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The Alabama Crimson Tide is currently 6-0, and ranked No. 2 in the nation.
There are some who are even saying the Crimson Tide should be ranked ahead of the reigning National Champion Florida Gators.
Some are even asking why Greg McElroy and Mark Ingram are not on the Heisman Watch List.
Others say this is Alabama's best defense in their history, and their best offense in decades, blah, blah, blah _____ BLAH!
Now comes a truckload of praise, now comes a trainload of accolades, now comes a mountain of adulation, now comes a world of danger!
Alabama is the greatest team in the country!
Alabama is the most complete team in America!
Alabama is the fastest defense in the college football!
Alabama should be ranked No. 1!
The Crimson Tide could beat Florida, and Texas, on the same day!
Imagine being an Alabama players and hearing things like this on ESPN or reading it on Twitter or your MySpace or Facebook day in and day out about you and your team.
The fans are loving it, but this kind of talk is Kryptonite to a super college football team.
Flattery is a tasteless, odorless poison that undermines everything that a team and its coaches have worked so hard to accomplish.
It is an invisible enemy that pretends to be your friend while it saps your will to win.
As the Roman conquerors returned to Rome to a hero's welcome, they would have a servant ride with them, and he would whisper, "Domine memento totalitas gloriae fluxa"—Remember my Lord, all glory is fleeting.
That is my warning to those Alabama players would believe the fickle words of fans, sportscasters, and the so-called college football experts.
They will praise you today, and bury you tomorrow. If you choose to believe what they say about you, do so at your own peril. Remember, you are only as good as your last game.
This is not Nick Saban's first journey down this road, and it certainly isn't the University of Alabama's first either, but it is the first time for many of Alabama's players. They are not immune to this toxic talk.
So how does Saban warn these young men without it sounding hollow this time?
How does he warn them to not listen to the Sirens beckoning them toward the rocky cliffs of despair, without sounding like the boy who cried wolf?
How can he not expect 18-to-22-year-old kids to let these words of praise affect their determination, and their effort in the weeks to come?
That is the task facing Nick Saban and his staff today.
There is another hungry opponent waiting for its chance to slay the giant in the next battle, and the next, and the next. So it goes until the final whistle blows in January.
This team is talented, this team has chemistry, and this team has leadership.
We're going to send you the most entertaining Alabama Crimson Tide Football articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
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