SEC Media Days: Nick Saban Invasion Pending

I’m at SEC Media Days, an event easily found thanks to the big SUVs clearly marked “SEC” parked in front of the Wynfrey Hotel. The Nissan SUVs are everything you’d expect from college football’s most opulent conference: bullet-proof glass, electro-pulse jamming equipment, bomb-proof armor plating on the undercarriage, concealed gun portals, and of course, fully functioning deep-fryers in each armrest.↵

↵↵I was promised fireworks for Nick Saban’s entrance. Hosannas! Paparazzi! WWE-style “ARE YOU READDDAAAAYYYY?” screams and folding chairs! Saban, however, beat the rush and ducked into the building with two bodyguards and quietly snuck into Media Days, stopping to sign a few autographs at the rope. Clearly, he’s overjoyed to be here.↵

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↵↵Last year a mob scene greeted Saban at the door. This year, most Bama fans seeking an autograph and the healing touch of their football coach didn’t even really bother to show up on time, as most of them seem to be milling around the lobby in “Got Nick” t-shirts and are outnumbered by the credentialed media buzzing around the hall. (Buzzing is a bit too energetic a word for media types: slugging around? Shuffling about? Talking loudly and nonsensically into headsets?)↵

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