Rocky Top, You'll Never be Home Sweet Home to Me

What does the Third Saturday in October mean you you?  I know what it means to me.  It takes me back to Chilly October Saturdays, the smell of grills cooking and fans trash talking each other.  It reminds me of Legion Field and Neyland Stadium.  I recall the smokey mountains in Gatlingburg and the Burning Bush Restaurant.

All these memories started for me in 1989 at Legion Field, when an undefeated Alabama took the field with a running back by the name of Siran Stacy.  He ran all over Tennessee as Alabama beat the Vols that day by a score of 47-30.  Ah, my first win over the Volunteers from The Foothills of Tennessee.  I remember walking to the stadium with my shaker in hand chanting "Tennessee fans volunteer to lose"  with my Pawpaw and Meme right by my side, just as proud as they could be. Meme would tell me "don't count your chickens before they hatch"  Maybe I was a bit over confident for an 11 year old but everyone needs a little swagger about them, right?

This series with Tennessee has always been streaky.  That win in 1989 was the 4th win in a row for bama that would eventually turn into 9 games without a lose.  Then in 1995 Bama lost to them in the very place I first saw them win, Legion Field.  Led by Peyton Manning, Tennessee scored on the very first play from scrimmage and the rest of that night was a brutal memory for me as we lost 41-14.  The Vols went on a streak of their own, winning the next 6 games in the series for a 7 game win streak.  The series went back and forth for the next few years with Bama winning 1, then Tennessee winning 2, then Bama with 1, then one last one for Tennessee in 2006, Shula's last year as our coach.

Welcome 2007, the year Saban came to save us all.  Here comes the streak again.  Every year since has been all Bama, with the only close game being in 2009, which should not have been a close game at all and wasn't till about 2 minutes left in the game.  To say it was a defense struggle the entire game would be an understatement with Alabama only scoring on 4 field goals.  With those 2 minutes left, the score was 12-3 and Bama had the ball.  All we needed to do was run out the clock.  What happens next can only be explained by higher powers.  Mark Ingram fumbles the ball and in a few quick plays Tennessee scores a touchdown making the score 12-10.  "Ok we are still good" I'm thinking.  "They won't get this onside kick."  Well guess again. They get the kick and have the ball with about a minute left.  They make a nice pass over one of our linebackers and they are inside the 30 with time left for a last minute kick to win the game.  There was a Tennessee fan right behind us and I look up at him and say good game, you did what you had to do to win.  They were about to kick a game winning field goal and ruin our undefeated season and our chance at a National Championship.  Remember I said that only a higher power could explain what happened?  As they snapped the ball to the holder, Mount Cody busted his way thru the line and blocked the kick, and as the boom of the block shook the stadium, the explosion of the crowd took over. I felt what can only be described as pure bliss, joy, disbelief.  He saved our season, which eventually turned into a crystal ball.  The other Alabama vs Tennessee games have been blow-outs.

So as we get ready to go for 5 in a row, I take this time to reflect on my 23 games I've watched in this series and remember my grandfather, the wins, the losses, the joy, the pain, and the history of this rivalry that began long before I arrived.  Roll Tide!!!  May we continue to DOMINATE!!  I'll leave you with a bit of tradition.  As Tennessee brings "Rocky Top" into our stadium, we as bama fans will sing along with them but with different lyrics than they use.

"Rocky Top you'll never be, home sweet home to me
F_CK You Rocky Top, Go to HELL Tennessee!!"