Ryan Anderson attempts to explain Alabama’s passion for football in regards to Deshaun Watson incident

Alabama linebacker Ryan Anderson has had a crazy couple of months. His play helped the Tide earn an undefeated record and the reputation as one of the best defenses in the spread era. He was also on the field when that Tuscaloosan Goliath was upset on the game’s final play against Clemson.

Since then, his offseason has been focused on showing that he was much more than a system player – putting on the blinders, blocking out the distractions, and preparing for the NFL draft. That low-key lifestyle hit a minor hiccup late last month when Anderson was among a crowd of people that asked Clemson QB Deshaun Watson to leave a bar in Tuscaloosa.

While talking to SI’s Kalyn Kahler, the Alabama LB said that he wasn’t hostile to Watson, he was just trying to avoid an awkward situation. With his answer, he captured the pulse of the Alabama fanbase in a roundabout way:

“Is there a lot of ill will for Clemson because that championship loss? There’s always going to be ill will [after losing] a game in Tuscaloosa or anywhere in Alabama. We lost to Auburn one year and we had fans poisoning trees. The year of the “Kick-6,” somebody was at an Iron Bowl party and an Alabama fan shot and killed an Auburn fan. It’s big down there when you lose a game. That’s what I don’t think he understood and that’s what I was trying to tell him. This is all these people got. I don’t feel like he was there picking a fight, he seemed like a good dude.”

Will Ogburn

A former resident of both Baton Rouge and the heart of Crimson Tide country, Will Ogburn handles multimedia content and news coverage for Saturday Down South.