I think I was five years old, and the year was 1958. I was
living with my family on Finley Avenue in Birmingham Alabama. The duplex
apartment was not far from Legion Field, which had been the
scene of the annual “Iron Bowl” football game between Auburn’s Tigers and Alabama’s
Crimson Tide since the two schools had resumed diplomatic relations and
agreed to play each other again after a 41 year dispute. It was only at the
behest of the state legislature in 1948 did the games resume. It was sometime
during that year that I decided that I preferred the orange and blue of Auburn
over the red and white of Alabama.
Yes, it is true, they start us young in Alabama.
As the years went by and my awareness of the world around me
increased, other things solidified my allegiance to the War Eagles of Auburn.
Alabama’s head coach at the time was the iconic and legendary Paul “Bear”
Bryant. Auburn’s coach was the soft-spoken and gentlemanly Ralph
“Shug” Jordan. They were a study in contrast. Coach Bryant was a big,
tall, hulk of a man. Mean, gruff, intimidating, he was a chain-smoking,
hard-drinking, winner whose voice sounded like a growling bear. On the other
hand, Coach Jordan was a southern gentleman right out of central casting. He
looked more like a preacher than a football coach. Instinctively, I preferred
Coach Jordan.
Auburn won the National Championship in 1957 under Coach Jordan.
In 1958, Alabama responded and hired Bear Bryant. From 1959 until 1968, Alabama
would defeat Auburn nine times out of ten. Bryant would go on to win Six
National Championships and Thirteen Southeastern Conference (SEC)
championships. By the time he retired in 1982, he had won more football
games (323) than any college coach in history. But to me, Bear was a bully, and
I would rather beat a bully than follow one. So, score another one for Auburn.
All of my life Auburn has been considered the underdog in the state, and I
identify with underdogs. I have no doubt that I experience ten times the joy
when Auburn beats Bama, than a Bama fan gets from beating us.
Most people assume that the game was played in Birmingham
for so many years because it was a “neutral site”. Nothing could be
further from the truth. Birmingham is less than an hour’s drive from the
Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. The critical mass of Alabama fans and alumni live
in Birmingham. Up until the turn of the century, Alabama played the majority of
its “home” games in Birmingham. Alabama simply felt it was beneath their
dignity to travel to Auburn, and because of the power of their alumni in state
commerce and government, they were able to continue this indignity until 1989, when
the simple fairness and equality of a home and home rotation was agreed to.
Alabama has had a long and illustrious history in college
football. They are one of, if not THE most honored and respected
programs in the country. BUT, Alabama has had only
three (3) Black starting quarterbacks in its entire history. They are
Walter Lewis, Andrew Zow, and last year’s starter, Blake Sims. Auburn
has had eleven (11), including Charles Thomas, Pat Washington, Reggie Slack,
Dameyune Craig, Jason Campbell, Kodi Burns, Cam Newton, Kiehl Frazier, Jonathan
Wallace, Nick Marshall, and Jeremy Johnson. What’s up with that?
Of course, the time that I spent at Auburn as a student
cemented my allegiance to the school. When I attended Auburn in the early 70’s
I was one of approximately 350 Black students at the school. The total
enrollment at the time exceeded 17,500. Nevertheless we did not become lost in
that sea of humanity. We were allowed to be ourselves, express ourselves. We
were granted an opportunity to learn and grow. We were not subjected to endless
confederate imagery. We were free to study what was interesting and relevant to
us, and to enjoy a social life that was not foreign to us. We were given access
to opportunities for professional and cultural advancement as well as access to
positions of leadership and authority. And every once in a while, we would beat
Alabama.
December 2, 1989 is a day I will never forget. For most of
my life it had been hard to imagine that Auburn would play Alabama on our
campus, in our own Jordan-Hare stadium. All of us knew that if that day ever
came, there was no way in hell that we would lose that game. That game was
played in front of the largest crowd ever to watch the game live. Alabama came
to town undefeated, but it didn’t matter. We beat them 30-20, and shared the
SEC Championship that year with the Tide and Tennessee. Most people don’t
realize it, but since that day, Auburn actually has the better record in the series.
When the games were played only in Birmingham (Alabama’s pseudo home field)
Alabama lead the series 34-18. Since then, Auburn leads the series in
Tuscaloosa 7-3, and in Auburn, we lead the series 8-4.
Equality and fairness is a wonderful thing.
Former Auburn coach Pat Dye once said that the difference
between Alabama people and Auburn people is simple, “Alabama people love
Alabama football, but Auburn people love Auburn”.
I love Auburn. Even if my brother did go to Alabama.
