Dealing with Disrespect: Alabama Football's Approach to 'Revenge Game' At LSU
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — To say that Alabama fans want revenge for last year’s 46-41 loss to LSU in Bryant-Denny Stadium would be an understatement.
After the dust settled from what was one of the most highly-anticipated games of the regular season last year that even garnered a visit from President Donald Trump, Crimson Tide fans had to deal with the onslaught of posts on social media showing the Tigers postgame celebration.
The most notorious posts from last season contained videos of LSU coach Ed Orgeron standing in front of his players, shouting expletives and demeaning the Alabama team they had just defeated on the gridiron.
Needless to say, Alabama fans were not too keen on that.
But this Saturday brings an entirely different set of circumstances. Alabama is 8-0 and again on a quest for a berth in the College Football Playoff. LSU, on the other hand, holds a 3-4 record after losing the majority of its national-championship starters to the NFL.
When looking at the stat sheets and rosters from both teams, it’s safe to say that Crimson Tide fans are looking forward to this year’s rematch.
But what about the players and coaches?
Revenge games are certainly a part of fanbases, but how often do coaches and their players use revenge as a motivating factor?
When asked about this Saturday’s game in Baton Rouge, Alabama coach Nick Saban said that for him personally, revenge is not a factor.
“To be honest with you I never try to use that as a motivating factor,” Saban said. “Every season is different. Every team is different.”
However, Saban went on to say that while he might not personally use revenge as a means for motivation, that does not necessarily mean that his players also do not.
“Do I think it is a motivating factor with individuals and players?” Saban said. “I absolutely think it is. I think that awareness of what happened in last year’s game and all that is always something that players remember, think about how they felt after the game last year or whatever. Now, as I said, I usually don’t try to use that because, in our case, and I don’t want to sound facetious here, but we only have a few of those where we can sort of look at last year or the year before and say what happened was an issue or a problem. But I think nobody likes to get disrespected, and I think when you lose a game you feel that way to some degree.
“I think it’s human nature to try to make it right. I do think that is a motivating factor for most human beings.”
Using revenge as a motivational tool can have both its benefits and its downsides. On one hand, it might cause some players to gain focus on the task at hand. However, for others it might do quite the opposite.
Sophomores wide receiver John Metchie III and defensive back Jordan Battle were both asked the question of whether or not they are using last year’s loss to LSU as a tool in their approach to this year’s game. Both responded in kind.
Battle’s response was typical of an Alabama player under Saban.
“We don’t really focus on revenge,” Battle said. “This year, we came in and have progressed every week. This is just another week for us to get better. We have been practicing hard. Our leadership group has been on us. Coaches have been on us to stay the course and I like the direction we are going in.”
Metchie’s response, however, was more telling.
When asked if he was using revenge as a motivational factor, Metchie at first gave an answer that was quite similar to Battle’s.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a revenge factor,” Metchie said. “LSU is kind of just one of those – we just look at it as they’re the next team on the schedule and to us, the most important game is always the next one. So right now they’re the most important game for us.”
However, once a reporter reminded him of what was said last season and LSU players taunting the student section on their way out of the stadium, Metchie changed his tune.
“I think like you said, that is definitely something memorable, something we definitely remember,” Metchie said. “Something we didn’t forget. But I feel like our coaches say all the time to play with emotion and not be emotional. I think that’s how we’re looking at this game. We’re excited to play LSU. They’re a really good team. They have a lot of talent, like we do. I think this weekend we’re really excited to go to Louisiana and face them.”
Something they didn’t forget? Well, you can forget everything else that Metchie said. That alone tells all that you need to hear.
Alabama has far from forgotten last year’s loss at home to the Tigers. While the game occurred over a year ago, there’s no doubt that the sting of defeat is still there. While Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending injury the very next week against Mississippi State, its playoff hopes were dashed against LSU on that cold Saturday night in early November.
And while both players and their coach said that they are not using revenge as a means for motivation, they clearly haven’t forgotten about how LSU handled its victory last season. While seasons come and go and games are won and lost, disrespect lasts forever.
And let me tell you, Alabama football does not take being disrespected very well.
