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Alabama’s Nick Saban is enjoying his offseason it seems, recently being spotted on an Italian vacation. Even overseas, the national championship winning head coach couldn’t escape the SEC.
A ton of photos surfaced online showing fans posting their surprise encounters with the college football legend. Saban spoke about his trip in a recent charity outing.
The Crimson Tide leader returned to the States this week, and it didn’t take long for him to make an appearance in Alabama. On Tuesday, he put on a charity golf tournament in Birmingham.
While talking with the media, he spoke a bit about his vacation while giving insight into how wide the Alabama brand reaches.
“It’s something to say about the brand that we have, an iconic brand, the Crimson Tide,” Saban said. “You get ‘Roll Tide’ in Venice, Florence, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. It’s everywhere I went. It says something about the brand. I don’t know what it says about me.”
Images on social media reflect that Bama brand recognition. More than a few fans posted their interactions with Nick Saban while also spending time in Italy.
My father in law spotted Nick Saban in Italy today and like…….that’s maybe the most random place in the world to see Nick Saban pic.twitter.com/v7kx1knKTi
— 🦆Chase🦆 (@chaseg30) May 17, 2023
Another fan spotted Nick Saban while in Italy and he looks like he’s giving a recruiting pitch while on vacation 😂
(📸 via @chaseg30) pic.twitter.com/BfFAdIipav
— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag) May 19, 2023
Just saw Nick Saban on the Spanish Steps in Rome. He looked good!#Alabama pic.twitter.com/NnmwAVdsQr
— Rick Reilly (@ReillyRick) May 15, 2023
But for every “Roll Tide,” there’s a rival fan waiting to throw a jab.
Saban couldn’t hide from his rivals, even on vacation, as he also dealt with a few trash talkers on the trip.
“I got a few jilts from other SEC fans,” the head coach said. “They didn’t post that part [on social media].”
Alabama’s dominance of college football over the last decade-plus has earned him more than a few rivals. But while he’s won more national titles than any other coach in the history of the sport, his Tide find themselves in a season of transition.
The roster lost both Bryce Young and Will Anderson, the first offensive and defensive players taken in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’ll now have to figure out how to replace that talent and get back to the College Football Playoff.