The Iron Bowl Rewind - 28-27 Edition

The game drew the best ratings for a college football telecast this season. On Black Friday, the country drew its eyes to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Can anything ever top this on the Plains? A 24-0 deficit that turns into a 28-27 triumph thanks to a 28-3 scoring advantage from the latter stages of the first half until the early moments of the fourth quarter stirred positive emotions throughout the northeast corner of Bryant-Denny and the upper deck that shared an endzone.

I wasn’t around for Punt, Bama, Punt and I was just a couple of months old when Bo leapt over the top to end UA’s nine-year dominance in the series. This made me just a 7-year-old who made more memories in our backyard than Keith Jackson calling the action on the afternoon Alabama finally played a game in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Jarrett Holmes’ field goal in 1997 had given AU it’s only one-point victory that I could remember and appreciate in the tradition-filled rivalry known as the Iron Bowl. The one thing that stuck with me from that night, though, was how incredibly lucky Auburn had been to be in position to get that field goal in the first place.

So, forgive me for considering this the greatest Iron Bowl in my life. The difference in feelings and emotions I had felt last November leaving Jordan-Hare Stadium to the elation that erupted (enough for me to lift my dad about six feet off the ground, give or take 12 inches) I experienced last Friday in Bryant-Denny Stadium is beyond adjectives. There’s just not enough out there. Superb comeback, err Camback - whatever you want to call it. I call it the greatest.

Don’t get me wrong: I felt bad for my friends that I knew had truly felt the Crimson Tide would win at the tailgate we attended prior to kickoff. There was class portrayed by everyone under the tents just off the parking lot adjacent to the Sheraton Hotel. “I just hope it’s a great game, one that is cleanly played on both sides” was the common theme.

When the money fluttered around Cam Newton, the anger began building in a lot of the orange and blue-clad faithful. After a school that is in the midst of a decade-long stint of NCAA probation trumpeted its commitment to “live compliance” with the NCAA rule book, I was about ready to run through a wall. And I hadn’t even heard “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Take the Money and Run” on the PA during the Tigers’ walk-through.

But, calmer heads prevailed and I remembered that those things did not embody the friends I had on the other side of the line. They weren’t the ones that signed off on the marketing and game day operations crew being able to play those songs. They weren’t the students sitting above the Auburn tunnel that were “clever” enough to rally the masses to toss those Monopoly “Cam dollars” at the Heisman Trophy front-runner.

No, those guys (Hal, Rob, Bobby, etc.) were gracious winners last year in Auburn. They were congratulatory non-winners (refuse to call them losers) in Tuscaloosa on Friday. They were superb tailgate hosts yet again and took part in friendly banter throughout the morning and never let anything get personal (no matter what any opposing fan may have said in passing).

So, to those guys, I appreciate everything yet again. I may not want Alabama to win it’s bowl game, but I want all of you to once again have a great time cheering your boys on in the stands. I want you to have plenty of good memories in Florida to ring in the new year. And if the Tide wins, I’ll feel good for you guys. Just like last January when you were “living the dream.”

But, I don’t forget my own perspective: 28-27. War Eagle. Ever to conquer, never to yield.