used to pick up girls. I laughed when I read that quote from Saban at Media Days. Most of the info we have read but here is another article from today's Town Talk. ................... ..................... How many Marler Ford license plates have you seen today? Tigers ready to claw back up mountain Glenn Guilbeau / Louisiana Gannett News Posted on August 1, 2004 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Six years ago at the Southeastern Conference Media Days LSU talked the talk. After all, it was coming off three consecutive winning seasons after six losing ones and two Independence Bowls around a Peach Bowl! Defensive lineman Booger McFarland spoke of the LSU train and that it was coming and would be coming again and again. McFarland and then-coach Gerry DiNardo thought they were basking in the light, but that light was actually an oncoming train. And LSU played like a rusting locomotive for the next two seasons, going 4-7 and 2-8 with a school-record 10 straight SEC losses. LSU appeared at the SEC Media Days Thursday as the reigning national champions and barely bragged at all. LSU coach Nick Saban wore a dark, pin-striped suit that made him stand out, and the media guide was distributed with him holding up the national championship trophy. Center Ben Wilkerson and cornerback Corey Webster wore paperweight-size national championship rings, but they were not flaunting themselves. There was no talk of trains or a dynasty either, even though the very next day the Tigers would receive their highest preseason ranking since No. 1 in 1959 after the 1958 national title. The ESPN coaches poll ranked LSU third behind USC and Oklahoma Friday. "The national championship was good, but it's time to start next season," Wilkerson said. "In a few months, there will be another national championship and whether we're there or not depends on us." Apparently, the parade is over. The Tigers start practice a week from Monday, and it is expected to be just as hot out there as it was last year. "Coach Saban always says that last year we planted our flag on the mountain and that can never be taken away," Webster said. "But now, we're back at the bottom. We have no wins and we've got to work to get back to the top." Saban even made fun of his ring-touting players in his pre-spring game speech in April. "You guys are just using those to meet girls," he said. "That's not what it's about." Now, it's all about the sequel. "We have to learn to play with success," Webster said. "Winning the national championship helps because it shows your hard work pays off, but you can't focus on what you did last season." Saban said he celebrated the Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma for a few hours. "I enjoyed winning the national championship until 3 a.m.," he said, "and about that time I was worried about how many agents were in the lobby and what we needed to do to figure out who's staying and who's going and what recruits we ought to be calling pretty soon and all that type of stuff. There's always plenty to do, and if you lose sight of focusing on the right things it certainly will effect your ability to be successful." There was that memorable national championship parade in Baton Rouge and a trip to the White House, but LSU has clearly attempted to put it all behind it. "It's not hard to start with a clean slate," Wilkerson said. "There's been some time since the national championship. We have to focus on starting at the beginning." The season begins on Sept. 4 when Oregon State visits LSU for a 5 p.m. game on ESPN. "You appreciate having success, you acknowledge success but you can't enjoy success very long," Saban said. "Because there's always something that's going to be a challenge, and you have to continue to prepare and anticipate what you need to work on." Saban has spoken with old friend Bill Belichick about dealing with success. Belichick, as head coach of the New England Patriots, won the Super Bowl after the 2001 season but fell to 9-7 in 2002 before winning the Super Bowl again after the 2003 season. LSU's sports psychologists also spoke to Saban and team about dealing with success. "It's not really the human condition to win a championship," Saban said. "The human condition is really to survive and do OK and feel good about the fact that you can be relieved that you're OK. There's security in that, so it's not natural to win a championship and go over and above what you need to do to try and accomplish something special. "Then it really isn't natural to try to sustain it once you've done it. It's not natural to put the pedal to the metal and try to make the highest grade in the class, which is what we all have to try and do. And once you do that, try and do it again. So that's why we're trying to clearly create a specific challenge for this year's team and not compete against what last year's team accomplished." LSU has walked the walk that some schools only dream of, but Saban's "LSU way" says walk away from the talk. "We are at base camp at the bottom of the mountain in the valley looking up at the challenge of the climb," he said. "And it is very treacherous."........................................................................... :yelwink2:
