Nick Saban has made a point of saying he doesn’t actually smoke the traditional victory cigar when Alabama beats Tennessee, but merely “chews on it for a while.”
However, during Saban’s weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN on Thursday, the Crimson Tide coach was also asked if he drinks alcohol of any kind. He said that he did not and gave an interesting answer as to why.
“No drinks,” Saban said. “I used to drink. When we had kids and my kids were growing up, I decided I didn’t want to set that kind of example for them. So I just quit drinking, and it’s probably the best thing I ever did. Never had a hangover. I just don’t do it.”
Saban’s children, son Nicholas and daughter Kristen, are now well into adulthood. Still, Saban said, he has never resumed drinking.
McAfee said that nowadays he drinks “1/1000th” as much as he used to, and noted that when he does, it takes “like four days” to get over it physically. Saban nodded along before elaborating on the importance of staying lucid at all times.
“You have more fun and you enjoy it more (when you don’t drink),” Saban said. “You build your relationships more. It’s been a good thing for me, one of the best things I decided to do.”
Saban turns 72 on Tuesday and looks much younger, so maybe he’s on to something.
