It's Saturday night at Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium, where everyone loves a winner. Except coach Nick Saban, who sometimes prefers losers.
That would be sacrilege in many locker rooms. Not in Saban's; he maintains that losers are more willing to polish their techniques, practice harder and do whatever it takes, even into the wee hours, to become the absolute best.
"When you lose, everybody's willing to think, 'What did I do wrong? What do I need to do better?'" Saban said.
Saban, 53, demands improvement from his players, even when they're top dog. Why? Because winning national championships isn't natural, he says. You must bend your entire life around becoming great, beating the urge to rest after you've achieved a little taste of success."
"You have to have a special commitment and willingness to do a lot of things that most aren't willing to do," Saban said.
Saban tells his players not to play the score while they're playing. It shouldn't matter whether we are up 28 or down 10. How come?
"You want them to focus on the present moment," he said. "Whether you're ahead or behind should not affect how you participate in your next play."
