Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. is offended you’re here — if you’re rooting for the other team that is.
He’s offended that opposing teams bother stepping on the field against his Crimson Tide and offended that opposing fans even show up to watch. He’s offended you think your team has a chance to beat his. And he takes your non-Alabama fandom and mere presence personally. What are you even doing here?!
The Crimson Tide’s defensive star made that perfectly clear Tuesday during his press conference. Anderson — a distant Heisman Trophy candidate who leads his defense with 4.5 sacks for 26 yards and is responsible for No. 2 Alabama’s lone interception so far this season — was asked if he considers himself a hateful player on the field.
He said, “Yeah, I do,” and then elaborated, delivering an epic, Hall of Fame-worthy (and nonsensical) quote in response.
Anderson continued:
“I tell people all the time, the audacity for the other team to even step on the field is disrespectful to me. I tell people that all the time. People ask me what motivates me. I say, the audacity for the fans to show up and for the team to come step on the field and play with us. So that’s kind of my own little thing in my head that I go through.”
THE AUDACITY.
What an amazing quote from a player who seems to have embraced coach Nick Saban’s sentiments about “hateful competitors.”
And if you’re an opposing fan who, in his mind, was bold enough to show up and cheer against him and his team, he wants you to be prepared — nay, eager to leave the game early.
That wasn’t the case in Alabama’s only away game so far this season when the Crimson Tide narrowly survived a test from Texas in Austin — a notoriously rowdy and hostile environment. Last year, they lost to Texas A&M on the road and barely beat Florida and Auburn on their respective home fields.
But maybe Alabama’s remaining road games this season will be different.
And with the Crimson Tide taking on No. 20 Arkansas on the road on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) — the Crimson Tide are 16.5-point favorites, per Tipico Sportsbook — he hopes he and his team can drive Razorbacks fans out of the Fayetteville en masse long before the game ends.
“We want fans to leave their own stadiums,” Anderson said, via The Tuscaloosa News. “I think the message this week is, we want fans to leave their own stadiums. We’re going to try to preach that all week. Go out there and have fun, do your job, make sure the fans are leaving by the time halftime comes. At least by the end of the third quarter.”
