CECIL HURT: Bama’s Saban draws attention at every turn

The last time Nick Saban appeared in public, there were 92,000 fans in attendance.

The gallery at the Regions Charity Pro-Am on Thursday wasn’t quite that large -- but by the standards of that event, it was close.

To be fair, Saban’s group -- which also included pro Hale Irwin, UA director of athletics Mal Moore and Crimson Tide basketball coach Mark Gottfried -- was surrounded by some of the event’s other marquee names, attractions like Steve Spurrier, Tommy Tuberville and Charles Barkley.

But it was clear from the gear that the spectators were wearing that most of the interest was in Saban. And it was clear that the Crimson Tide head coach isn’t likely to relinquish his title as the state’s most intriguing sports personality, to say nothing of the biggest draw.

“When that [Saban] group teed off, I’d say the gallery around the first tee was the largest one we have had since we had Michael [Jordan] in 1995," said Gene Hallman, executive director of the Bruno Event team and the expert on the tournament’s 18-year history.

Gottfried, who has seen his share of Alabama football coaches over the years, had an even more economical analysis of the group’s reception.

“I’ve never seen anything like it," Gottfried said.

In the surest sign of celebrity status, Saban not only attracted attention for what he did on Thursday, which was to play a fairly pedestrian round of golf and graze at least one spectator with an errant ball. He once again generated conversation merely for what he didn’t do.

In this case, that meant that the Tide head coach skipped the round of local radio talk shows that spend time at the event, interviewing the various celebrities. The topic of Saban’s media relations has been debated ever since he arrived in Tuscaloosa, and will probably continue to be a topic of discussion until the actual football season mercifully arrives. Some people find Saban obstinate. Some think he is simply too obsessed with football to make time for anything else. (A number of Alabama fans who followed the Saban group reported that he called at least one recruit from the course.) And some think that Saban is a master of manipulation who knows that absence, in addition to making the heart grow fonder, can also make the reputation grow larger.

Saban did talk to the media in a group interview, and didn’t have any startling revelations. As always, he did have a line or two that were of interest to the hard-core Sabanologist, but you had to work to glean the meaning.

For instance, the question that has recurred ever since the wild scene on a Tuscaloosa airport tarmac when he arrived was asked in its 1,000th variation.

“What about the fan support at Alabama?" the question went.

“There is a lot of support and solidarity," Saban said. “It’s very heartfelt [by] the Saban family, especially after what we went through in south Florida to get here."

That reference, at least, was clear, since the main thing that the Saban family went through during their departure from Miami was a lot of over-the-top media criticism. So make of that what you will.

The rest of Saban’s short remarks revisited familiar themes.

“I think it’s good that expectations are high," Saban said.

“I like high expectations. But what everybody has to do is be realistic. We need to develop the players we have here, but we also need to recruit good character people who can come here and win in the future."

Saban did spend a little time joking about his golf game, saying that he “gave up a long time ago" at trying to be a good golfer. Again, there was a clear implication -- football takes up too much time, and is the top priority. And if it means that Saban spends less time on the practice range -- or in front of a microphone -- most Alabama fans are just fine with that.

Cecil Hurt is sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0225