Melick: Football is like Batman without the cool gadgetsPosted by Ray Melick -- Birmingham News August 06, 2009 5:45 AM.Nick Saban - what kind of superhero is he? (The Birmingham News/Hal Yeager)I've have always suspected there were two kinds of people in the world: fans of Superman, or fans of Batman.Fans of Superman tend to be those people who dream of doing the impossible -- flying, seeing through walls, having bullets bounce off their chests. Those are the "superpowers" that no human being could have. You'd have to be born on another planet, as Superman was. Fans of Batman tend to be those people who dream of maximizing the possible. Batman, at least in his original incarnation, was human. He didn't have any superpowers, other than what he could manufacture in his Batcave due to his apparently unlimited wealth, or learn to do by constantly working out and training. Batman might have been the most physically fit human being ever to have been born on the planet, but if you think about it, there was no "power" he possessed that any human couldn't have if they were smart enough, strong enough, or had the resources to make.And, yes, I have been accused of having way too much free time on my hands.But I couldn't help but think about all that when Alabama coach Nick Saban walked up to the podium in the Alabama football complex media room Wednesday to begin his reporting day news conference.Lying on the podium was one of those little 6-inch high moveable action figures of ... Batman."Did somebody leave this up here for me?" he asked, looking around the room. Since no Joker confessed, how Batman got into an Alabama news conference remains a riddle.Immediately, Saban launched into his usual press conference speech, the whole "be all you can be" message about how winning isn't as important as "the process" because there is nothing a human being can't accomplish if he's willing to work hard enough, train hard enough, be mentally tough enough.It would be like something Batman might tell Robin, except he'd throw in the importance of having plenty of really cool gadgets.When the Alabama football team takes the field today, Saban will have the veteran players practice first while the newcomers watch. He does this so the new players "can actually view the varsity practice, so that they see what they do and learn from that. That's always been something that we feel helps the freshmen get off to a little better start."It's a smart for two reasons. It not only keeps the veterans from standing around while drills and exercises are explained to the rookies, it also allows the coaches to see which rookies are really paying attention by the way those players react when it becomes their turn to go through the same routine later in the day.Somehow, I don't think the watching goes only one way. I have a feeling that when the night practice comes and the new players take the field, the veterans will be doing some watching of their own. That's what happens when your coach thinks nothing of playing 16 true freshmen, as Alabama did last year.Think about what that means: There were 16 upperclassmen who felt like, going into August, it was their turn to see more playing time; 16 upperclassmen who had to learn the hard way that some of these new guys were considered just as good if not, in some cases, better; 16 upperclassmen who found new guys taking their places.It's not just at Alabama. Every coach in the country is trying to recruit better players each year than he had the year before. And with football players becoming more and more anxious to make the jump to the NFL after three seasons, coaches know all too well how super redshirt sophomores who were supposed to be the foundation of a super redshirt junior class have a way of turning into super NFL rookies.The lesson is that when it comes to college football, there are no "Supermen," born with super abilities.There are only "Batmen," incredible human beings who learn how to force themselves to make the absolute most of whatever abilities they were born with.Minus the really cool gadgets.
VeI've written some shit over the last 20. But nothing as shitacular as that shit fest.
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