TUSCALOOSA | Nick Saban’s stolen cardboard cutout has been returned to the convenience store from which it was taken and the men who took it have apologized, according to the owner.  “I’m glad to have it back,” Rupani said. “This is our pride — it’s Nick Saban.”

Two young men took the cardboard likeness of the famed head coach from the campus area gas station Wednesday morning.  They returned it after learning from Internet news reports that they were being sought by police.  Tuscaloosa police released surveillance photos Thursday afternoon of two college-aged men conducting the heist of the cardboard cutout of the coach. The life-size Coca-Cola advertisement shows Saban pointing, looking stern and holding a can of Coke.  The men entered the store at 1 a.m., said Tuscaloosa Police Sgt. Brent Blankley. One held the door open while the other left the store with the loot.

Blankley did not know how much the cutout is worth.  An identical cutout was listed for sale on Craigslist Wednesday for $50.

 

And our long national nightmare has finally come to an end.  After a grueling 1 day manhunt for the mastermind criminal thieves who snagged the Nick Saban cardboard cutout we can all rest easy as it has been returned to it’s rightful perch in the BP.  The thugs in dress shoes and button-downs stealing away a state symbol have had a change of heart and restored order.  Thank God.    Because make no mistake about it no matter how sarcastic you think I’m being, that’s how not-sarcastic Rupani the gas station owner and the rest of the community is.  That cardboard cutout of Nick Saban holding a can of Coke literally is their pride.  We were about 12 hours away from a band of vigilantes tracking these bros down and slaughtering their families one by one until Saban was returned.    SEC football baby.  Do NOT mess with it.