Alabama football fans know well how much the Crimson Tide is hated. Throughout most of the Nick Saban era, many Alabama fans considered the hate as a badge of honor.
Recently, Brad Crawford of CBS Sports compiled a list of college football's 10 'Most Hated' teams of all-time. Crawford explained the main force behind hate: "college football's most loathed squads all had a few common themes -- great players and a lot of wins."
Crawford's list is a good one, though Alabama football fans might find it disappointing. For one thing, only one Alabama Crimson Tide team was included in the most hated. And worse, in the top 10, Alabama was last at No. 10. Surely another Nick Saban team deserved to be included.
Auburn made Crawford's top 10 at No. 4 with its 2010 team. The Miami Hurricanes' 1986 team was No. 1, followed by USC's 2005 team and Florida State's 2014 team. After Auburn came Steve Spurrier's 1996 team at No. 6. 2017 Oklahoma was No. 6, 2012 Texas A&M was No. 7, 2002 Ohio State was No. 8, and 1993 Notre Dame was No. 9.
Mark me down as an Alabama fan bothered by the traditional hate of the Alabama Crimson Tide turning into something worse: disdain. Google's AI says that being hated comes from being considered a significant threat. Being disdained is worse because the disdained are considered unworthy or irrelevant.
Alabama Football Irrelevant?
The Alabama Crimson Tide considered irrelevant is a painful low for Crimson Tide fans. Many have no memory of Alabama being at such a low multiple more than once during the long interval between Bryant and Saban.
Alabama began a slide in Saban's last two Crimson Tide seasons. The records have been worse under Kalen DeBoer. Alabama's final two losses in the 2025 season were worse than the four-loss overall record. Being dominated by Georgia in Atlanta and Indiana in the Rose Bowl does not sit well with Alabama fans. They were labeled utter defeats by the national media, which claimed the Crimson Tide's glory days were over and might never return.
DeBoer can reverse the Alabama demise claims this season. Many Crimson Tide fans are confident that he will. Hopefully, a resounding turnaround will take Alabama back to the firm ground of being hated, rather than being disdained.