Alabama Fan Rants About Playoff Snub During Trump Inauguration Coverage

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A college football fan’s impassioned rant about the Alabama Crimson Tide’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff briefly interrupted C-SPAN’s coverage of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on Monday. The caller expressed frustration with both the election results and the playoff selection committee’s decision to leave Alabama out of the national championship bracket.

“I’m a bit disappointed in how the election turned out,” the caller said. “While I’m disappointed in the American people and their desire to see another four years under Trump, I’m a bit more disappointed in the selection committee for not picking Alabama for the College Football Playoff finals. Accepting inferior teams like SMU and Indiana … truly dark times in America.” The caller was abruptly cut off after their remarks.

The College Football Playoff national championship between Notre Dame and Ohio State took place Monday night in Atlanta. Alabama, a perennial powerhouse, was controversially left out of the playoff despite having three losses this season. SMU, which secured the final playoff spot, finished the season with two losses but lacked Alabama’s marquee wins against ranked opponents.

“We looked at the number of wins Alabama had against ranked opponents,” a selection committee representative said. “We looked at SMU’s schedule. They were undefeated in-conference. Their losses were to ranked teams. But we also looked at Alabama’s losses to unranked teams (Vanderbilt and Oklahoma). It was quite a debate.”

The caller’s remarks, though likely intended as satire, highlighted the intense passion surrounding college football in Alabama. Many fans in the state remain convinced that the Crimson Tide, despite their setbacks, could have outperformed the teams in this year’s playoff.

Mark Heim, a reporter for The Alabama Media Group, noted the incident on social media, calling it a “perfect” addition to the inauguration day Hall of Fame. The moment underscored how even on historic days in American politics, college football remains a top priority for some fans.

As Notre Dame and Ohio State prepared to face off for the national title, Alabama fans were left to ponder what might have been. For many, the debate over the playoff selection committee’s decision is far from over.