a particularly disappointing loss and I called him out. He was right up front about not giving a damn about the school, its campus or anything else about Bama, other than the FB team. IOW, he was sort of like a pro team fan. He took no pride in the other accomplishments of UA and couldn't care less about academics. Understand that I'm not saying that Bama fans who didn't attend UA are any lesser breed. On the contrary, some of our best, most loyal fans only wish that they could have attended UA. However, the former category of fan, the "Just win, baby, or go to hell" bunch are a lot of the folks CNS is addressing...

 

[capnfrog]

In a way, I hate to bring it up, but we have great numbers of "fans" who have only the most peripheral connection to UA. Several years ago, we had a gentleman who'd really posted quite a lot. He was almost savage in his criticism after a particularly disappointing loss and I called him out. He was right up front about not giving a damn about the school, its campus or anything else about Bama, other than the FB team. IOW, he was sort of like a pro team fan. He took no pride in the other accomplishments of UA and couldn't care less about academics. Understand that I'm not saying that Bama fans who didn't attend UA are any lesser breed. On the contrary, some of our best, most loyal fans only wish that they could have attended UA. However, the former category of fan, the "Just win, baby, or go to hell" bunch are a lot of the folks CNS is addressing...

I know for dang sure he wasn't addressing capnfrog, cause even though I didn't attend The University of Alabama there is no more a loyal fan of Alabama football or Coach Nick Saban than I am. I'm a lot like an uncle I used to have that had a bad heart, my aunt would only let him watch or listen to a game a few minutes at a time because he would get too excited. Sometimes during a game I have to get up and walk to calm myself down. The best thing to happen to me in the past few years is to discover TideFans.com. Now Alabama football never ends for me. Thanks.

 

[Bamafan78]

I'm 100% behind Coach Saban, and I'm still excited that he is our coach. Any unreasonable fan out there should ask themselves this question..who are we going to replace Saban with? Pete Carroll, or Urban Meyer aren't coming! Saban is one of the top coaches in the country. People need to realize that academics, and running a clean program is just important as wins, and losses. I think we would all agree that the goal is to win a championship, but we will never reach that goal unless we focus on what it takes to reach it. Your goal may be to attain a million dollars, but your not going to ever have it sitting in your house twiddling your tumbs. You've got to develop a plan to attain it. That's how things work in football, and that's how things work in life. I love the University of Alabama. That includes the school, and all of its sports programs. Regardless if we reach, or never reach the mountain top the University, and its football program will be better off because of Coach Saban.

I love the hardnose physical brand of football that Coach Saban has brought back to Alabama. 2009 was a truly special season. I appreciate everything that the coaches, and players put into that season.

 

[J.Will]

The garbage that Bama does not settle for anything less that a NC, i.e., anything less is a failure, is just that - garbage. When someone does all that they can do with great skill, there is nothing to do but applaud them and be grateful for their efforts.

Settling and expecting are two different things. I expect my team to win a National Championship because I think they are the best in the land, and cannot possibly be stopped. That's what my heart does. That's why I've got butterflies all day Saturday. That's why sometimes I can't sleep the night before the big game. I can go into analysis of players strengths and weaknesses with the best of them, but I've discovered that it's just more fun to believe that the Crimson Tide are the best and we're going to win come Hell or High Water. I leave the other stuff in the able hands of the coaching staff.

Am I angry or upset with ending the season on a two game skid? No. Disappointed? Yes, but only because the team was so close. One play here, a half inch there, one breakup, one sack, one pop and there's crystal in T-town. Well, it makes it easy to say ,"There's always next year."

I love this team. I love that school. My expectations will always be high (the absolute highest), but I will never cease being proud of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide.

RTR

 

[Gallowglas]

I think there's a difference between expecting excellence and expecting both flawlessness and flawless transition to flawlessness too. Anyone who expected that we would instantly be some unstoppable juggernaut once CNS took the helm (and there were some who did) were sporting unrealistic expectations. Should we hope for that? Sure! Should we get excited about the possibilities early on when things start looking good? Why not? The problem isn't any of those things. It's when people start becoming self-destructive when things aren't executed with flawless precision by every member of the team and when we start tearing down players and coaches during what is still a transition period.

That's not to say we shouldn't be analytical. I think most fans know where the threshold between post-game analysis and post-game negative overreaction lies. Some, however, do not. It's those people who are the problem. If you looked at our 2008-2009 run and had a negative evaluation of the season, particularly when taken within the context of where the program is headed, you might just fall into the category that CNS is describing. It's not to say that we shouldn't acknowledge gaps and weaknesses to be shored up, but we need to recognize that the coaching staff doesn't believe we've arrived at our final destination either. You can't look at a half painted house and say, "wow, those painters did a really bad job".

 

[capnfrog]

If the Bama players contracted the attitude that "Utah wasn't good enough to beat Bama" from us fans then something needs to change. Either we Bama fans need to change our attitude because it is affecting the players or either Bama players need to quit listening to the fans. Somewhere I read a quote I think maybe from Coach Stallings "if you listen to the fans, you'll soon be sitting with them".

