COMMENTARY: Tide fans go football crazy

The lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel on Thursday was packed with people decked in crimson and white and toting footballs, jerseys, hats and Sharpie markers, as they waited on Alabama head coach Nick Saban to stroll by.
It looked like some sort of backwoods Star Trek convention, with the Spock ears replaced by hound's-tooth ball caps.
It was just the latest sign that this isn't your average coaching job. As if another sign was needed.
If the 92,000 fans at the spring game or the hundred or so at the airport when he arrived wasn't a clue, UA fans should probably start worrying about Saban's perception of reality.
Obviously, Saban has figured out by now that he's in a unique situation. But he hasn't exactly figured out how to appropriately describe his feeling about it. When asked Thursday if he was comfortable yet with all the hoopla surrounding his hire and the constant attention, Saban sort of diverted.
"We certainly appreciate the passion and the support from fans," he said.
The diversion in this case is certainly understandable. I mean, how do you call your fans crazy in a good way? And make no mistake about it, these people -- to put it delicately -- are crazy. Not normal crazy, but football crazy. Not that that's necessarily better.
If anyone needed proof of that they had it on Wednesday and Thursday in Hoover. On Wednesday, Auburn's Tommy Tuberville breezed through the Wynfrey lobby virtually unimpeded. There were a dozen or so AU fans who were relatively subdued and casual. On Thursday, there were probably 100 Bama fans shoving footballs, hats and jerseys at Saban, and security personnel were forced to hold people back. (I would ordinarily think having security at the event was a bit much, but then, I'm reminded of the video of that liquored-up woman who met Saban at the airport. Given that, I don't know if anything short of armed guards with attack dogs is enough to protect Saban.)
The contrast between the AU and UA fan bases, especially considering the circumstances, was amazing. Keep in mind, this Auburn team has beaten Alabama five straight times and has had one of the top records in the country the last few years. At the same time, the Tide has been more bad than good and is now on its fourth coach in five years.
None of that has dampened the spirits of UA fans, apparently.
As I stood off to the side watching the madness on Thursday morning, a friend of mine said, "Why weren't the Auburn fans out like this yesterday?"
My reply: "Because they have jobs?"
See, that's the difference between the two groups. Some UA fans legitimately believe that if their jobs interfere with Alabama football, those jobs just aren't worth it. Auburn fans, on average, seem to realize that this football thing is just a game.
It's tough to say which mindset is better for a program. I mean, obviously it's easier for me and everyone like me to poke fun at the Alabama fans. But those fans also instill a championship mindset in the program and leave no question about the expectations.
At the same time, the mindset of AU fans will allow a coach time to build a program and doesn't tend to chase candidates away. There's also the added bonus of not being viewed by the rest of the country as a little, well, deranged.
However, I think that by now most Bama fans realize the national perception they've obtained. They're comfortable with it and have reached a point where they don't really care anymore. To them, there's still a chance that the last few years can all turn out OK.
After all the grief they've taken, after all the jokes that have been fired their way, after all the negative publicity their school and team has endured, if this Saban guy, a couple of years down the road, is holding up a big glass trophy at midfield, all of what they've forced on the UA program will have been worth it.