Coach Nick Saban Quotes

You may have noticed we didn't do any kind of countdown to the season this year. That's a college football blog fad that seems to have run its course. Still, to get folks ready for the season we've been posting quotes from Alabama head coach Nick Saban on the Twitter feed every morning over the past month.

Since not everyone is following us on Twitter and these are likely to be of some interest to all Crimson Tide football fans, we're printing the whole list here. These were culled from a number of sources but the main one is Coach Saban's book How Good Do You Want to Be? 

• "It takes no ability to give effort. Toughness is not God-given; it is a choice. The discipline to execute is a habit."
• "The opponent should never determine your level of competitive spirit."
• "Success is never final and failure is never fatal."
• "Promise a starting time, but not a quitting time."
• "A leader cannot care what everyone else thinks. You must be fair, honest and treat people with respect and dignity."
• "You cannot have a good program if you do not work. You have to earn it."
• "I don't like surprises."
• "Every time you think of winning the National Championship -- stop. Instead think of dominating your opponent for 60 minutes."
• "The individuals on your team make the team what it is. The team does not make them."
• "With your A game, you can beat anybody; anything less and they can beat you."
• "Who you are is more important than what you do."
• "There are high expectations at Alabama, and it is tough to live in the shadow of Bear Bryant."
• "Whatever you do, finish it."
• "Dominant teams enjoy going onto the opposition's turf."
• "The best way to be successful is know what you want to do and put all your positive energy toward that."
• "Adversity creates opportunity. Champions rise to the occasion."
• "If you are going to lose, do it with your best stuff."
• "When you play poorly and still win, that's the kiss of death."
• "Every choice that you make has a consequence."
• "There can be no letdown in intensity or preparation from week to week. Champions understand this."
• "Money and jobs may come and go, but family lasts forever."
• "The team is the important item, not the player."
• "Dominant teams are well on their way to winning long before the game is started."
• "Create a nightmare for your opponent."
• "Is it possible to overprepare?' No. You can always prepare more."
• "Dominance does not mean perfection; a lack of focus even for a short period of time can cost you."
• "Using fear of failure as a motivator discourages fulfillment and does nothing to make people feel good about accomplishments"
• "The difference between belief and trust can be monumental."
• "The dedication and commitment that it takes to be successful competing against the best demands passion, not just interest."
• "You have to play every play of the game as if it has a history or life of its own."
• "Fear of failure is a self-imposed limitation."
• "To be successful you also have to be lucky."
• "If you show up to compete with your very best preparation and effort, then you honor yourself and your team."
• "Having skill is not having talent. Talent is putting skills to productive use."
• "What you need are players who have good ability; but who can reach their potential consistently."
• "Demand individual responsibility and a team will develop,"
• "It is about being relentless in the pursuit of your goal and resilent in the face of bad luck and adversity."
• "We do not control what the other team does. We can only control what we do."
• "The process is much more important than the result."