Your Best Iron Bowl Experiences

[Townhallsavoy]

What's your favorite Iron Bowl memories?

I've had some good ones.

2003 Iron Bowl - My first Iron Bowl.  The game wasn't important in the grand scheme of things, but that didn't prevent Auburn, AL from being overrun with fans from all over the state.  This was my first year at Auburn, and I was overwhelmed with the RVs, tailgates, and people that had come to town as early as Tuesday.  My friends who had been long time Auburn fans taught me the important of the rivalry, and right before kickoff, my nerves were about to burst.  I couldn't believe how intense the feeling was knowing that we had to win this game for no other reason than to own the state's bragging rights.

And that's when Carnell ran 80 yards for the touchdown.  Everything felt at ease at that point, and honestly, I wasn't worried or stressed before an Iron Bowl until the 2008 Iron Bowl when I knew we were going to lose. 

2004 Iron Bowl - My first experience in Tuscaloosa.  The game went as planned, but it was the after party that truly taught me the fun of beating Alabama.  One guy with a mullet launched unopened beer bottles high into the air trying to take out groups of Auburn fans.  One older lady dolled up like she was a Mountain Brook heiress was crying like a baby.  Her exact quote that I'll never forget, "It's not supposed to be this way.  We're Alabama and we always win." 

2007 Iron Bowl - Saban's first Iron Bowl.  I stood ten feet from the man.  He was watching his team warm up or his kickers kick.  Whatever was going on, I'm not sure.  I mustered up the courage and began to say something to break his focus.  I wanted to tell him that he was about to get his dick beat into the dirt.  And that's when the officer standing near me said, "Don't do it, kid. It won't be worth it."  Of course, I chickened out, but it's a memory I won't forget. 

[AU_Tiger_2000]

1997 Iron Bowl - Worked on the "Stage Crew" while at Auburn which meant that we painted dorm rooms in the summer, helped set up the stage for the Fall Concert in Bear-Eaves, and kept the riff raff out of the scholarship donor lots and students off the field at football games.  So I was standing in the corner of the field directly opposite of the student section when Scissum fumbled away the game sealing first down for Bama and Auburn kicked the game winning field goal.  I remembered what they would tell us before games, "Boys, if somebody comes running down onto their field tackle their ass.  If the whole section comes down get the hell out of the way." 

Also the only time I ever had to call for first aid during a game and I had to do it twice.  One was some high school aged Auburn fan tried to hurdle the hedges from about 5 rows up.  Those hedges are full of about 2" thorns, kid is lucky he didn't lose an eye.  Other was an Alabama student who was as close as I have ever seen from dying due to excess alcohol.  Stadium was practically empty except for this kid and his girlfriend.  Called in 1st aid when he started convulsing.

[AWK]

2005 Iron Bowl - Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack.

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

My favorite Iron Bowl moment came in 1997.   

I was an Airman based at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery at the time, and a few of my buddies and I somehow wrangled a few Iron Bowl tickets.  Freddie Kitchens was one of the QB's at Bama that year, and he was a notoriously a drunk and a fat ass.  So, I went to Spencer's Gifts at the mall and purchased a 14"ish tall Pillsbury Dough Boy doll.  I took him home and painted an Alabama football uniform on him.  Looked outstanding and authentic.  A craft's masterpiece.  Painted a #9 on his chest, back and helmet and went to the game.

I ended up tying him to a stick and would toss him into the middle of Tiger Walk and let the players stomp on him and what not.  Kids kicked, swatted and screamed at the Freddie Pillsbury Voodoo doll.  It was great....

Anyway, as the game ended and the team came back out onto the field to celebrate, Antoine Nolan came out with a Blue helmet with bull horns on the sides and was going crazy.  I was standing on the wall by the tunnel in the corner (which is no longer there) and as he came out, he saw the Freddie Doll and asked if he could have it.  I threw it to him and he proceeded to run all over the field with it.  He eventually did two different TV interviews with it in his hands.  Friends at Maxwell got to see it and were joking about it all during the next week.

That was a great time and atmosphere I'll never forget.

...and who could forget..

"PLEASE DO NOT THROW THAT GOAL POST OVER THE EDGE OF THE STADIUM!" - Public Address Announcer as students took the post to the top by the scoreboard.  Haha.

