Nick Saban ranked among the 21 biggest villains in sports
If Nick Saban were to ever play the part of a villain, he’d get my vote as The Godfather. Just think about it for a minute. It makes so much sense.
But I digress.
For The Win’s Luke Kerr-Dineen put together a fun rankings column on the 21 best villains in sports, and of course Saban makes an appearance. When you’re the best coach in college football and have dominated your conference for the better half of the last eight years, you’re going to be, well, not very well-liked by some.
A good villain, in many ways, is the kind of thing that makes sports great. Rooting for something is fun, sure, but rooting against something makes for sports’ best stories.
And so, allow us to present our list of the best 21 current sports villains, listed below in no particular order. The people we hate, or at the very lest, the people we love to hate.
Fortunately, Saban comes in last at No. 21 — and it’s mostly just because he wins. A lot.
Like (Bill) Belichick, his villain status is partly due to his success, but also comes down to the way he succeeds. Efficient, unrelenting, brilliant.
Maybe being a member of the dark side isn’t all that bad.
Um, Saban is on the list because he’s an A-hole. Even my friends and family that are huge Bama fans admit so. But they put up with it because he wins. Same with Harbough. There are plenty of successful coaches that people don’t hate.
Yeah, but he makes up for it by being short. (Actually, don’t think he is an A-hole. But he is one driven man who, because he loves what he does almost as much as he loves being the best in history at it, really does not care what you or I think of him).
I have never once heard any Alabama fan call Saban an a-hole. The only people who I have ever heard call Saban an a-hole are those who hate Alabama and anything associated with Alabama just because of the fact that it’s Alabama. Is he a nice guy? Not really. But that’s because he cares more about getting the job done than making people happy. There’s nothing wrong about that. Wouldn’t even really call that mean. He’s just very driven and very serious about what he does. Nothing about that makes him an a-hole. The reason people hate him is because he’s had Alabama squarely at the top of college football for the past 10 years. It’s in human nature to hold disdain for and root against that which is seemingly always successful. Also, they kinda included the given reason for him being on the list. Nothing in it says “mean” or “a-hole”.
I’m 58 yrs old so you can understand I experienced may things. I have always found it humorous that the winner are hated, even kind of cursed UNTIL, the get older and lose their edge a little. Then become beloved because they don’t just dominate othersintheir sport.
I don’t see him as a villian, he has a drive to be successful with whatever task he is given. He is a perfectionist and kinda funny in his own way, more people should strive to be like that.
Pound for pound, Saban is the villianest.
If he was 6′ 0″, he would outrank Darth Vader.
You will not find a more unapologetic corrupt state employee in all of America.
An “a@$hole” or a mastermind? Let’s just face it….. for those who think he’s a villain…. love or hate the guy, he’s an awesome coach and I promise everyone that at the end of the day he only wants to coach. Don’t hate the guy because he coaches until the end of the game- he doesn’t get “cocky” when up by so many points- this doesn’t matter to nick he continues to coach until……., well lets just face it- he is always focused on teaching these young athletes to be better and strive harder… what is wrong with that- he’s tough yes, but…someone needs to discipline these kids! And ok so I have to say as a true bama fan I am proud to have him as a coach, ANY winning team would be!
Maybe some people hate him just because he wins but I hated him the moment he left lsu and hated him ten times more when he went to Bama. Dude lied and said he wouldn’t ever leave lsu, then lied again saying he’d never come back to college. But what does he do? Goes to our rival, Alabama. I can still see the image in my brain of my dad screaming at the tv when he saw the news on espn. I will always hate nick Satan, along with almost every knowledgeable lsu fan, whether he wins or loses, and no matter who he coaches.
Who cares? Look what LSU didnto Miles. They fired him a quarter of the way through the season. For the coaches it’s a job.