Having followed Bama since 1971 it was the same back then. National Championship or nothing. Lots of 11-1 seasons, 1972,1974,1975,77 that didn't end in titles are written off. Honored nowhere and talked about by no one other than we came up short.
Even when Ray perkins, Bill Curry and Gene Stallings took over the expectation every year was a national championship, not SEC title, national title.
When the sanctions hit in 2002, we knew there was no chance for 5 or 6 years but that was temporary and we would be back. Then Saban came, the sanctions lifted and we went back to expecting the national title. As bad as it sounds, nobody has celebrated what that team accomplished last year. Its all about where can they get better. Bama road grated the national champs for the SEC title but no one cares about the SEC title.

This is why it humors me when I hear people say Oh, you dont want to follow Saban, you want to be the guy after the guy. No, expectations will be no different for the next guy, the 4th guy or 10th guy removed from Nick. They will be expected to win national titles, frequently, and be in the hunt every single year. 10-3 and you will be shown the door. So, what is it like? You know you are the bluest of bluebloods. There is never a game you expect to lose and most games you expect a 35 point beatdown and if you beat State 24-14 there's questions to be answered. With that said, being a Bama fan is awesome. When you go to opposing teams stadiums they have a different vibe in the crowd. Everybody wants tickets to the Bama game, Wins over Bama are celebrated for years see LSU 2019, South Carolina brought back players form 2010 team for the Bama game in 2019 and Arkansas brought back their 64 team for the Bama game in 2014. You are, and you know you are, every teams biggest game including bluebloods like Ohio St, Notre Dame or Southern Cal.