[Snaggletiger]

2005 Iron Bowl - Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack, Sack.

This game was weird to me.  I was sooooo sure we were going to lose that no matter what happened, I refused to cheer.  I just sat there rocking back and forth like Leo Mazzone in the dugout.  Every time we saxed Crodie Broyle, I just kept rocking...as if standing and cheering would totally disrupt the Auburn Sack Machine Karma Gods.  The fate of the entire Iron Bowl hinged on one man...me....and I was not about to anger the Gods.

You must not anger the Gods.

[AWK]

This game was weird to me.  I was sooooo sure we were going to lose that no matter what happened, I refused to cheer.  I just sat there rocking back and forth like Leo Mazzone in the dugout.  Every time we saxed Crodie Broyle, I just kept rocking...as if standing and cheering would totally disrupt the Auburn Sack Machine Karma Gods.  The fate of the entire Iron Bowl hinged on one man...me....and I was not about to anger the Gods.

You must not anger the Gods.

Haha, that's funny. I knew from Bama's first offensive play that we were going to win.

[Snaggletiger]

Haha, that's funny. I knew from Bama's first offensive play that we were going to win.

We would have fumbled the very next play had I stood up and cheered.

[AUTailgatingRules]

89 Iron Bowl. 

Flew all the way from Suthern California to see this one

[Buzz Killington]

You kids get off my field...



1981.  My first Iron Bowl at Lesion Field.  I was a strapping 11 year old who had no idea what to expect from this game in general.  We were sitting straight back in the end zone, and I remember that Auburn was up 17-14 going into the 4th quarter.  It was the first time I had heard grown people chanting "War Damn Eagle!!!" and I had goosebumps on top of my goosebumps.  Until...Alabama scored twice and won 28-17.  It was that night that my hatred for all things crimson sprouted.

1989.  I was a Freshman and a great friend of the family who had the skybox on the 50 invited my parents and I to watch it from there.  My only regret was that we really couldn't appreciate just how loud the crowd was that day.  Oh well...the prime rib I had at half time made up for the lack of crowd noise.  After the game was over, it was just amazing as we stood out on the back balcony and watched the crazies running from the stadium around to Haley Center.  Best football day ever to this day still.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

"PLEASE DO NOT THROW THAT GOAL POST OVER THE EDGE OF THE STADIUM!" - Public Address Announcer as students took the post to the top by the scoreboard.  Haha.

I forgot about that!  It was some serious mob intelligence going on.  Since we were on the opposite side of the field it was like watching ants working together.  The goal post went down and the crowd tried to take it out the tunnel.  Obviously that didn't work so the goal post went right to the top of the stands in the student end zone.  Then the PA announcer made the above statement, the goal post sat there for a second and then moved down to the field again and the jagged end was stuck in the ground at about the goal line and everybody just left.

[AWK]

I forgot about that!  It was some serious mob intelligence going on.  Since we were on the opposite side of the field it was like watching ants working together.  The goal post went down and the crowd tried to take it out the tunnel.  Obviously that didn't work so the goal post went right to the top of the stands in the student end zone.  Then the PA announcer made the above statement, the goal post sat there for a second and then moved down to the field again and the jagged end was stuck in the ground at about the goal line and everybody just left.

Exact same thing happened during the 2001 Florida game, my freshman year.

[Snaggletiger]

The best by far was 89'.  It will never be matched again.  The only time my ears ever rang like that after an event was after a Ted Nugent concert.  Most consistently loud and crazy fans I've ever been a part of.

Alabama was NOT winning that day no matter what.

[Buzz Killington]

I forgot about that!  It was some serious mob intelligence going on.  Since we were on the opposite side of the field it was like watching ants working together.  The goal post went down and the crowd tried to take it out the tunnel.  Obviously that didn't work so the goal post went right to the top of the stands in the student end zone.  Then the PA announcer made the above statement, the goal post sat there for a second and then moved down to the field again and the jagged end was stuck in the ground at about the goal line and everybody just left.

That was the first and only time to date that I have ever seen a team tear down the goalposts.

[Saniflush]

I've told this story before but you asked the question.

My favorite Iron Bowl was in 1989 "The First Time".  I was not there.  I did not get to watch it on TV.  I couldn't listen to it on the radio. 

