By Tom Mattingly
On Oct. 22, 2011, I attended my 50th Tennessee-Alabama game. That journey through a significant time in the history of Vol football started in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964, all played on Shields-Watkins Field. I missed the 1965 contest at Legion Field.
I saw every game from 1966-2011. The contest was played in even-numbered years in Knoxville and in odd-numbered years in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, nearly always on the “Third Saturday in October.” I also saw the 2012 game in Knoxville, the 2013 contest in Tuscaloosa, and the six contests in Knoxville between 2014 and 2024.
Our seats were on the North Upper Level that night… way, way up at that end of the field, squarely between the goalposts. The ticket said to enter through Gates 46 or 48 to Section NN, Row 20, seats 1 and 2. I even forked over a King’s Ransom ($5) to get a souvenir program. I had stopped doing that many years before, but this night was special.
From that vantage point, there were a number of illuminating discoveries.
The game program made note of the presence of Sal Sunseri and Jeremy Pruitt on the Tide coaching staff, with no further comment being necessary.
The “Million Dollar Band” played ”Dixieland Delight,” but that effort was booed lustily when there were four references made to “Tennessee,” according to the lyrics.
The stadium public address announcer, who wasn’t bad at his craft, kept calling Curt Maggett (“MUH-jit”) Curt “MAG-gut.” That was bad form. Anybody ever tell him anything different? Does anyone ever sit down and go over the pronunciation chart with people who call the game?
Speaking of the public address system, what about the incessant notice to fans who might have forgotten who the team was on the field in the crimson jerseys and what sport was being contested: “This is Alabama football!” And everybody cheered.
Then there was the elephant in the room, the subject no one really wanted to talk about. Only when the game was safely in Nick Saban’s back pocket did assorted cries of “LSU!,” “LSU!,” “LSU!” roll across the stadium. That game would come two weeks later.
By the way, it was interesting that many ‘Bama fans wore stickers or buttons that read “Auburn ain’t s—“ or “Go to h—, Auburn.” They just couldn’t help themselves. Hating Auburn has always been in their blood and seems to occupy their every waking moment.
The folks at the tailgates near the stadium were exceptionally friendly, welcoming us to town and to Bryant-Denny Stadium. They didn’t offer any food or drink, but they were nice.
Speaking of bad form, how about the Tide assistant coach who appeared at the beginning of each quarter on what passed for a JumboTron? It was quite a sight, seeing him raise his voice with veins bulging in his neck, screaming for fans to get involved in the game. This had to have been a dream, a bad one, nonetheless, but still a dream.
It wasn’t.
Whenever the late F. M. Williams of The Tennessean, Nashville’s morning newspaper, saw something he thought was in bad taste or a breach of decorum, he had a one-word comment at the ready, not quite under his breath, but close.
“Bush.”
Not “Bush League” – just “Bush.”
As usual, there were a number of Alabama fans interspersed throughout the “Tennessee section” in both end zones.
It was quite a 50th anniversary game. I did an interview published in the Friday edition of the Birmingham News, sharing space with a gentleman who had somehow seen 700 consecutive Alabama games. I never got to meet him, but he seemed to be the bigger story.
The trip home was uneventful this time, with no bed sheets draped over I-59 overpasses featuring the score and other salient items from the weekend, mostly unprintable, emblazoned thereon.
I missed that.
As I have stated on more than one occasion, there’ll be h— to pay if the SEC messes with this series. It’s still a great rivalry.
We returned to our hotel at 2:30 a.m. after a 6:15 p.m. kickoff. I wondered when fans at the LSU game might have arrived at their hotel or home after a prime-time (7 p.m.) start, with everybody likely staying to game’s end.
Anyway, a game at Bryant-Denny beats one at Legion Field (once termed the “Old Gray Lady” or the “Football Capital of the South”) hands down. Witnessing the Alabama contest over the years has always been exciting, but there’s something special about a game on a college campus.
It’s definitely college football the way the gods intended.
