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It should have been different.
Alabama wasn’t as bad as the record indicated. It was the first Iron Bowl to ever be played in Bryant-Denny and the first in almost a century to be played in Tuscaloosa. The 18th ranked Auburn Tigers weren’t exactly a world-beater. They had a stout defense, but as was Tubby’s want, the Barn had a helluva time trying to put points on the board. It was an Auburn offense that had one offensive threat, future NY Giant Rudi Johnson. Surely, a talented defensive front could muster enough stops in the dreary sleet to give the offense a chance?
But the Crimson Tide never had a chance.
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Alabama played Tuberville’s style of football: a slogging, dreadful, turnover-filled unwatchable boring mess that Ears would deem a masterpiece; ‘twas the platonic ideal of Auburn football — a 9-0 Tigers win that began a seven-game winning streak in the rivalry.
And, shivering in the sleet, racked by pneumonia, it was the worst football game I’ve ever seen in person.
For most, the game remains a foggy mess. They recall few details other than the final score and the conditions. The collective takeaway almost exclusively concerns the weather, which created the worst possible conditions to play and watch a football game.
Those in Bryant-Denny Stadium witnessed history in that it marked the first Iron Bowl played in Tuscaloosa in nearly a century. But few cared to ponder the historical context as they froze their tails off for a football game.
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