The media is infamous for twisting situations, and itsperception of LSU football throughout the season has beeninaccurate as well, said LSU football coach Nick Saban.
“This team can be one of the best teams in the history ofLSU,” Saban said. “They can do a lot of good things.And I think I’m going to tell them today how good they can bebecause they read in here how bad they are all the time and onlyone time this year did they play a bad football game.”
In his weekly press conference, Saban’s address to themedia was not as patient as usual. A local sportswriter asked aquestion about redefining goals and Saban seemed to blow histop.
“We haven’t re-defined any goals. Your goals as agroup are different than my goals,” Saban said. “Mygoals for this program is to have a dominant-nationally-recognizedprogram, not to win a national championship every year like you allwant to and how you all made this year to be.”
With the media being the main source between fans and the team,Saban has received feedback that shocks him.
“People continue to come up to me and say keep your headup coach — it’s up. Can you see it? It’s up andhigh as it has ever been,” Saban said. “I’m happyto go to work everyday and happy to work with the guys every dayand looking forward to the challenges.”
The aftermath from last year’s national championshipseason has the media posting more negative thoughts than positiveones.
“Nobody talks positive about a quarterback that has playedfour or five years for us or that we have a Heisman Trophycandidate — that doesn’t apply to us,” Sabansaid. “It doesn’t help our team all that much either indealing with winning a national championship.”
Players said they are not exposed to the media as much as Sabanand do not react as harshly as Saban does.
“I try to stay away from it,” said junior offensivelineman Rudy Niswanger. “I don’t pay attention to itpersonally, I don’t try to get into it. I don’t want itto affect me if it could. I think some guys may be affected by itand makes them think about the wrong things. They will think aboutoutcomes more than the process and what’s going on. Itdoesn’t affect me.”
Senior cornerback Travis Daniels said the main reason he isexposed to media is because of his friends.
“My friends will give me the articles and I wait and readthem after the season is over,” Daniels said.”I’ve always been like that even in high school.Sometimes I find it inaccurate, but sometimes they are righton.”
Regardless of paying attention to media or not, the main reasonplayers do not take its comments into consideration is because theyfocus on their true critics and fans according to junior offensivelineman Andrew Whitworth.
“I try not to pay attention to media because most of themdon’t know what they are talking about,” Whitworthsaid. “People try to look down on the season. We’rejust going to play and the people who have been with us will bewith us and that’s all we need. We’re going to do ourbest day in and day out and that’s all we can do.”
Whitworth added that whether the media affects players or not,it still does not affect the outcome of the game.
“The media has no control or effect over our game,”Whitworth said. “We just have to play week in and week outand not let [the media’s] expectations get in ourway.”