The Third Saturday in October still means something
The Third Saturday in October still means something.
Sure, Alabama has won 14 in a row. But one thing has remained the same despite the Crimson Tide being in control of the series of late. That’s the passion that surrounds this game.
It’s special. It’s different. It's more than just football.
Besides, a rivalry isn’t defined by results. A rivalry is derived from hate and there’s quite a bit of sour feelings between the two sides.
Yes, Tennessee hasn’t held up it’s part of late in this series. But when has this matchup ever been back-and-forth year in and year out?
Before Alabama went on its current winning-streak over the Vols, it had lost 10 of the last 12 to Tennessee. Were Crimson Tide fans saying then that this game didn’t matter? Were Vol fans? I can assure you that neither side were.
See, I’ve lived in both Alabama and Tennessee. In my six years of living in Huntsville, in the midst of Nick Saban’s reign and multiple UT football coaches, I witnessed each year just how much this game meant to Alabama fans.
On the flip side, no explanation needs to be given as to what this game means to Tennessee fans.
Even Saban, arguably the greatest college football coach of all-time who has dealt with little resistance from the Vols, recognizes what this game means.
“It’s significant to a lot of people, and what happened the last however many years will have no impact on this game at all,” Saban said this week. “It’s a rivalry game to me.”
It didn’t take long for first-year Vols head coach Josh Heupel to understand the importance. In fact, he found out the moment he stepped off the plane when he arrived in Knoxville for the first time.
“Excited to get an opportunity to go play in this one,” Heupel said. “As soon as I touched down here in Knoxville, this was the game that this fanbase and these players let me know was important — one that they’re extremely excited about. For our coaching staff, this is a lot of our first times to be in this game, in this environment. Looking forward to going down there and competing with our group of guys.”
Tennessee and Alabama renew its rivalry at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday for the 104th time.
I assure you that regardless of each program’s circumstances, this game still means a heck of a lot to a whole lot of people.