NCAA Football

This Year's Iron Bowl Is As Big As Ever

Posted Nov 16, 2006 10:17PM By Jay Coulter (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Auburn Football, SEC

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A lot of writers around the South have written that the Iron Bowl is forgettable this year because of the way both teams come into the game. Every time I read something like that, it makes me realize that a lot of people in the media (even local) still don't get it. The fact that both Auburn and Alabama are coming off losses means nothing to this game.

I read with amusement this morning the column by Troy Johnson of the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer. In the story titled, "This One Doesn't Have The Sizzle," Johnson slams the Iron Bowl for its lack of interest around the country. He talks about how the entire nation will be fixated on the Ohio State-Michigan game and concludes that virtually no one outside of the state of Alabama will tune in to the game on CBS.

Johnson muses about how the series for many years has lacked any kind of meaning beyond the state of Alabama. "Anyone who truly knows this rivalry must also know that it has lost whatever cache it used to possess beyond the state's borders," Johnson writes. "The results of this game haven't truly registered in a national championship race once since an 11th-ranked Auburn team knocked off a No. 2 Alabama team in 1989."

What Johnson doesn't understand, along with many other "outsiders" is that people in the state of Alabama really don't care what the national or conference ramifications are to the game. Sure, both Auburn and Alabama would love to be heading into this game with a shot at the SEC or the BCS.

But to fans of the Tigers and Tide, do you honestly believe it lessens the game any? Does it take away any of the "sizzle"? Not for a minute.

Let's reflect back to some of the great games in the series. Did the fact that Auburn was 9-1 heading into the 17-16 game in 1972 add anything more to the game that year. How many of you remembered Auburn's record that season? That's my point. Whether Auburn was 9-1 or 1-9 in '72, what mattered is how Auburn won.

The same goes for the 1986 game and the Lawyer Tillman "Reverse To Victory." Do any of you remember or care today that Auburn was 8-2 heading into that game? Of course you don't. What made that game special is the fact that Auburn won and did it in a fashion that ripped the heart out of Alabama fans. There was no Sugar Bowl on the line. Did it make a difference? Heck no.

What outsiders, including those who write in the state fail to understand is that the Iron Bowl operates on one premise. When the game kicks off at 2:30 CT Saturday in Tuscaloosa it will be a battle of two cultures.

It's our way of life vs. theirs. Good vs. Evil. Should it be like that? I don't know. But it is and we really don't care what the rest of the country thinks.

If Mr. Johnson thinks for one second that this year's game will mean any less than those of years past, then he should quit his job and start covering fashion. Just like in years past, this game means everything to the people of Alabama.

And no one can take that away from us.

Tags: Alabama+Football, AlabamaFootball, Auburn+Football, AuburnFootball, Iron+Bowl, IronBowl, Jay+Coulter, JayCoulter, SEC+Football, SecFootball, Troy+Johnson, TroyJohnson

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