 

[Tidewater]

The "process oriented not result oriented" line is complete bull. The process only matters IF it gets the desired result, which is the main goal. No one cares about the process if Bama losses (except that the process needs to be changed).

I believe you are mistaking cause and effect here.

No clearer display of this can be seen besides the Sugar Bowl. It appears that some players were thinking "I don't care about the process. We are not playing for a National Championship, so I do not have to put forth my best effort. This game does not matter. Utah is not that good. I do not have to prepare and play my best."
Coach Saban would say that your opponent does not matter. Achieve the best that you can on each and every play, whether you are playing Florida or Poughkeepsie Tech. Apply the Process, and the results will take care of themselves. You may lose to a more talented, better-prepared team (and I would argue Florida fit that category, but never to a less talented team, and I would put Utah in that category.)
And yes, The Process applies to fans as well, although Coach Saban's only tool to use against us is moral suasion. He can't bench us or suggest we transfer to Auburn.

 

[tidefan23]

I believe you are mistaking cause and effect here.

No clearer display of this can be seen besides the Sugar Bowl. It appears that some players were thinking "I don't care about the process. We are not playing for a National Championship, so I do not have to put forth my best effort. This game does not matter. Utah is not that good. I do not have to prepare and play my best."
Coach Saban would say that your opponent does not matter. Achieve the best that you can on each and every play, whether you are playing Florida or Poughkeepsie Tech. Apply the Process, and the results will take care of themselves.

My only point was that I really don't care about whether the team takes Nick's Process approach, Joe's Process approach, or Jane's Process approach; the final score is all that counts. And a player with little physical talent can have the greatest Process in the world and still get beat time and time again. Almost no one in the stadium at the conclusion of the loss would say that the player had a great process.

And I do care about the school as well. I have 3 degrees (BS, Masters, and JD) from Bama....having fully paid 100% tuition for all of those.

 

[TCB007]

At a minimum a conference title for Bama MUST happen soon or disappointment

for Saban & expectations not met

 

[BigOaf]

For me CNS' proven process counts as much if not more than the results.

I don't want a process that involves my coach conspiring with investigators to try and bring a rival program down, even if it helps my team's recruiting. I don't want a process that brings in players with a "me first, last, and always" mentality, who then proceed to make the program/university look bad. I don't want a process that follows the "rules were made to be broken" line of thought, even if it results in wins. If we do not focus on the way in which we do things, we might have short-term gains, but our program will suffer in the long run.

And for the record, I was pretty pleased with "the Process" even after the tough Florida loss. Their process wasn't better than ours, but their athleticism and depth were and we got beat. On the other hand, the Utah game was an example of why we need to have a full compliment of upperclassmen with 3 - 5 years in "the Process".

 

[Jazzman]

I think we all need to remember the context in which Coach Saban was speaking. When we lost to Florida in the SECC game, many fans acted like it was all over. This attitude bled over into the player's minds, therefore there was no excitement about playing Utah. Because of that, the team was not 'UP' for the competition. This is the attitude that Coach Saban was harping about. That is the culture that needs to change. They need our support to bolster them after a loss. That SECC game was a huge loss and everyone felt it. We were beaten by a better team that day. In the Sugar Bowl, we were beaten by a lesser team that was more determined to win.

:beatdeadhorse5: :nopity: :beatdeadhorse5:

 

[Gallowglas]

My only point was that I really don't care about whether the team takes Nick's Process approach, Joe's Process approach, or Jane's Process approach; the final score is all that counts. And a player with little physical talent can have the greatest Process in the world and still get beat time and time again. Almost no one in the stadium at the conclusion of the loss would say that the player had a great process.

And I do care about the school as well. I have 3 degrees (BS, Masters, and JD) from Bama....having fully paid 100% tuition for all of those.

So you'd take a decade of solid lockdowns of the SEC West championship, but losses in the SECCG over a couple of seasons in which we struggle but eventually return as a national powerhouse? I am sorry, but process is absolutely important. Sure, results are important, but process is how companies and teams plan for long-term and not just short-term success.

 

[Redwood Forrest]

Not addressing you specifically, but rather your statement - the fact that so many think the ends justifies the means is a big problem today, in sports and just about everything else.

I want Bama to win every game, and to mudhole UT and AU every single year, but more than that I want to see our team give a maximum effort on the field, in practice, in the classroom, and when they leave the Capstone to pursue whatever their dreams may be.

CNS can keep preaching it as far as I'm concerned.

I agree. Well said.

 

[Bamafan78]

Not addressing you specifically, but rather your statement - the fact that so many think the ends justifies the means is a big problem today, in sports and just about everything else.

I want Bama to win every game, and to mudhole UT and AU every single year, but more than that I want to see our team give a maximum effort on the field, in practice, in the classroom, and when they leave the Capstone to pursue whatever their dreams may be.

CNS can keep preaching it as far as I'm concerned.

Well said, and I agree 100%!