The hatred for the athletic prowess of the University of Alabama is ubiquitous in football, and now some pros want the world to know it. A recent round of in-house interviews with the players of the Minnesota Vikings revealed how members of the team, including quarterback Kirk Cousins, really felt about the house that Nick Saban built, and the results are not favorable.
When asked what college team he would like eliminated from the NCAA, Vikings linebacker and 2015 Kentucky alumnus Za’Darius Smith kept it honest.
“Alabama, because they have a cheat code. Nick Saban is a cheat code.”
.@Brian_Robison: If you could eliminate one college football team, who would it be?#Vikings locker room: WE WANT BAMA!
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 25, 2022
Really, because Nick Saban said that was now Deion Sanders. Allegedly.
“Alabama. We don’t like them,” Viking wide receiver and 2020 LSU alum Justin Jefferson said. “You know I’m a Tiger; we don’t like Bama. They can go. They can go on about their way. Maybe we’ll win more. They beat us eight years straight … nine … 10 years straight. We trying to get one. We got one out of them. We got one. We need more though. They gotta get up out of here.”
Of 2023’s top five potential No. 1 overall draft picks, Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide and Ohio State hold five of the top six favorites. With quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Bryce Young returning for one final year before possibly going pro, it seems Alabama will keep their dominance in the SEC for a little longer.
Other Vikings took pause at how dirty Alabama does its opponents.
“I just feel like either LSU or Auburn,” said Vikings linebacker and 2015 UCLA alum Eric Kendricks. “Because Alabama just be running them.”
Then there is Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. The 2012 Michigan State alum started off talking about his school’s rivalry with University of Michigan but then pivoted to join the chorus of hate for Alabama.
“A school? The Blue Bellies, U of M. That’s our rival, Michigan State; U of M. But on the other hand, I’m thinking out loud, and if we dropped them, we wouldn’t have the rivalry. So you know what, Alabama’s kind of ruined college football for everybody else because they’re so good.
“So I say get ‘Bama out of there. I played them, got the brakes blown off. So I’d say get rid of ‘Bama, and we’ll keep Michigan, we’ll keep the rivalry going.”
Salty much, Cuzzo? With his general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah telling USA Today that with Cousins, “We don’t have Tom Brady, we don’t have Pat Mahomes,” Cousins might have been taking out his frustrations on Saban and the Alabama Tide.
With Vikings safety Josh Metellus, who is a 2020 Michigan alum rounding out the narrative of hate for the top of the NCAA ranks, the Vikings let the world know how they really feel.
“Ohio State, ’cause I went to Michigan. That’s all I need. They gone. Not even ‘The’, they gone. I don’t even know why we’re talking about it. They gone. I’m done. That’s it.”
It’s lonely at the top, and if you’re Nick Saban, Bryce Young, and the Crimson Tide, think twice about going to Minnesota. Throw in Ohio State, and they are officially warned.
