Alabama-Tennessee: Rivalry Represents Southern Football at Its Best

When the trees begin to don their brightly colored leaves and the autumnal sky displays its vivid, scenic blue, there is a special crisp feeling that settles in the air.

In America's South, that special feeling means football.

It could be at some legendary college football venue, jam-packed with die-hard fans and sparkled by the flashbulbs from the cameras; a place where one can hear the thunderous roar of the crowd and the thuds of the pads as two opposing teams crash into one another, play after play.

Or perhaps it’s just a good old-fashioned game of touch football in the backyard of a house on a quiet, country street, where the only sounds that can be heard are the voices of little children who, for a brief moment, become neighborhood champions as they score the game-winning touchdown, and the leaves crunch beneath their feet.

Football has become a pastime across the country, but it holds special significance in the South.

It is here where one need not travel far down the road to spot a bumper sticker, or a flag hanging from the front porch of a house, proclaiming where one’s football loyalties reside.

It is here where game analysis, good-natured trash-talking and jaw-dropping predictions dominate the conversations throughout the week amongst fellow workers, classmates, and in the case of those who are subject to a “house divided”, families.

It is here where the intoxicating scent of ribs, burgers, hot dogs and barbecue fills the air, as tailgating is a game day tradition for many, and welcoming people come together to enjoy the great food, the undying passion for the game of football, and the pleasure each other’s company.

You see, for those in the South, football is more than a game; it is a way of life. It’s a means of brining family and friends together, creating lasting memories that everyone can share.

Nothing depicts the amazing pageantry of this memorable pastime known as college football better than the annual showdown that takes place every mid-October, most traditionally on the third Saturday. It is the clash of Crimson and Orange on a picturesque Saturday autumn afternoon, when the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers take the field to renew their annual battle for bragging rights.

Alabama-Tennessee. Or, depending on the color of your shirt, Tennessee-Alabama.

This game perhaps best embodies the tradition and passion of football in the South. Just go back to 1901 for proof. The first ever meeting between the Tide and the Volunteers, it was a game that ended in a 6-6 tie, and infamously left fans from the two schools fighting on the field.

And thus it began. The “Third Saturday in October”. Dixie’s great football war.

Two titans of the college football world, both with championships galore and winning traditions fight it out. Revered coaches such as “Bear” and “The General”, star-studded players, with names like Namath and Manning have manned the field.

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