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.

The historic atmospheres of Birmingham’s Legion Field, Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium, and Tuscaloosa’s Bryant-Denny Stadium provided the locations and like any rivalry, this game has its moments

How about in 1990? Underdog Alabama, 2-3 on the season under first-year head coach Gene Stallings, wasn’t expected to give No. 3 Tennessee much of a ballgame in Knoxville. But in the waning moments of the 4th quarter when the Vols lined up to attempt a field goal to break a 6-6 tie, Stacy Harrison blocked the kick, setting up Philip Doyle's heroics. Alabama won 9-6 after Doyle booted a 48-yard field goal as time expired. The faithful in Big Orange country were stunned.

Or maybe 1995? The Volunteers had gone nine straight years without a victory over the Tide. But that night at Legion Field, on the very first play from scrimmage, a young Tennessee quarterback named Peyton Manning fired a pass to a speedy Joey Kent who spilt the ‘Bama defense and raced for the end zone for a crowd-silencing 80-yard touchdown. The Vols never looked back. They rolled the Tide in convincing fashion, 41-14, unleashing nine years of frustration, and thus starting a new seven-game winning streak of their own.

In the eyes of many from both fan bases, this game is the most important “must-win” of the year. It’s the game that could “define” a season. It will always be a topic of discussion at family reunions, or at work and school the following Monday morning and the bragging rights are earned for the next 365 days.

It’s the passion that fuels a Tennessee fan’s refusal to wear the color crimson, or an Alabama fan’s tendency to cringe when he hears the familiar tune of “Rocky Top”.

But even amidst the fiery hatred and undying competitive spirit, there is a mutual respect in this rivalry of two college football historic giants. It was Bob Neyland who stated, “You never know what a football player is made of until he plays against Alabama”.

Both sides are aware of the importance of this game. In its 90-year history, the loser of the Tennessee/Alabama game has won the conference title a grand total of just three times.

Both sides know that the old cliché is true: throw the records out the window.

No matter what the situation, what the rankings, or the win-loss records, this game is always special. These are two historic powerhouses. Memories from the games of yesteryear still so thick, you feel as if you've stepped back in time.

For one weekend every October, those powerful winning traditions, the memories of games from years ago, those hopes of tomorrow, and those fans who flock to the stadium decked in their respective crimson or orange, all comes together to make for one breathtaking college football atmosphere.

That rivalry is about to renew itself once again. Another chapter to the storybooks is about to be written.

And in the backyard of a tranquil, country street somewhere in the South, there’s a kid running as fast as his little legs can carry him, wearing his orange jersey, pretending to be a Tennessee running back like Arian Foster. There’s another kid, wearing the crimson, throwing an old weather-beaten football across the yard, envisioning himself as John Parker Wilson.

The Crimson Tide and the Volunteers are ready to wage war in Knoxville once again and a pastime of life in the great American South will continue its nostalgic tradition.