When Alabama head football coach Nick Saban took the podium on Wednesday following practice, his right eye appeared completely bloodshot.
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It was certainly noticeable enough to warrant a question or two:
Alabama's doctor offered a logical explanation Thursday to Nick Saban about why his right eye is bloodshot:https://t.co/zu4L6Ju5nD
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) November 3, 2023
It was so bad that coach Saban decided to meet with the team doctor to figure out just what in the world might be going on with his eye. Here's the exchange Saban described between he and the doctor, according to Charlie Potter of BamaOnline:
Saban on what the doctor said to him about the busted blood vessel in his right eye: "He said, 'You've been coughing?' I said no. He said, 'You know, you can get this from yelling? ... There's nothing wrong with you, you just got it from yelling.'"
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) November 3, 2023
Now just imagine Nick Saban sitting there with the Alabama team doctor going through the list of possibilities for having a bloodshot eye — things like coughing a lot — only to learn it's a symptom of yelling too much. One has to think it was some of the easiest work the Alabama team doctor has ever had to put in during his time at the school.
Then on Thursday, Saban took the comedy route, something he's gotten pretty good at over the years. In particular, when it comes to the self-deprecating brand of humor.
"It looks like I've been in a gang fight and my gang didn't show," he reportedly said during his weekly "Hey Coach" radio show.
With the official diagnosis firmly in place, one has to wonder why one or both of Saban's eyes haven't appeared bloodshot for the better part of the last 25 years. Because, as we all know a little too well, yelling has more or less become a natural bodily function for the often heated Nick Saban.
Speaking of yelling, with some serious preparations in the works for LSU in what should be a tremendous Saturday night showdown in Tuscaloosa, we can probably assume the yelling hasn't quite come to a halt just yet. But we can absolutely fully expect his "gang" to show up come kickoff time.