Adams: Fans aside, Saban rich in detail (with/audio)

Photo by Dusty Compton, Tuscaloosa News

A large group of television reporters and cameramen crowd Alabama coach Nick Saban as he arrives for SEC Media Days on Thursday in Hoover, Ala.

HOOVER, Ala. — Alabama didnt have to hire a $4 million football coach to draw fans for SEC Media Days.

Every time the Tide takes its turn on this preseason media stage, its fans crowd the Wynfrey Hotel lobby in the Galleria mall. No one appreciates that more than Alan Paquette, the chief executive officer of Bama Fever, whose store is less than a football field away.

This is always a good day for us, Paquette said Thursday, just before new Alabama coach Nick Saban held court in the media interview room. Last year, we had a lot of women here to see Coach (Mike) Shula. This year, we have a lot of football fans here to see Coach Saban.

The prettiest former coach in the SEC still has a place at media days. His dads restaurant, Shulas Steak House, has a prominent corner position on the first floor of the hotel. At one point, you wondered if it might be needed to accommodate spillover from the burgeoning crowd of Alabama fans, some of whom arrived before 7 a.m. in hopes of a Saban autograph.

They only had to wait about five hours. And that was probably just fine for the sales force at Bama Fever, whose store was well stocked for the occasion.

You had the traditional generic-insult T-shirts, one of which was fitted for Tennessee. So what are the five things you will never hear from a Tennessee fan?

Wrasslin is fake.

Come to think of it, Ill have a Heineken.

Good ol Phil, thats one slim dude.

Checkmate!

I cant marry you. Youre my cousin.

The message on another T-shirt was aimed across state.

Hey, Auburn, kiss my rings, which is a reference to Alabamas 12 national championships, about half of which are recognized by the rest of college football.

Thats the past of Alabama football. Saban is the future. In between, theres a lot of stuff Alabama fans would like to forget, including Shulas 6-7 2006 season.

Shulas firing spiked sales at Bama Fever, and the Saban rumor boosted them even more. So you can imagine what happened when Alabama actually signed the former Miami Dolphins coach who won a national title at LSU four years ago.

Even though we had two stores close (statewide), we had a 15 to 20 percent increase (in sales) this spring, Paquette said.

Of course, this isnt all about the money, as the nations highest-paid college football coach emphasized Thursday. Saban talked about pumping gas as a kid in his native West Virginia, loading trucks nightly at Roadway Express, driving a Coca-Cola delivery truck with a burned-out clutch and working for nothing as a graduate assistant coach.

I worked for $8,000 a year for a long time, he said. I went about coaching and recruiting the same way I do now.

I love teaching. I love being with the players.

Its not about money for me. All right?

If youre still not convinced, he will remind you he took a pay cut to leave the Dolphins.

The interview session wasnt all about money, either. But it was basically all about Saban, including his perceived harsh persona and his growing enemies list (think: Auburn fans, LSU fans, Dolphins fans, and anyone else who wants to see a $4 million coach fail — even if the coachs inner child is still pumping gas in West Virginia).

What did you expect the media would focus on? Alabamas questionable defensive front?

Besides, Alabama isnt exactly soft-pedaling its new coach. Hes pictured bigger than life on the front and back of the schools football media guide, which includes 23 more Saban photos inside.

The Process Begins, reads the headline on the cover.

The process of getting to Alabama is a bigger story elsewhere. Saban angered Dolphins fans by losing too many games and then abandoning them for the same job in which he once so vehemently denied any interest. He angered LSU fans by hooking up with their divisional rival only two years after he left them for the pros.

And the anger still lingers.

One of our administrative assistants who worked for us at LSU went to a wedding in Baton Rouge and got her tires slashed, Saban said. So I think were very aware of the backlash live with it every day.

I mean, there was no opportunity for me to go back to LSU. This was a great opportunity. We chose it. It wasnt meant to hurt or harm anyone at LSU.

No one in the line of about 80 autograph seekers cared about the collateral damage of Sabans career move. Their hounds-tooth hats and Sabanation T-shirts bridged the gap between the glory days of Alabama football and what they hope will be the next glory days.

The Shulas Steak House sign a few yards away represented just one of the mishaps in between.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.