The 6th or 7th coup attempt had just happened in the Philippines and we had been flown from Subic Bay to the embassy to reinforce it.  Shit was real. We had ordnance broken out that I didn't even know existed.  We proceeded to turn this beautiful compound into a defensive stand position that Gunny Highway would be proud of, full with razor wire, four foot deep bunkers, and trip wires.  I guess after Hue city and the shit during Carter's years they weren't taking any chances.  Anyway, over the next four days we proceeded to watch all the demonstrations just outside the compound and stay on complete edge wondering when the shit was gonna hit the fan, but through it all in the back of my mind I just wanted to know what happened in the iron bowl.  In fact that thought really preoccupied my mind which was probably a good thing.

Anyway fast forward four days.  The coup attempt is put down and we are sitting on the floor inside the embassy trying to relax before we catch the ch-46 back to Subic.  The U.S ambassador comes through thanking each one of us individually for what we had prepared for over the last four days.  He also asks each guy if we need anything.  Everyone is politely refraining from asking for anything.....Until he gets to me. 

I tell him I need the score of the Auburn/Alabama game.  Without speaking to one more person he about faces and walks out of the room.  Everyone thought I had pissed him off.  Five minutes later he walked back in the room with a piece of white paper that had just come off of the secure line dot matrix printer.

There it was.
30-20. 
Satisfaction.

[AWK]

I've told this story before but you asked the question.

My favorite Iron Bowl was in 1989 "The First Time".  I was not there.  I did not get to watch it on TV.  I couldn't listen to it on the radio. 

The 6th or 7th coup attempt had just happened in the Philippines and we had been flown from Subic Bay to the embassy to reinforce it.  Shit was real. We had ordnance broken out that I didn't even know existed.  We proceeded to turn this beautiful compound into a defensive stand position that Gunny Highway would be proud of, full with razor wire, four foot deep bunkers, and trip wires.  I guess after Hue city and the shit during Carter's years they weren't taking any chances.  Anyway, over the next four days we proceeded to watch all the demonstrations just outside the compound and stay on complete edge wondering when the shit was gonna hit the fan, but through it all in the back of my mind I just wanted to know what happened in the iron bowl.  In fact that thought really preoccupied my mind which was probably a good thing.

Anyway fast forward four days.  The coup attempt is put down and we are sitting on the floor inside the embassy trying to relax before we catch the ch-46 back to Subic.  The U.S ambassador comes through thanking each one of us individually for what we had prepared for over the last four days.  He also asks each guy if we need anything.  Everyone is politely refraining from asking for anything.....Until he gets to me. 

I tell him I need the score of the Auburn/Alabama game.  Without speaking to one more person he about faces and walks out of the room.  Everyone thought I had pissed him off.  Five minutes later he walked back in the room with a piece of white paper that had just come off of the secure line dot matrix printer.

There it was.
30-20. 
Satisfaction.

That's a fucking awesome story.  Never heard it before, maybe we need to stop asking about the shit story.

[djsimp]

2002: Auburn 17, Alabama 7—Tre WHO?

Auburn was a heavy underdog against Alabama. AU was unranked, while Alabama was in the AP Top 10. To make matters worse, it was in Tuscaloosa, and Auburn was missing Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown to injuries. Starting at halfback was this short white kid named Tre Smith—and he lit Alabama up all game.

Auburn finally let Alabama cross midfield and even score in Bryant-Denny Stadium, but Auburn dominated from the start in this game.

I'm not gonna say this was the most memorable, but it is one of them. My wife and I were at Little River Canyon and we were watching it in our hotel room. I was totally shit faced by the end of the game off Coronas. The reason I remember it was the fact that is the beginning of a 6 years dominance and we did it with Tre Smith and Cooper in the backfield. We dominated this game.

[Saniflush]

That's a fucking awesome story.  Never heard it before, maybe we need to stop asking about the shit story.

never discount the poop.

[AWK]

never discount the poop.

You just called shit, poop.

[Snaggletiger]

Great story Sani. Coolest part was exactly what I was thinking....I'll bet no matter what's going down, you still gotta' wonder about the Iron Bowl.   

[Buzz Killington]

Awesome story sani...now I feel bad about eating prime rib that day.