"Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event. It may be 9-11, which sort of changed the spirit of America relative to catastrophic events. Pearl Harbor kind of got us ready for World War II, or whatever, and that was a catastrophic event." --Nick SabanNo, Nick Saban was not lecturing on "Seminars in American History: American Catastrophe" when he made the above remarks.
He was tapping into two of the most somber and infamous events in the storied history of our nation to provide his football team -- his freaking football team -- with motivation for recovering from a "catastrophic event," namely, the Tide's humiliating loss last Saturday to Louisiana-Polk, or Louisiana-Tyler, or some Louisiana-[President's name goes here] school.
What a dunderhead. What an absolute, uncompromising dunderhead.
When Bluto asked if it was over "when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor," I laughed. Why? Context. Comedy.
When Saban equated 9/11 and 12/7 with the gridiron monstrosity of 11/17, I sat befuddled. Why? Context. Misplaced.
Like, sorely misplaced.
Don't allow anyone -- any media outlet, any university administration official, any anybody -- tell you otherwise: Saban dove out of bounds. Hell, he fumbled the ball in his own endzone with 0:01 on the clock in the fourth quarter, up 5, against Auburn.
Get the point?
To be frank, I'm not very big on athletes and/or coaches analogizing sport to war. Simply put, sport is not war. It's not even close.
That goes for you, Kevin Garnett.
That goes for you, Kellen Winslow.
That most especially goes for you, Nick Saban. You dunderhead.
To the contrary, sport is a respite from war. It is a respite from heartache. It is a respite from the catastrophe with which Coach Saban compared his team's plight. Make what you will of the man, but do you remember the electricity that shot through Yankee Stadium when President Bush threw the first pitch before Game 3 of the '01 Series? I doubt I stand alone and I doubt I stand with everyone, but to this day, I have never felt more tangible senses of relief and joy as they relate to sport as I did during that moment. That's why sport is, contrary to what many say, more than "just a game."
It's evidenced by the bond my father and I share when we make our annual travels to Lexington to watch Kentucky basketball.
I cherish those times. Someday, they'll never come again.
It's evidenced by the frustration/apathy turned joy/euphoria that the Indianapolis Colts can bring me any given Sunday.
Horse won its first Super Bowl during the same weekend of my 21st birthday. Larger than life. Larger than "just a game."
It's evidenced by the Iraqi National Team capturing the Asian Cup in soccer this past summer.
I speak of the World Series bringing a broken people together. Think of the unity this must have brought to a completely shattered people.
Oh, yes, Coach Saban. To many, I'm sure Alabama football is more than "just a game." Perhaps that was the crowd to whom you spoke when you made your ... interesting comments. But in no way was the Louisiana-Jefferson, or Louisiana-Roosevelt, or the Louisiana-Whoeverthehell debacle "a date which will live in infamy."
You're recovering from a catastrophe of mass embarrassment, not from a catastrophe of mass destruction and death.
Get it straight.
Dunderhead.
Source: (CBSSportsline)
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