Crimson Corner: Nick and Terry Saban Detail Quarantined Iron Bowl Experience

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch an Alabama football game with Nick Saban?

I must admit, I've wondered that question myself throughout the years. How animated would he be? Would he sit still, calmly analyzing every play on the field in front of him? Would he be pacing the room, hurling expletives and 'constructive criticism' at the television set like a knife-thrower at a circus?

As well all know at this point, Saban was diagnosed with COVID-19 last Wednesday, forcing him to watch the game from his "recruiting room" at his home and watch on his television what he had not been able see in 13 years:

A live Alabama football game on his TV set.

Before Saturday's game, I was talking to a couple of my media colleagues about what if CBS had offered a live camera in Nick Saban's living room for the Iron Bowl?

I know I would now have a subscription to CBS All Access, I can tell you that much.

After the game, Saban poked fun at himself by revealing that there had been moments that he had yelled at his TV set. Unable to communicate with the team after 90 minutes before kickoff, the situation was undoubtedly frustrating for him.

Thanks to an interview by ESPN's Chris Low, we now know more to the story.

"Yes, I was cheering and clapping and jumping around a bit, but a couple of times it scared me and I froze when I heard a booming, screaming deep voice from upstairs," Nick Saban's wife Terry said to ESPN. "At first, I thought, 'What the heck was that?' Then I realized Nick was coaching ... coaching the TV.

"Old habits die hard, and I wondered if he threw his coffee cup since he didn't have a headset."

I must admit, the mental image of Saban spiking his full coffee cup into the hardwood floor with the intensity of 1,000 suns is quite comical.

Nick mentioned that while his staff had offered to bring him some food from Saturday's pregame meal, he instead opted for Terry's chili dogs — evidently a personal favorite of the coach — and had two televisions upstairs while Terry watched the game downstairs.

With one TV displaying the CBS broadcast and the other a live feed from the game, Nick isolated himself and proceeded to watch the game.

He also did something that many Alabama fans would also like to do during a CBS SEC football broadcast.

"I had it on, but didn't listen to the commentary," Nick said. "I didn't want to listen to them and try to watch both copies of the game. What I didn't realize is that there's a little bit of a delay between what's on TV and the live feed, so I could actually watch the plays twice.

"Sometimes, I'd hear Miss Terry screaming downstairs after the play had already happened."

Nick didn't realize that there's a delay on live television? Oh wow, it has been awhile since he's watched a game.

While Alabama ultimately prevailed in the Iron Bowl 42-13 over Auburn, Saban admitted that there were moments in the game that frustrated him as well as moments that confused him when Terry would cheer from their living room.

"When there was a bad play, I was cursing the TV. When there was a good play, she was screaming, so we were kind of polar opposites," Nick told ESPN. "And sometimes, I'd hear her cheering and would wonder, 'What in the hell is she cheering about?'"

If only CBS had thought to provide viewers a live feed on its All Access streaming service. The network would have made millions.