RELEASE THE HOUNDS!!!! Gushing rivals piece on Saban

BYH, if this same piece had appeared in SI -- and it could have -- you'd have said nothing or applauded.
Rivals pays Dienhart to do a job. He does it as well as anyone. Hangups like this aren't getting our business anywhere.

 

Only Rivals would have read that and done anything but spiked it.
It was self-congratulatory, pandered to Saban and Bama fans, and read about as smooth as a '87 pickup drives.

 

So it hit home then...

 

SEC football puff pieces . . . we've all seen 92+% of the best flat-out bolt the Kool-Air in this niche, including many board heroes.

I'm glad it's not in my bailiwick.

 

By far exceeding expectations this year, Saban is setting up the fan base for the possibility of a colossal letdown for the rest of his time there. With each victory this season, the more the "nowhere to go but down" dynamic will be in play.

I'm not saying that to diminish the extraordinary season still unfolding, but eventually tomorrow will be today. Never is the Saban-fan relationship at its tempestuous best/worst than when expectations override reality, and for all the glow this surprise season is casting over there, the downside could be a very disappointing afterglow in 2009, 2010 and ...

The year after he won the 2003 BCS national championship at LSU, Saban's 2004 team was out of contention in the SEC West by the first game in October. There was a lot of tension because of the heightened expectations of spoiled fans, and he was gone by Christmas night. That was at LSU, which is Triple-A ball compared to Alabama when it comes to thinking their team should win it all every year.

I'll bet the Bama beat writers can recite the "expectations" speech in their sleep by now.

As quickly as Paul Finebaum turned from roasting Saban at every turn to deifying him, so too will many of the Bama fans if there's no payoff for letting go again and letting themselves believe the second coming of the Bear really is here. It is going to be interesting to watch the rest of Saban's stay there.

Five seasons is the longest consecutive stretch he's had with one team or school. Does anyone think he'll beat that at Alabama?

 

No.

 

Speaking of conference puff-pieces ..
They appear in earnest to comprise the various preseason mags.
Lindys, Street and Smith, etc., etc.
Many of these articles, if you watch bylines, are done by 'credible' writers who follow teams as beat writers during season.
The preseason mag deals are 'sweetheart' deals and good for some really easy money. I always hoped to get in on that, though I never did.
Nobody complains about those puff-pieces in those mags.
Folks, rather, rejoice when they appear on the racks.
I'm just sayin'

 

And I think Saban will be at Alabama, when it's all said and done, at least 10 years. He's enjoying this one.

 

No argument.

Don't do anything to hurt the Grand Old Game.

 

In fairness to people who write stories for preseason magazines (and I've been one of them), I seriously doubt the magazine editors are assigning them investigative pieces. No, they want features, trend stories and outlooks. Some, I'm sure, read as puff. Most I've seen read pretty objectively.

I also doubt a writer who could use the money for kids' braces or a spouse's Christmas present would say, "No, I don't want to write this feature. When you assign a story on why there's too much emphasis on sports in the South or how grades aren't a priority with college athletes, I'll do it, but I'll pass on doing a Georgia feature."

And if you're an editor who can't find writers to write the kinds of stories you want written about college football and are tired of what you consider puff pieces, PM me. I've made less than $500 as a writer since Labor Day. I could use the work.