Alabama head football coach Nick Saban’s weekly radio show “Hey Coach” usually airs on Thursday nights, but with Thanksgiving Day this Thursday, the show was moved to Wednesday night.
No. 8 Alabama (10-1, 7-0 SEC) stumbled early in the season, dropping a game in Week 2 to Texas. Since the loss, Alabama has improved each week and rattled off an eight-game win streak to clinch a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
On Saturday, the Crimson Tide will need to continue to play with the same intensity as they travel into a hostile environment at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Every week before ending the show, Saban delivers a final message, with Wednesday's message being the last one of the regular season.
Wednesday night on “Hey Coach,” Saban praised the support that the fans have supplied this year and stressed the need for the support to travel on the road as well.
“I think the big thing that we’re trying to do with our team, and I think everyone’s support is certainly appreciated in this. It’s been great this year,” Saban said. “Y’all have had great patience with his team, and this team’s transformation has been pretty astonishing to get to this point and create this opportunity. But to pay attention to what you have to do to continue upward improvement to be a dangerous team, your opponent really doesn’t affect that. You affect it by what you control and what you do and what you think and, what I said before, what do you choose to pay attention to. I think that’s what our entire fan base needs to do.”
“I know this is a difficult place to play, but I also know that when we get there on the bus and there’s a bunch of fans there when we’re getting off the bus, there’s a calming effect that goes with that when you play on the road,” he added. “You know that you got some people there, you know you got some family there, you know you got some people that care about you and that’s really important, and it’s going to be important for us in this game. Everybody’s been fantastic all season long.”
Saban has gone on record praising the support of the fans at home this season and the atmosphere that they create. As a result, the Crimson Tide were able to secure wins in revenge games against a pair of top 15 teams, LSU and Tennessee.
Alabama will look to carry the momentum into Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT for the Iron Bowl.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
