It's not a criticism, it's an observation.
God bless the football fan
Mike Cox

Here in the South, there are more college football fans than college graduates. Everyone has a favorite team and supports it with passion - sometimes too much passion.

There is controversy about where the word fan came from. Many smart language persons say the word evolved from fancier. Just as many, perhaps supported by fans' behavior, say it comes from fanatic.

Clyde Bolton, a writer for the Birmingham News for many years, maintained college football information should be located in the religious section of the paper rather than the sports.

All fans have certain unshakable beliefs. The best player on any team is the back-up quarterback. The dumbest coach is the offensive coordinator. Every game plan is too conservative. Nothing is important unless it just happened.

People who never played or coached, have never seen a practice, and have no idea how the players behave away from the game think they know what needs to be done to improve the team they support. With no knowledge of the game plan, fans who can't find their car after the contest will second guess every decision, criticize every call.

Just like no TV preacher apologizes for his actions until he is caught, these rabid, negative fans criticize every poorly executed play after it fails. If a sophomore receiver drops a game winning pass, the play was poorly designed. If the quarterback is sacked, fumbles away the football, and the team loses, it is the coach's fault for not going for a touchdown ten minutes earlier.

The college football fan refuses to believe the team he roots for is not as good as the competition. The fault has to lie with the head coach or offensive coordinator, for not being more imaginative, aggressive, or innovative.

The successful off-tackle run is never discussed. The long pass isn't a bad call unless it's intercepted. The fake punt is a gutsy idea until the game is lost. When a pass is dropped or a tackle is missed, the fan wants the coach's head. He isn't teaching them the fundamentals. I don't know about you, but I want my team's players to be fundamentally sound when they arrive. You learn those things in Pee Wee football.

Two legendary coaches, Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, are currently under fire at their universities. Both coaches built football teams from scratch. And neither place would be on the map if not for the legends now residing there. Yet the fans think there is a better coach waiting to succeed each one. Ohio State once fired a coach because they didn't like the hat he wore on game day.

The coach of my team is a young guy I like a lot. He is stuck in a near impossible situation and everything he does is designed to win games. A lot of other Bama fans are losing patience, but he and I have an agreement. He's never told me how to write my column, and I let him run the football team. So far, it's working.