Steve Sarkisian reacts to being booed by Alabama fans on College GameDay
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Steve Sarkisian played a big part in Alabama’s last national championship win, but Crimson Tide fans sees the former UA assistant as the enemy on Saturday.
Sarkisian was greeted with boos from Tuscaloosa when he appeared on Saturday’s “College GameDay” for a discussion with Pat McAfee.
“I mean, we won a lot of games together, I don’t understand,” Sarkisian said, smiling.
McAfee asked Sarkisian about the Bryant-Denny Stadium atmosphere for the showdown between No. 3 Alabama and No. 11 Texas. Sarkisian said his Texas squad respects Alabama, but won’t fear the Crimson Tide as the Longhorns try to hand Nick Saban’s squad a rare home loss.
“We respect the University of Alabama,” Sarkisian said. “You guys know how I feel about Coach Saban, the job he’s done there and their players. But the key to the drill is we don’t fear them. And we can’t fear anybody. We respect all; we fear none. That’s the mentality going into the ballgame.”
Sarkisian originally joined Saban’s staff as an offensive analyst. He left to be the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator for the 2017 and ’18 seasons, returning to be the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator in 2019. Sarkisian’s high-powered offense helped Alabama win the College Football Playoff National Championship and a Heisman Trophy winner in DeVonta Smith.
These people haven’t stopped booing @CoachSark ??
“We respect all but fear none and that’s gonna be the key to this game”#CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/SYDQzHK2Jr
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 9, 2023
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
