Jay Williams Mercilessly Booed By Alabama Fans And Loved Every Second Of It
Jay Williams found out the hard way that Alabama fans don't forget.
Williams, the former Duke star turned ESPN college hoops analyst, criticized the environment in Tuscaloosa last year while on the call for Alabama's home game against Clemson.
"What’s the point of playing at home if it’s not gonna have a home-court advantage?" Williams asked last November. "Like, this doesn’t feel like a home-court advantage at all for Alabama. The place is not packed, the fans don’t seem to be engaged. It seems to be more like a tennis match."
Those comments from Williams may be over a year old, but Tide fans weren't going to let him off the hook before letting him know how they truly felt.
Williams returned to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night for the Tide's matchup with Auburn and the students that arrived to the game early unleashed the boo birds almost an hour before tip-off.
It's not a certainty that the Alabama fans were booing Williams for his past comments about the atmosphere, they could have been booing him over his ridiculous race-based claims of the past, but it's a safe bet the fans were focused on his bashing of Tuscaloosa a year ago.
In all seriousness, credit to the students and fans for letting Williams hear it, and also credit to him for embracing the moment. This sort of thing is what makes college basketball so great.
Williams and the thousands of Alabama faithful saw quite the contest on Wednesday night. The game started in darkness and was then followed by a "Fu-k You Auburn" chant before Alabama ultimately won the contest 79-75.