Nick Saban Makes It Impossible For Bama Fans to Relax During Season

Yet Another Championship-Caliber Team Keeps Tide Fans On The Edge of Their Seats For 2012

After winning National Championships in 2009 and again in 2011, Alabama football is back where it belongs.

Tide alumni like myself enjoy winning. With 14 national titles, we’re used to it and at the very least expect to be competing for it most every year. And with Nick Saban, that’s exactly what has happened.

But Saban is making things difficult on us fans by being so good every year. After last year’s championship, and with next year’s team the likely favorite, I was kind of looking forward to relaxing a bit this season. Trent Richardson, who should have won the Heisman Trophy last year, is in the NFL, as if has the defense from last year. There’s several new starters – young players – in the secondary, complicated positions to quickly learn in Saban’s defensive scheme.

But Saban has created such a recruiting factory that the Tide is poised to make another run at the National Championship this year. At the very least, it promised to go deep into the season still in contention.

And that means instead of kicking back at the bars this fall, I’m going to be gnawing my fingernails off again.

That’s because the college football game is like no other sport. In college football, it matters not just what your team does on Saturday, but every other team that’s ranked around your school.  And because not every other team plays in the SEC – meaning the competition is diminished – undeserving teams get ranked too high. Oregon, USC (this year), Oklahoma, Ohio State (not an issue in 2012) and in the past the particularly frustrating Boise State and TCU, are all  competitors to Alabama. Perhaps too, Florida State

Last year, the thorn in the side was Oklahoma State. On several Saturdays, it barely escaped with last-second wins, and that raised the blood pressure on a near weekly basis. When Alabama lost to LSU as OSU edged Kansas State – the game ended with the Wildcats on the Cowboys’ goal line – thing got even more intense.

This, by the way, is why a playoff is a BAD IDEA for college football. I can live with four teams, but any more dilutes this one-of-a-kind regular season. There are always highly-ranked teams playing on Saturday and I need for those teams to lose!

And with Alabama re-loading under Saban, I’ll be back at it this year, nervously pacing a bar hoping other ranked teams lose and cheering on the Crimson Tide.