Nick Saban explains viral Ferrari video from Alabama recruiting visit
Nick Saban got a lot of attention this past week for the set of wheels that he showed off during a recent recruiting weekend for Alabama. However, he was completely unaware that any of that footage was going to get out.
Saban explained the clip during an appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Friday. He said it was the recruits’ idea for him to get behind the wheel of the crimson red Ferrari and start it up but he didn’t have a clue that he was being recorded by Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., a commit and the son of former ‘Bama CB Dre Kirkpatrick, for his Instagram story.
“They all want to drive it,” joked Saban.
“Look, I got kind of hoodwinked into that. One of the guys that had been visiting? We always have the players over to the house for breakfast on Sunday morning. We walk out, they see the car, and they all ooh and ahh about the car,” Saban explained. “They said, ‘Why don’t you start it up?’ I didn’t know the guy was going to video it and it was going to go viral. But that’s the way it goes.”
Everyone who saw the video got a kick out of some aspect of it. Whether it was the car itself, the triple stack cup in the console, and the response of the recruits once he revved the engine.
Of all the different parts of it, though, McAfee himself got the biggest enjoyment out of the cups.
“The triple styrofoam cup? I mean, across all demographics, that was loved,” said McAfee. “I mean, Coach? The more we learn about you, I think the more we love you. You need to understand that.”
Pat McAfee praises Nick Saban’s connectability as ‘that West Virginia boy’
As Saban continued on McAfee’s show, the host took a moment to credit the sport’s biggest name and thank him for being himself during their interviws.
Like McAfee said, their panel, along with most fans, appreciate Saban for being who he is and true to his hometown roots.
“I assume you’ve been very guarded for a long time because you’re ultra-competitive and everything like that,” McAfee continued. “Whenever you said you would come and do this show every single week? A lot of people said things like, ‘Ahhh, he’s not as focused!’ It’s, like, people love you, Coach! You’re still that West Virginia boy who just so happens to be the greatest of all time,” McAfee said. “It’s a cool thing. We’re very grateful for that this year.”
As Saban responded, he pointed out how that upbringing of his in the Mountain State, specifically around the coal mines, taught him a lot about how to interact with anyone and everyone that he crosses paths with.
“Some of the things I learned growing up in West Virginia in a coal-mining town have been very beneficial to getting to know how to really talk to, articulate with, and communicate with everybody – no matter where they came from, what their social or economic background is,” said Saban. “There’s a lot of good people in West Virginia. They all helped.”