I know a lot of Alabama fans will say it is the greatest rivalry. I will go with the Iron Bowl. It is a close number 2.

To me the thing that really changed the dynamic of the rivalry was by splitting the two teams in to separate divisions in the SEC. A loss to UT counts the same in terms of confrence play, but if you lose to Auburn it makes it much more difficult to win the West. If Alabama loses to Auburn it means esentially two losses, since we are in the same division. The opposite is true with a win of course. I hope that makes sense.

to blunt and honest here I hate orange! That goes for both the Vols and Aubies. I do however agree with Kenny on the split, and Aubies west affiliation means more to us. Still, I hate orange.

We have had this debate in the past on RBR. Comes down to a few things: 1) tradition (UT has much more than AU); 2) AU represents a city in Alabama, while UT represents the state to the north; 3) AU wants to simply beat Bama while UT wants to win national titles; 4) when many Bama fans were young UT was the rival, not AU. It also seems that Coach Bryant hated UT and in fact he never beat Gen. Neyland.

Speaking for myself. I have degrees from both schools and UT never diminished my love for Bama or took me to the dark side. Now I live on the border and suprisingly little UT stuff can be found in N. Ala (except on cars with TN plates).

For a brief time, when it became clear that Fulmer had sold us out to the NCAA, I hated UT twice as much as Auburn. But, eventually time wore on, and things returned to normal.

Of course, it may just be that we haven’t beaten Auburn in six tries, but I think that it also has to do with the fans. UT fans like to talk about their own team, its players, and their chances at a title. Barners will only talk about Bama, how much we suck, and how we don’t realize that Bear is dead—you know, really intelligent arguments like that.

Now, I know that all schools (including ours) have classless fans. But, in my own personal experience - and, keep in mind, I grew up in North Alabama - I have had much more cordial and intelligent discussions about football with UT fans than I have with Auburn fans. There are exceptions, of course. I have some very good friends who are Auburn grads, and they are great. But, overall, the numbers weigh in UT’s favor.

UT is biggest rival… I am a current student at UA, and I absolutely HATE UT… It also doesn’t hurt I’m from North Alabama, and run into alot of Viles…. But Auburn is kinda just there, but UT is an actual threat to Alabama. That being said, I feel much more respect between UA and UT that UA and AU

The UT rivalry is definately very special to UA, I’d say. When you are a classic powerhouse like each truly are, you tend to collect a few big rivals, and we do have our share. As many have already said, it’s tough to choose between UT and AU for top spot, because they are, to me, rivlas for different reasons. As a Bama grad and fan, UT is a bitter rival because we have a long history of playing one another, each have been overall big time winners and championship holders, and we are neighboring states. Add in the few streaks held by each side over the course of the rivalry, including Neyland’s success over Bryant, and you have the perfect recipe for an eternally heated rivalry matchup. We love to hate each other’s team, but it’s an honor to be a part of this rivalry , because we are worthy opponents for one another and it’s what football is all about.
Now, AU, on the other hand, has to be a true number one just because of the venom and animosity that comes from being little brother. I’ve never understood it, but AU’s obsession with our program has ensured that this rivalry is tops because they just won’t shut up. I know there are terrible people who are Bama fans, as anywhere, and I’m sure any fan could generalize a fanbase based on their own relationships, but my whole life growing up in Alabama left me with a terrible view of the Auburn fanbase at large. Say what you will, but this is the entirety of my experiences with Auburn fans, and I mean it. Every year when it is time to discuss football, it’ s never about their team, it’s never about their other games, never about winning championships of any sort; it’s always about the Iron Bowl (past and present), it’s always about what our players are doing, it’s always about who we lost to, it’s always about our scores and how we should have won by more or how Bear is dead, not if they won or lost their game, it’s always about Bama Bama Bama. As a student, I heard more about Bear Bryant from Auburn family and friends than I did in Tuscaloosa. If I celebrated Alabama’s victories and talked about how pleased I was that my team won the Iron Bowl or any other game, I was, according to them, being obnoxious and showing how unrealistic Bma fans are and how we care too much about football and rub it in all the time; however, if AU won a game against anyone, especially Bama, I got calls and got slammed and mocked for being a student at UA and reminded daily of how much of a joke my team was. If I called them on how rude they were to me, it was obviously just me not being able to take it; after all, it’s pride and loyalty if they were cheering for their team, but if I did so, I was being obnoxious. Yeah….AU is the rival you just want to beat so they will stop talking, so they are the bad guys to me. UT is the rival I can watch, be thrilled if we win, sad if we lose, but glad to be a part of it. AU is a thorn in the side that must, unfortunately, be dealt with annually so we can have some peace and quiet.

...how have we gone this far and no one has posted this?

and crazy length of my previous post; aside from that though, that’s pretty much how I feel about it. :P
Also, I love that video Nico. :)

is just as important as Auburn. In the ‘90s, I thought it was more important simply because UT had the upper hand. Now, Auburn might be a little bit more important because we haven’t beaten them since 2001. LSU might be a little bit more important, too. Florida was probably more important to many UT fans in the ‘90s because they seemed like a more important game.

Coach Fulmer still regards Alabama as the most important rivalry. That should tell you something.

used to talk about the Tennessee game as if it were some sort of intergalactic war between good and evil empires. I remember DuBose said, “I’m not a hateful man and I respect our opponents. But I hate this team. I hate everything about them.”

Ellis Johnson stood up after giving the scouting report one year and he said, “How many of you want to play in the NFL?” A lot of players raised their hands. He said, “Okay, because Saturday is fantasy land compared to that. There are gonna be 110,000 fans. 90,000 of them will be so drunk they won’t know what the hell’s going on, but they hate you and you’re gonna know it when you step foot in Neyland.”

...but UT does. We’ve spent enough time testing our own strength against them (and vice versa) that I can honestly say it’s, for the most part, a hatred born of respect. The Fulmer/NCAA deal sent the rivalry into a completely different level of hatred, one built on disgust and contempt towards Fulmer, but I think things have cooled down enough that we are back to just plain old wanting to whip the other team to show them we are better than they are.

Lawvol98, you are a class act, which is what I have come to expect from the Vol fans I have been associated with (see my post above). Thanks for starting this conversation and distracting me from work for a little while.

One thing I would like to point out, though. Several have pointed out on this post that Coach Bryant never beat General Neyland. While that is true, and anyone in their right mind has to acknowledge that Neyland was one of the great college football coaches of all time, the man passed away in 1962. So, Coach Bryant never got to go up against him at the zenith of his career at Alabama. I would dare say had Neyland lived long enough to coach the Vols against Bama throughout the 60s and 70s, Bryant would have got that elusive victory over him and probably beaten him more often than not. Of course, that’s pure conjecture from an admitted Bama homer.

We hate losing to Auburn more than losing to Tennessee, but we enjoy beating Tennessee more than beating Auburn. Somehow, that makes sense to me.