It took Kalen Deboer 5 games to destroy the mythic, mystic aura Saban built and maintained

over the course of 17 years. Something is deeply saddening about that. Part of it is because it came so soon. Part of it is because of who it happened against. But I think the biggest shock is just how it happened. Vandy, VANDY of all people, literally beat Bama on both sides of the ball and won in both sides of the trenches. Like I said, there was a part of me that thought, "This is what makes college football the greatest sport in the world." But there was another part of me that felt like I have when I realized something of permanence had been lost from the world: something that defined reality as I knew it.