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If Nick Saban never goes to Alabama, do we have all the "death of college football" talk?

Posted on 5/6/22 at 7:58 am
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
64930 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 7:58 am
Josh Pate once again raised an interesting point on his show about how half to three-quarters of the changes made to college football in the last 15 years were a direct reaction to what Saban was doing in Tuscaloosa. Therefore, he concludes, Nick Saban was the man who ultimately "blew up" the sport of college football and turned the game into what it is today.

You can find the full clip linked below, but I just want to get your thoughts on this and see if you agree with Pate's take.

YouTube
Posted by WG_Dawg
Hoover
Member since Jun 2004
86434 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:01 am to
He certainly didn't invent this take and it's not particuarly ground breaking, IMO. I've been saying it for years. Saban's run at alabama has essentially squeezed the life and fun out of most fans' enjoyment of the game. The fact is, when you have 1 team that you know with 90+% certainty is going to either win the national title or play for the national title every single season, it's boring.

And obviously it's nobody's fault and nobody has done anythign wrong. I'm not saying we need to point fingers anywhere. I'm just saying bama winning the title every year or every other year is boring.
Posted by Beessnax
Member since Nov 2015
9124 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:09 am to
No I don't agree with it. College football has been popular for many years and will continue on in his absence. Saying that he "blew it up and made it what it is today" is an absurdity
. Sure he is a great coach and has had a remarkable run, but he didn't invent the game.
This post was edited on 5/6/22 at 8:11 am
Posted by Swagga
504
Member since Dec 2009
16108 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:14 am to
Saban didn’t make NIL, which IMO is the biggest death blow to college football. At least in its current form.

I get the idea of the take, but it’s pretty ridiculous. I’ve been a diehard college football fan but the current climate has completely turned me off of it. That has nothing to do with saban, two other SEC schools (LSU and Georgia) have both won titles recently.
Posted by Bench McElroy
Member since Nov 2009
33915 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:16 am to
All of the major problems with college football have been caused by conference realignment which would have still happened if Saban had never went Alabama.
Posted by imjustafatkid
Alabama
Member since Dec 2011
50257 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:17 am to
Saban had nothing to do with this. If they had listened to him and never gone to the playoff model, college football would still be great.
Posted by bamaboy87
Member since Jan 2009
15163 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:20 am to
Eh. The biggest thing I’d say Saban caused was the demand for almost immediate success. His second year here we went 12-0 in the regular season after a less than stellar first season.

Now it seems everyone expects to see a similar turnaround.
This post was edited on 5/6/22 at 8:22 am
Posted by GamecockUltimate
Columbia,SC
Member since Feb 2019
6735 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:21 am to
quote:

He certainly didn't invent this take and it's not particuarly ground breaking, IMO. I've been saying it for years. Saban's run at alabama has essentially squeezed the life and fun out of most fans' enjoyment of the game. The fact is, when you have 1 team that you know with 90+% certainty is going to either win the national title or play for the national title every single season, it's boring.

And obviously it's nobody's fault and nobody has done anythign wrong. I'm not saying we need to point fingers anywhere. I'm just saying bama winning the title every year or every other year is boring.



Did So Cal squeeze the life and fun out of College baseball?

Did UCLA squeeze the life and fun out of college basketball?

Dale with Nascar?

I guess I just don't buy it, but I respect the opinion
Posted by WG_Dawg
Hoover
Member since Jun 2004
86434 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:30 am to
quote:

Did So Cal squeeze the life and fun out of College baseball?



I don't follow those sports nearly as much as cfb (and wasn't alive for john wooden...) so idk. And the nascar comparison isn't close to apples to apples.

And note I didn't say that saban killed cfb, I just said that it's sucked some of hte fun out of it. And honestly how could it not? Every year since roughly 2012ish (08 was a surprise, 09 was a great followup, 10 was 3 losses, but then 11 was an elite rebound that showed they wreen't going anywhere) it's jus tbeen a known fact taht alabama was going to be there at the end. How could that possibly be entertainiong for everyone else? Even when USC/FSU/Nebrasaka/Florida/OU/etc have had their little mini-runs during teh 90s and 2000s, it didn't last for over a decade straight. YOu waited it out and eventually someone else emerged. It's clear that alabama is going to continue to be a playoff team until saban retires.
Posted by MetroAtlantaGatorFan
Member since Jun 2017
15598 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:33 am to
Then that's on the rest of the SEC and CFB to start cutting the mustard.
Posted by Pandy Fackler
Member since Jun 2018
13968 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 8:37 am to
A fair amount of the bullshite that comes from the NIL stuff can be mitigated if you go back to sitting out a year if you transfer.

