Freshman runningback Justin Vincent was named the 2004 Sugar Bowl’s most valuable player. (AP Photo)
LSU Sports Interactive
BATON ROUGE — Hours after LSU’s thrilling 21-14 win over Oklahoma to claim the school’s second national title in football, coach Nick Saban and the game’s most valuable player Justin Vincent met with members of the media to discuss the Tigers’ win over the Sooners.
The following is a transcript from the press conference on Monday, Jan. 5 from the Hyatt in downtown New Orleans:
SABAN’S OPENING STATEMENT
I think the probably the one thing that I thought about when I woke up this morning was, number one, how proud of this football team, the coaching staff and all the people who were associated with this team I am of what they accomplished. But what may go a little unnoticed were the ethical values that this team played with, competed with and set an example for our young people and other competitors. I think that is very important for our sport, and all sports, and I can honestly say that I’m very proud of how this team represented those ethical values on and off the field throughout the season, as well as what they were able to accomplish throughout the season
VINCENT’S OPENING STATEMENT
When I woke up this morning, I got a phone call from my mom, and when she asked me if this has all set in, I told her that I hadn’t really had the chance to look back upon what we accomplished as a team. As far as the season ending, it’s been kind of a fairytale season, so many good things happened to us, and nothing surprised me after all the hard work and dedication to the program and the coaches were behind us 100 percent. There are sometimes when the coaches get down on us, but they really want the best for us. We’re happy to come out on top.
(for both) What time did you get to bed last night?
Vincent: I hooked up with my brother and a couple of friends, but I wouldn’t say what time I got to bed, because I still have bags under my eyes. I enjoyed last night, and obviously it’s a great win for the state of Louisiana and the city of Baton Rouge. I hope everyone can enjoy it.
Saban: I was hungry by the time I got back from the Dome last night, so Terry and I and some of our friends that joined us from various parts of the country went to the Sugar Bowl hospitality room and enjoyed some pizza and the basics for about an hour, and then we went back to the room to get some sleep. We don’t really need to do a lot to celebrate, it just feels really good that so many people are so pleased proud of what this team accomplished, and that feeling is celebration enough for me.
(for Saban) You said last night you were worried about how you can do this again next year. Does winning this game help, or does it increase the pressure?
Basically, I think that one thing that never happened this year is that this team was never compared with the 1958 national championship team, and I think that whatever our team does next year, , they had better not better be compared, in their minds, at least, and I know that some people will do this, compared to this team and what this team accomplished this year. We’ll probably need to set the tone at some point in time wit the football players and the team that we start for next season, it’s to be prepared for the first game we have next season, and do the best we can to play that game just as we approached the games this past year.
We can’t be looking back, we can only look ahead and try to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves in the future and not make comparisons to what has been accomplished in the past.
(for Saban) Can you feel what your wife, Terry, is feeling right now? How happy are you for her?
I think she’s really pleased and happy, and I think she can probably answer this question better than I. I know that all coaches’ families make tremendous sacrifices for time spent, because really, all of these guys, the 120 guys that were here and who dressed for the game, are part of another family. You spend a lot of time trying to help, trying to support, trying to do the things you need to do to help all these people be successful, but sometimes, your family suffers for it.
But Terry is a great supporter for me, understanding what we go through and what we have to do, and she’s probably the ultimate best coaches’ wife that you could ever have. Children go through it the same. They feel it everywhere, because they feel it when you win, they feel it when you lose, and they have to suffer when you get criticized, so you know, I feel bad sometimes that I can’t spend more time with them.
That’s probably a good resolution for the future to some kind of way try to have a little better balance and to be helpful to my family.
(for Saban) Have you found it more difficult to reach a certain level of success or to sustain that success?
I can promise you it’s not my nature to back off, but I know how difficult it can be, because it’s the human condition. As human beings, we’re basically about surviving; that’s our nature. It’s not natural to win championships, it’s not achieve above what other what a lot of other people do. You have to be special to do that.
I’m talking about our team