Hearts of Dixie: Why the Iron Bowl Has No Equals

I recently read an article on Fox Sports written by Aram Tolegian saying that the Auburn-Alabama rivalry was THE most overrated rivalry in college football today. Honestly, I couldn't believe what I was reading, but nonetheless, I endured the "brilliant" point that Mr. Tolegian was trying to get across.

He said that the Iron Bowl isn't a great rivalry because both teams aren't in the top 10 or aren't battling for a national title every year. His quote was, "families split, blood runs through the street, yeah, yeah, yeah..." How convenient of him to dismiss the very reason that rivalries are as intense as they are.

Let me give you the definition of a rival: one striving to reach or obtain something that only one can possess. A rivalry is made by the passion, the hatred, the competition, and the will to possess something that your rival can't—pride and bragging rights.

It's not made by how many times you are in the top 10 when you play, nor is it made by the amount of national exposure it gets every year, even though the Iron Bowl isn't lacking in either of those criteria.

The point is families do split. Brothers and sisters watch the game in separate rooms, maybe even separate houses, because they don't want to kill each other in the process. Parents and children don't talk to each other. There are even parents that don't allow their children to go to one school or the other simply because they graduated from the rival school.

We're talking about a kid's future here, and the parent could care less. Getting the picture?

Well, if you aren't, let me explain it in another way. This series was suspended for 41 years, from 1907 to 1948, over a money disagreement.

How much money? Well, Auburn wanted a raise in per diem from $2 to $3.50 per player and a raise in traveling men from 17 to 22 for the trip to Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama countered with a $3 offer and a raise to 20 traveling men. Auburn didn't accept the compromise, and thus the series was suspended for 41 years.

If nothing else is said in this article, that should tell you all you need to know about the seriousness and competitiveness of this rivalry, that neither team can back down and they are always out to show up the other. A great rivalry suspended for 41 years over $.50 and two players.

This rivalry is a culture war like none other. There are other rivalry games that call themselves the "Holy War," but this rivalry doesn't involve two schools associated with a religion like Notre Dame or BYU. They don't need it. These two programs ARE a religion, and every Saturday the fans of Alabama and Auburn go to church in sanctuaries named Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium.

When it comes to football, these two teams share the same media and have to recruit the exact same kids every day of the year. The competition for even media coverage is a constant battle, and the competition for players is unlike anything in the country. There isn't a state that is more highly contested in terms of recruiting than what goes on in the state of Alabama between these two schools.

Any kind of intervention or mediation between these two sides is a lost cause, really. This is a fight that rages every day.

In Mr. Tolegian's article, he states his reason for the Iron Bowl being overrated is because they aren't in the top 10 or because one team has been down in recent years. Well, how realistic is it to expect two teams in the same state, competing for the same players, to both be in the top 10 every season? It's almost impossible for that to occur on a consistent basis.

Every positive thing that happens to one of these schools has a direct negative impact on the other. That's the beauty and the curse of this rivalry: Because they are in the same state, everything affects the other.

Unlike other rivalries, if I want to talk smack to an opposing fan, I don't have to drive across state lines to do it. I simply walk next door to do it, or walk to the office next to mine at work, or see the person in the grocery store with a rival sweatshirt on. This rivalry is fought every day of the year, on every type of "playing field" there is.

How important is this game? Ask Bill Curry, the former head coach at Alabama. He coached there from 1987-1989, his record was 26-10, he won an SEC championship, and was 10-1 his last season at Alabama. One problem though: He was 0-3 against in-state rival Auburn.

After the 1989 season, Alabama offered him a new contract that took away power and didn't give him a raise. Curry resigned and took another job, all because he couldn't beat Auburn. So Curry was 10-0 entering the Auburn game in 1989, but in 1990 he was coaching Kentucky.

Curry once said, "I played in three Super Bowls—heated national, international stories—so I felt like I was a man of the world." Curry said, "When I got to Alabama, people said, 'You don't understand how it's going to be with Alabama and Auburn.' I said, 'Don't worry, I understand intense football.'" Curry paused, then said, "I didn't have a clue."

Rivalries are supposed to be highly contested matchups as well, right? Well, between Michigan-Ohio State, Florida-Florida State, Notre Dame-USC, USC-UCLA, and Auburn-Alabama, the Iron Bowl is the closest series in terms of difference in wins.

It stands at a five-game difference going into the 2008 game, with Alabama leading 38-33 in wins. The other four rivalries currently stand at double-digit differences in total wins. So competitiveness isn't a problem with these two teams year in and year out.

When you think of a rivalry, though, there are two things that come to mind: the hatred of the fans, and the passion and importance to the players involved. These fans get after it—it's ugly, it's bitter, and it can get nasty. I know fans of both of these schools that won't even go to the opposing school's stadium because they don't want to support them in any way, not even for the price of a ticket.

If anyone knows the passion of this rivalry, though, it's the players. These guys hear about it every day, from family and friends, and then go play in the most intense game in college football. They hear how important this game is constantly, and it never stops, regardless of a win or a loss.

These are former quotes from players who have played in this game: "It will last forever, It'll mean something forever"; "We'll have to deal with (a loss) the rest of our lives"; "You will be remembered forever in history, that's just the way this game is. This is the game everybody remembers."

Even Nick Saban last year had this to say after his first Iron Bowl: "I haven't been involved in a game that had any more excitement or enthusiasm than this game."

Overrated rivalry? Tell that to the fans that are literally made fun of growing up because they root for one team or the other. Tell that to the players that literally pour their heart and soul into this game as if it will define their life from here on out. Tell that to the coaches who lose their jobs simply because they didn't beat their rival, but beat everyone else.

A rivalry is about a culture clash. It's about a difference in loyalties so different that a fan of one school can't fathom rooting for the other school—it would be almost blasphemy.

Until you've been to the Iron Bowl and lived in this state, you do not understand the rivalry, and probably never will. So next time someone wants to tell you the Iron Bowl is overrated, keep in mind the fans and players that live it 365 days a year would disagree.

I say disregard the critics, because they obviously don't have a clue. In the long run, they are the one missing out on a rivalry that has no competition.