It is finally that time of the year again. College GameDay is set up in Tuscaloosa this weekend, and the Bryant-Denny has only one emotion in the air: Revenge. No. 10 Alabama is hosting the unbeaten No. 16 Valentbilt, and they come in with a stinging history. Last year, fresh off a thrilling win over Georgia (just like this year), Bama travelled to Nashville as favorites only to be embarrassed by a shocking 40-30 defeat to the Commodores. That upset played a major role in keeping Alabama out of the College Football Playoff, and the Tide faithful have been circling this date on their calendars ever since. With both teams ranked and Vanderbilt riding a perfect 5-0 record, the stage is set for redemption.

When the GameDay panel was introduced, the crowd erupted into thunderous chants of “Saban! Saban! Saban!” for the legendary former coach. Pat McAfee captured the moment perfectly, telling Nick Saban, “That chant is certainly warranted for everything that you’ve done here… Your greatness radiates from you all the time. It is no surprise that you turned this place into a perennial powerhouse, brother. You’re a legend, man.” This weekend marks Saban getting back to the school that he sculpted into a dynasty. And the chants were enough that Nick Saban was still “Coach Saban” for every person in that crowd.

The chant of “Saban! Saban!” grew louder as the camera panned to the fans. Among those, a fan held a sign saying, “Saban for president,” and McAfee had an interesting instance on that. He continued, “And that sign that said, ‘Saban for President.” I’ll tell you we were pitching hard as hell last night at dinner for him to do just that.” McAfee wasn’t exaggerating, either. There’s this idea that Saban can lead anything, whether a football program or a nation. And it feels entirely believable given his track record of excellence and discipline.

Moreover, with Paul Finebaum considering a political career and that too in Alabama, the idea of Saban running for president does not seem far-fetched. McAfee didn’t stop there, diving deeper into what made the evening so special. “We got a chance to obviously go over to your house. Miss Terry put together a gathering. And we got a chance to see you, and I think you are everything that is great, not only in college football but in the United States of America. Brother, you should be incredibly proud.” This monologue threw the crowd into a frenzy as they started chanting “USA! USA! USA!”

Now, will Saban join politics? Highly unlikely. But we are not against the idea of running for President. If we cannot see him on the sidelines of college games, at least we would see him in the White House, revolutionizing America. But McAfee’s speech was a really heartfelt tribute that transcended football, acknowledging Saban not just as a coach but as a leader whose values resonate far beyond the sidelines. And they’ll always be true.

When simple becomes complicated

Well, Nick Saban’s name isn’t rocket science. It’s just Nick Saban. But somehow, comedian Theo Von, College GameDay’s guest picker for the Alabama-Vanderbilt showdown, managed to fumble it in spectacular fashion. In a social media video expressing his excitement about the gig, Von said, “I get to see everybody, I get to meet Nick Sabans, baby,” before doubling down with, “God, I get to meet Nick Sabans.” That’s him pronouncing Nick Saban with an additional ‘s.’ And the internet did what it does best: torched Theo into oblivion.

Even if Von is not an Alabama native, it’s expected of anyone who is remotely interested in college football to know the legendary ‘Nick Saban’ without an ‘s’. Von is a Vanderbilt fan, but even the most diehard Vandy supporters would know how to pronounce Nick Saban’s (this ‘s’ is an apostrophe, not a part of it) name. The theory is that Von did it intentionally just for laughs and giggles since he is a comedian and just wanted to troll. If that’s the reason, then it becomes borderline disrespectful. The Alabama fanbase is not usually known for patience and especially when someone takes their coach’s name wrong.