Rivalries are what make sports amazing. Whether you are a fan of the team or not you love rivalries and you enjoy watching how the teams compete. Each sport has a dynamic rivalry; Baseball has the Yankees and Red Sox, Basketball has the Knicks and Nets, Hockey has the Senators and the Maple Leafs and there are numerous in the NFL. All these rivalries have made the game better each time it is played and one example of rivalry is the Iron Bowl. You might be thinking well doesn’t college football have a lot of rivalries that are well known and you would be correct however the Iron Bowl is a whole different story. These teams do not like each other and in this rivalry, you have to choose between one or the other. You either bleed Crimson and White or Navy and some weird orange color. If you don’t then you’ll feel out of place.
The Iron Bowl is a college football rivalry that features Alabama and Auburn. The first Iron Bowl took place in 1893 and has been played 80 times with the 81st time coming on Saturday afternoon. Some people may look at this rivalry as similar to Michigan-Ohio State or Stanford-Notre Dame, the Iron Bowl is a whole different story. In the past ten years, Alabama has been dominant and it seems like Auburn has always tried to catch up to Alabama however, that has not always been the case. When I was growing up Alabama had struggled to be a consistent contender in the SEC and after Gene Stallings had left Alabama struggled to have a consistent coach having four coaches in the span of ten years. While Alabama struggled they lost to Auburn in the iron Bowl six times. From 2002 until 2007, which was Saban’s first year as the Alabama coach Auburn beat Alabama and three of those times were in Tuscaloosa. Getting Nick Saban as a coach helped bring Alabama back to the prominence the school once had when under Bear Bryant.
Players such as Ryan Anderson and Marlon Humphrey remember the rivalry growing up in the state of Alabama. Anderson stated “The other kids holding up their thumb for six in a row, all that stuff, I hated it, man," Anderson said. "I said if I ever had a chance to play here, play against them, I just don't want to lose to them." While Anderson was trying not to lose his mind Humphrey, the son of Alabama legend running back Booby Humphrey remembers being split in the gym. "In PE class it was set up separated. I had my red wig on for Alabama, and dad's old (letterman) jacket. It was crazy. It's a really big deal."
There are many rivalries in college but one everyone needs to look more closely at is the Iron Bowl. There have been many times where the winner of that game goes on to play in the national championship. In fact, since 2009 the winner has gone on to play in the national championship (except 2014 which was the first year of the playoff). You might view OSU and Michigan as a rivalry but the Iron Bowl is a lifestyle.