They used to do it solely for playing time. Now the elite players are doing it for money. If you have to sit out a year, it dis-incentivizes you.

Bring that back and you solve alot of this.
This post was edited on 5/6/22 at 8:40 am
Posted by tgrmeat
Member since Sep 2020
4311 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:05 am to
He's the best coach in my lifetime to say the least, but that take sounds like a narcissistic bama fan thinking everything is about them.
Posted by PeleofAnalytics
Member since Jun 2021
2725 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:09 am to
Wouldn't have stopped NIL. That ball started rolling when the NCAA took the completely shite stance with Jeremy Bloom being ineligible to play football if he made money off of his skiing (the only way guys have to fund going to the Olympics). I don't think anyone thought that basically telling him "it's either the Olympics or college football" was a good look.
Posted by Kentucker
Cincinnati, KY
Member since Apr 2013
19351 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:18 am to
quote:

Saban's run at alabama has essentially squeezed the life and fun out of most fans' enjoyment of the game. The fact is, when you have 1 team that you know with 90+% certainty is going to either win the national title or play for the national title every single season, it's boring.


Same thing happened in college basketball when John Wooden won seven straight titles from 1967-1973. It took a long time for the game to become fun again.
Posted by BamaMamaof2
Atlanta, GA
Member since Nov 2019
2388 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:31 am to
quote:

I'm just saying bama winning the title every year or every other year is boring.



Hasn't been boring at all! In fact we have had a real good time.

Look, if other teams have a problem with Alabama winning all the time, beat us. Georgia finally did in the NCG. But to get upset because a team wins all the time is just being a whinny baby.

I don't Saban had any part of this death of college football talk. In fact, he has been very clear about his feelings about the transfer portal and NIL. He told everyone that the only teams that would benefit would be the teams at the top, and he was right. He is going to use those rules to benefit Alabama and no one can blame him.
Posted by WG_Dawg
Hoover
Member since Jun 2004
86434 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:34 am to
quote:

Look, if other teams have a problem with Alabama winning all the time, beat us.




quote:

But to get upset because a team wins all the time is just being a whinny baby.


I'm not upset nor am I "whinning"

Posted by Bama Bird
Member since Dec 2011
Member since Mar 2013
19016 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:38 am to
I think the real problem is that so many other programs who would normally compete with Alabama suddenly decided to suck. Where there would previously be 6 programs in legitimate title contention, for the last 10 years it's been more like 3.
Posted by WG_Dawg
Hoover
Member since Jun 2004
86434 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:41 am to
quote:

I think the real problem is that so many other programs who would normally compete with Alabama suddenly decided to suck. Where there would previously be 6 programs in legitimate title contention, for the last 10 years it's been more like 3.



1000% this for sure. It's just been kind of a weird decade, in that not only has bama put together the best dyansty the sport has ever seen, but there have been VERY FEW contenders from outside the SEC. The Pac12 and ACC have both just completely and utterly sucked. The big 12 and big 10 both have had 1 team yearly that is playoff worthy. That's about it.

Ignoring the whole saban thing, I think CFB will really get more fun again once the pac12 and ACC get their friggin shite together.
Posted by GetBackToWork
Member since Dec 2007
6247 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:49 am to
I'd place more of the blame on ESPN, but Saban gave the network routine material and, in turn, helped Saban continue. ESPN routinely pushed Bama in ways they would not other teams, and this helped build the brand, recruiting, and the momentum. This isn't to take anything away from Saban, but I think college football would be better in a different media environment. They've always favored teams to leverage for attention and viewers. Saban at Bama replaced Notre Dame.

One day they'll turn on him, though.
Posted by 14&Counting
Eugene, OR
Member since Jul 2012
37573 posts
Posted on 5/6/22 at 9:57 am to
Saban didn't kill college football. Saban just outworked and brought a new level of professionalism to the college level. That and Alabama gave him unlimited resources.

NIL will kill it if its not brought under control
This post was edited on 5/6/22 at 9:58 am
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