re: Why is UT Bama's Biggest Rival?

...Well, that's the way I see things.

I know the fanbase is split 50/50 on whether they hate Bama or Florida more. It's UF for me since I'm a 90's child.

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Could be a bunch of bandwagon fans as well.

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1) Is UT truly Bama's biggest rival;

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You really have to ask this question?

Whose trees did Updyke poison?

They talk Iron Bowl 365/24/7 in the state of Alabama.

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Many Bama fans on here have said that the game against UT is more important

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I'd like to see a properly done poll on the subject.

A few anecdotes don't seem to mesh with what appears to be quite obvious.

The Iron Bowl is the fiercest rivarly in the entire SEC.

And it isn't even close.

We the Auburn because we have to. We hate Tennessee because we want to.

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Whose trees did Updyke poison?

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Updyke hates AU more, I think it's safe to make that assumption. But the guys who had Fulmer subpoenaed probably point their hate in a different direction.

For me personally the iron bowl is the biggest rivalry. Don't get me wrong. I love to beat Tennesse but beating Auburn is the best feeling. Every Alabama fan on here can admit to the fact that when Auburn came back to beat us in the 2010 Iron Bowl it crushed us. Do you people realize how much shite we would have given them if we would have won that game? Beating down on Tennessee loses effect after a couple of days. Beating Auburn continues untill the next Iron Bowl. Auburn is easily the biggest rival.

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We hate Auburn because we have to. We hate Tennessee because we want to.

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You said it better than me..

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Argument over where to play

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Wrong. Argument over money and rumors of dirty play on the field.

Iron Bowl history: Early years (1892-1907)

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Why was the series halted?

Myth and legend indicate a controversy concerning violence and dirty play during the 1907 game brought an early end to the Iron Bowl. History records otherwise.

Records show that money within the game contracts was the primary stumbling block. Also, records show Auburn wanted an unbiased ``Northern man'' to officiate the game.

During the 1907 game, the hotel allowance for 17 men from each team was $2 per man, per day, including lodging and meals. On Jan. 23, 1908, Alabama coach J.W. Pollard received a proposed contract from Auburn football manager Thomas Bragg asking for $3.50 per day for 22 men from each team for two nights for a game to be played at Birmingham's Fair Grounds.

Alabama offered $3 per day for 20 men for two nights. Even then, Auburn and Alabama fans had trouble agreeing on anything and apparently a discrepancy of $34 could not be resolved until 41 years later.

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The Montgomery Daily Advertiser reported hints of the mythical fights which allegedly occurred on the playing field: ``The game was filled with rough play, and when the whistle was blown for the end of the battle, two players got together in a fisticuff. The cause of the trouble between the belligerents not being learned. An Auburn man and an Alabama man were striking at each other.''

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Auburn lead the series in these early years, winning 7 out of 11 games.


This next link describes the years the schools didn't play and what was going on to try to get them back together again...
Iron Bowl history: The missing decades (1907-1949)

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While Alabama was winning national titles, Auburn's program was on a slide. From 1923-31, the Tigers had only three winning seasons. However, in 1932, Auburn went 9-0-1 to win the Southern Conference under Coach Chet Wynne. It turned out be a short reprieve. From 1933-48 Auburn had only five winning seasons.

Meanwhile, Alabama was on an unprecedented roll. The Crimson Tide ripped off 14-straight winning seasons, captured four Southeastern Conferences championships and added two more national titles in 1934 and 1941 under Coach Frank Thomas. Despite Alabama's success, Auburn wanted to renew the series in 1944. This time, Alabama said no.

Alabama's Board of Trustees was against the resumption, saying that an Auburn-Alabama rivalry would lead to an overemphasis of football in Alabama and an unhealthy increase in rumor and rancor between the two schools.

The Board also said an intrastate rivalry would make it impossible for either school to hire coaches of ``high character and proven ability'' because they would be afraid of beating the cross-state rival every year. After 1944, several legislative attempts were made to force the two schools to play again, but all attempts failed. The Legislature did, however, pass several resolutions calling on the two schools to play each other. Those resolutions were rejected by both schools.

In 1948, the series resumed

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Bama won 11 in a row, then,
Tennessee won 4, then
Bama won 7,
A tie, then [A Bama forfeit, right?]
Bama won again in 1994, then
Tennessee won 7 in a row then
Bama 1
Tennesee 2 in a row [UT 3 in a row or UT 2 in a row and a no contest if you believe that you don't give a win in that situation]
Bama 1
Tennesee 1 then
Bama 5 in a row

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That's not exactly accurate, good sir.