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re: Iron Bowl question
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:07 am to 14&Counting
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:07 am to 14&Counting
quote:
Well Auburn fans have always told us that Birmingham isn't really neutral?
it wasnt then. However since both teams play in their respective stadiums and there isnt a set of fans pulling in the rest of the tickets to skew the split, a future game would be neutral.
2
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:09 am to Sigma
quote:Not unusual if you actually research the # of times that the games were played in Tuscaloosa...but that'd be like work, so....
Just thought I'd let this little gem get a few more eyeballs. RTR
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:17 am to NYCAuburn
quote:
it wasnt then
Yes, it was. The stadium certificate holders who may have pulled for Alabama who were able to get tickets straight from the Park Board were negligible. I'm sure Uncle Snuffy has regaled about the 1977 game or so how bad it was ,but that was probably because Auburn fans sold their tickets to Alabama fans.
I attended the 1979,1981 and 1987 when their was a "split." I'd venture to say Auburn had more fans than Alabama did in the 1987 game.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:18 am to RollTide1987
quote:
Not in Birmingham anyway. That city has been slowly dying for the last 50 years. If a new and neutral stadium ever gets built, my money for the location is on Huntsville.
The city has been making tons of progress in the last 10 years, despite best efforts from its elected officials.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:21 am to JamalSanders
quote:
The city has been making tons of progress in the last 10 years, despite best efforts from its elected officials.
Yeah I was driving around the city yesterday and the number of construction projects going on around the city is amazing. I've been here 16 years now and have never seen anything like it.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:24 am to I-59 Tiger
quote:
Yes, it was. The stadium certificate holders who may have pulled for Alabama who were able to get tickets straight from the Park Board were negligible. I'm sure Uncle Snuffy has regaled about the 1977 game or so how bad it was ,but that was probably because Auburn fans sold their tickets to Alabama fans. I attended the 1979,1981 and 1987 when their was a "split." I'd venture to say Auburn had more fans than Alabama did in the 1987 game.
Yeah this whole narrative about Birmingham being unfair to AU was just some b.s. party line they espoused to justify moving the game. I attended pretty much every 80's IB as a kid and I can assure that stadium was 50/50 +/-....Bama fans may have run them out in the 70's but by the post-Bryant 80's, Bama was still pretty good but AU was better through most of the decade. The team performing a lot better under Pat Dye was the reason AU fans started pulling the weight in attendance....
This post was edited on 5/25/16 at 9:28 am
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:30 am to rockiee
quote:
2008 was the first time Alabama ever beat Auburn in Tuscaloosa
Never even scored in Tuscaloosa until 2002
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:35 am to NYCAuburn
quote:
it wasnt then. However since both teams play in their respective stadiums and there isnt a set of fans pulling in the rest of the tickets to skew the split, a future game would be neutral.
The crowd at Legion was always 50/50 though. I loved that. I do prefer the game on campus though
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:36 am to 14&Counting
quote:
Yeah this whole narrative about Birmingham being unfair to AU was just some b.s. party line they espoused to justify moving the game.
True but moving the game to campus is better. The Iron Bowl in Birmingham would not have gone on forever.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:38 am to RandySavage
I blame it on that shitty offense that M.S. Harvey had in 1901. Plus, he was an Auburn grad.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:45 am to StopRobot
quote:
The Iron Bowl in Birmingham would not have gone on forever.
Not without the city stepping up on a modern facility. The capacity at Legion was fine and the facility was fine through the 80's but it was time to build a new one and the city couldn't or wouldn't do it. I suspect the city would get it done today however. Bama honored the majority of its contract when the AU's home game went to Auburn in '89 but ultimately just moved all games to Tuscaloosa in the absence of any city leadership on a new stadium.
It's a shame because the Iron Bowl really isn't the Iron Bowl anymore to me...it's just another game now albeit Bama's biggest rival...it lost something when it left Birmingham i/m/o.....
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:45 am to MSU5
The contract in Birmingham expired and Pat Dye refused to renew it unless home and home. Dye was coach and AD at the time.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:45 am to genro
quote:
I bet he's early 90s and you're mid-late 90s.
Transition was gradual and it took a while for the new reality to sink in. T-Town for decades was just the spot for Homecoming and maybe one other cupcake. By the end of the 90s the roles were flipped and we just had a couple cupcakes at Legion
I was early 90s. I can vividly remember driving back to campus from B'ham and it just being dead. Tennessee and AU were the only SEC games we played in Birmingham.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:47 am to 14&Counting
quote:
It's a shame because the Iron Bowl really isn't the Iron Bowl anymore to me...it's just another game now albeit Bama's biggest rival...it lost something when it left Birmingham i/m/o.....
I do not miss Birmingham one bit. I LOVE being able to take my kids to campus and show them around and run into old friends in the same places. Tailgate in a beautiful location.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:49 am to I-59 Tiger
quote:
The stadium certificate holders who may have pulled for Alabama who were able to get tickets straight from the Park Board were negligible
The certificate holders were certainly not negligible in number.
quote:
I attended the 1979,1981 and 1987 when their was a "split."
I forget when it changed, but towards the end they didnt do a 50/50 split. They tried rotating a majority on the split to appease the discontent
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:58 am to The Spleen
quote:
the Tennessee game was first played in Tuscaloosa in 99, Auburn in 00. The LSU game had long ago moved to Tuscaloosa, but it really wasn't a big game until the late 90's.
Last LSU-Alabama game in Birmingham was 1986. LSU played in Tuscaloosa in 1980 (maybe 1984), 1988 and every year since.
quote:
but it really wasn't a big game until the late 90's.
It was pretty big in the 80s.
1982: undefeated LSU knocks off 7-1 Alabama in Birmingham (both teams were in top 10)
1985: Three-way tie atop SEC standings among LSU, Alabama and Tennessee is broken when LSU and Alabama tie, giving Tennessee the outright title.
1986: LSU wins 14-10 in Birmingham, goes on to win SEC outright when Alabama falls to Auburn in Iron Bowl
1987: Alabama beats undefeated LSU in Baton Rouge, knocking LSU out of the SEC title (won by Auburn)
1988: LSU squeaks by Alabama 19-18 en route to SEC title (shared with Auburn, whom LSU beat head to head)
Posted on 5/25/16 at 9:58 am to StopRobot
quote:
I do not miss Birmingham one bit.
Meh...where you from man? Mobile? are you some millennial grad?
Dude - I grew up in Birmingham and grew up going to Legion Field. We had season tix and I went to every game and some the greatest victories Bama has ever had were at Legion. I was never afraid of the area and knew it like the back of my hand. When I was a kid the AU-UA game was better than the Superbowl and it was the biggest event of the year. There was nothing better than the Iron Bowl when it was in Birmingham. Unless you grew up with it, you wouldn't understand....but I still love the Old Grey Lady even if she is falling apart. Too many great memories.....
Posted on 5/25/16 at 10:10 am to CapstoneGrad06
quote:
Alabama has spent nearly $200 million in rennovations since 2000. Why would it play home games in Birmingham?
Posted on 5/25/16 at 10:16 am to Nuts4LSU
quote:
maybe 1984
Game was at Legion Field. Rained buckets and then an absolute monsoon at halftime with the tornado symbol on the scoreboard.
Posted on 5/25/16 at 10:23 am to Ag Zwin
Revenue and profit numbers suggest otherwise.
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