re: Bama LSU Rivalry Question

Ok got through the first 5 pages and no one has really given a flame-free answer so Ill give it a shot.

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Before Saban ever coached in the SEC and even during the time Saban was at LSU and with the Dolphins, how intense was the hate between these two?

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It wasn't. From a Bama standpoint, LSU was considered more of an ally because 1)They didn't beat Alabama often, but they still had a solid program 2)They have good fans 3)They werent Auburn or UT. We used to refer to them as the "good" Tigers. The baseball rivalry(that was a rivalry) was a good one in the 90's when Bama was still decent.

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Its clearly one of the top rivalries in the SEC today and has been since Saban went to Bama + won 3 championships, but was the hate anything close to what it is now before the Saban factor was there?

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Its only a rivalry because both teams are good. LSU probably considered Auburn much more of a rivalry than Bama when Shula was coaching here. You want to see hate? Just wait until UT gets good again and beats Alabama.

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Part of me thinks that if Saban would have gone to any other SEC West program post-LSU and had won 3 titles, LSU fans would have that program at the top of their "hate" list.

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Absolutely