Tony Barnhart's take on the Iron Bowl? As with most things in Alabama, it comes with a little history.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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9 comments:
I'm sorry, maybe I'm mistaken, but are there many people in this area that actually care about Auburn or Alabama? Aren't there much bigger rivalry games happening this weekend that are much closer?
No.
No, you are right. USC-Clemson is just as heated as Bama-Auburn.
Ga-Ga Tech is pretty intense as well, although not as much as Bama-Auburn.
I didn't ever care about Bama-Auburn until I decided to attend an SEC school. And I still don't care that much...
So if you don't care about the rivalry, why bother clicking on this blog? I'll answer that for you: just to run pointless smack. I'm a State fan, but I can understand that the point of this modest feature on the website (which is not supplanting other local football coverage) is to cater to SEC football fans who happen to be in this area. So quit hatin'. And yes, Auburn-Alabama always means much more nationally than USC-Columbia and Clemson.
Anonymous 7:55, South Carolina(they will never be USC)and Clemson is a very heated rivalry, from the South Carolina perspective. My dad went to Clemson, and as a Tiger fan it quite honestly isn't nearly as big of a deal to Clemson as it is to South Carolina. It's still a big deal, obviously, but that game isn't much more important than the game against Georgia Tech. And the same goes for UGA-GT. It's a much bigger deal to GT because they don't have another chief rival other than maybe Clemson. Many UGA fans would argue that their rivalry with Florida would be a bigger game. 'Bama-Auburn is the the best REGIONAL rivalry in the country.
Brandon - this is supposed to be a blog for fans of SEC teams, but the blog has been pretty much dominated by the 'Bama & Auburn fans (with the execption of Bigdawg, a UGA fan). So I'm not surprised that the rivalry week is being dominated by the Iron Bowl.
And no, the SC-Clempson, UNC-NC St, Ga-Ga Tech and Fla-Fla St games do not even sniff the level of intensity of the Iron Bowl. See my comment on the post "Iron Bowl week." There simply is no rivalry, on any level, in any sport, that comes anywhere near 'Bama-Auburn. It is so intense, so personal, so nasty, nothing else comes close.
And I know the main reason for that. There is absolutely nothing to do in Alabama, so this is all there is.
There is no doubt that the Iron Bowl is one of the great rivalries in the country. Fortunately we can devote all afternoon Friday (or as long as the Tigers can stay in it) to savoring all it has to offer. However, come Saturday there are 2 very interesting showdowns between the SEC and the ACC. The ACC's Atlantic and Coastal Division champs are going up against SEC teams. If UGA and USC can pull off two upsets then we can brag until next Sept about SEC superiority over the ACC. On the other hand if Tech and Clem win, their champs will have beaten a couple of SEC also-rans. Looks like the SEC has a lot to gain and not much to lose this weekend.
At the risk of sounding parochial, the Auburn-Alabama is the best rivalry in the country. It is also the worst. What makes it an amazing football game also turns the relationship toxic and pathological for the other 364 days of the year.
Think about it. The students and alums of both universities grow up in the same towns, attend the same schools. And then they all come to the crossroads. One way leads to Auburn, the other to Alabama. And things are never the same.
When I moved to the state as a child, the two camps were unmistakable. As I get older, the animosity -- fed by the internet and other tools of free-range obsession and anger -- has turned the relationship even uglier.
It's like nothing I've ever seen. Clemson and Carolina: A fine game, but more akin to a bridge party.
BigDawg, the seeds of real hatred seem planted in Georgia and Tech. If the Jackets win three or more in a row, this one seems to have the potential to bloom into total hysteria. Am I wrong?
The hatred of the other flows directly from the fear of the other. Until last year we beat Tech 7 years in a row. For Dawgs fans the fear of Tech and therefore the hatred of Tech became milder over time while Tech fans tell me their hatred of us has grown. Last year's loss to Tech seemed like a bit of a fluke and anyway beating them 88% of the time is acceptable. What's totally unacceptable is being legitimate 8 point underdogs with nobody, not even the UGA fans, giving us much of a chance to win. You can already feel the fear and hatred of Tech growing. And like you said MG, the total hysteria cannot be far behind.
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