I’m a lifelong Cougar fan and I love college football. I’m a longtime lurker and post very little. However, I enjoy the posts and stories on the board so I hope to be able to add to some of your enjoyment with a fun story about Nick Saban.

I scheduled a family trip in New Orleans before the bowl games were announced. Once announced, I was excited to see that Alabama would be in town while we were there. On the first day of our trip, we saw the Alabama busses parked in front of the Marriott just down the street from our hotel. Each night as we played catch with the football in the pool, my 12 year old son would stare at the Marriott and ask, “Dad, do you think Nick Saban is in that hotel?” I would humor him and say, “Yes, and he can probably see you as you’re diving for the ball in the pool, so make sure you look good so he can recruit you!”

We had other things planned after New Orleans so we actually left town before the bowl game. But on the last night of our stay in New Orleans, we grabbed our last beignet from Cafe Dumond and headed to get in our car. My son begged to walk past the Marriott “just in case” he could see Nick Saban or Bryce Young. It was a few blocks out of the way, but I figured I would be a good dad and give it the ol’ college try.

When we walked in the lobby, we noticed a sign that said “Nick Saban Preview Show” and so I questioned the bartender about when and where it was. He said, “It’s on the third level in an hour, but you’ll need a key to get up there.” I stood outside the elevator until I saw someone with an Alabama shirt and then casually jumped on the elevator with him and went up to the third level. I told my son we would probably get kicked out, but that we should enjoy the moment until we did.

We got off the elevator and started walking down the hallway when we got approached by security people. I thought this is when we were going to be kicked out, but to my surprise they said, “If you’re looking for the coaches show, you’re in the wrong spot. Go that other way into the ballroom.”

We walked into the ballroom and we were the first people there. We were at a standing table behind a rope and there were some round tables up close to the announcer table. We hadn’t been there 5 minutes when we got approached by an individual who said, “My name is Tom Brooks. I’m with the marketing department of the University of Alabama. Nick Saban loves to have kids up front for these shows. Would your family like to sit up on the front row and meet Nick Saban and Mark Ingram?” I couldn’t believe this was happening.

We made our way around the rope and sat in our “rightful spot” on the front row at a table with a sign that said “Saban Guest”. We waited for an hour in disbelief that this could possibly be happening. As 6:00 rolled around, the room filled with Alabama fans. My family were the only ones not dressed in Alabama gear. Chris Stewart, the play-by-play announcer for Alabama came by and shook our hands, as well as other Alabama coaches and dignitaries. Finally, Nick Saban himself came out and, with a standing ovation, walked right over to our table. He shook all of our hands and took pictures with my family.

I told him we were BYU fans but that we had great respect for what he had done at Alabama and wished him the best in the bowl game.

During the press conference, I told my son to listen and learn one thing from Nick that he would always remember. Nick said multiple times during the show, “Circumstance don’t make who you are. It reveals who you are” so that’s what he wrote down.

We had a fun rest of the week in Destin and Orange Beach. When the week was over, I asked my kids what the best part of the trip was for them. They both said, “Meeting Nick Saban was the best part of the trip!” It was mine, too!