re: What’s preventing Alabama from reaching national bandwagon fan status like Miami

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Alabama is in a poor state and is still very much a regional program - most of their recruits come from the South. They pick off a few from other areas (like Tua) but still mainly southern players.

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Well, most of the good players are in the South.

Alabama signed the following players from outside the south (I'm including Texas as part of the South)...

2017: 1 from HI, 2 from CA.
2016: 2 from CA, 1 from DC, 1 from OK, 1 from NY, 1 from MD.
2015: 1 from CA, 1 from NJ, 1 from DC, 1 from MO.
2014: 1 from VA, 1 from IA, 1 from OK, 1 from CA, 1 from MN, 1 from OH, 1 from CO.

If you include Texas players, the numbers go up a lot.

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Miami's appeal was to young black kids and urban white kids who hated or eschewed the traditionalism of college football in the early 1980's. They revolutionized college football by, in a sense, fusing it with hip-hop culture. Even at traditional, southern football schools today, you hear hip-hop music all the time. That's the U's influence imo. Miami's bandwagon fan status is as much cultural as anything else.

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This also revolutionized recruiting. I put schools on notice that you could dominate with inner city black kids. When Miami started winning other coaches were like, "wait, what?"

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Pretty sure they've reached that already.

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This. It did take a while, but I feel like after the 2015 title things shifted. You don't see as much "frick these guys" as you see "Gotta respect what Saban is doing, we're watching history" now.

One school is in Alabama, the other is in Miami.

Who do you got ?

Miami 1987 vs. Alabama 2011 ?

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This. It did take a while, but I feel like after the 2015 title things shifted. You don't see as much "frick these guys" as you see "Gotta respect what Saban is doing, we're watching history" now.

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I like to think of the Saban era like the five stages of grief for an opposing fan. I've moved past denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, and moved on to acceptance - acceptance of the fact that Bama is superior. It's a tough pill to swallow, but I just keep telling myself that it has to end at some point.

Living in NC, without a dominant CFB program, I see a lot of "A" decals on vehicles (usually next to a duke and/or Yankees/Cubs sticker).

What is surprising that a lot of high schoolers are considering U of A for school by visiting and applying..this would have been unheard of before the football success unless you were a native or offspring of an alum. I would suppose most of those applying today cannot properly pronounce "Lake Jordan" or "Talladega" and would not dream of settling there after graduating.

Though I can not stand Finebaum's show, for a lot of reasons, one good thing about it is that his regular bama callers are showing the rest of the nation just what bama fans are really like. How do you think Jim sells to the rest of the country? Or the one who served time for manslaughter? Fair or not, this is who is representing bama nation wide.Who wants to be on a bandwagon with these clowns?

That's actually a good point.

They are like watching cement dry.

Nebraska had characters in the 90's (some a lot of bad) - USC had Bush and Leinart in the 2000's.

Oklahoma had a lot of memorable players.

I couldn't name a single player on Alabama's defense (the best in the nation and nobody knows anybody) and only two players on offense.

I guess that's how Saban wants it...the players don't get the pub...they are not rock stars like USC or Miami.

Saban is the college version of Bud Kilmer...it's all about him and the process.