30 years later first Iron Bowl in Auburn remains a special time

What do you remember about that week?

“I noticed the week of the game that folks started coming in early. It was different. I didn’t speak to a lot of pep rallies, but I spoke to a pep rally in the baseball park on Friday afternoon. I could tell it was different, with the players, too. I do remember on Saturday morning in Tiger Walk, and we had to walk in single file. When I got the dressing room I knew the fans walking down that street had lifted the players up. My biggest concern was how to hold that emotion from two hours before kickoff. I went to the dressing room and sat down at my locker and was taking my street shoes off and putting on my coaching shoes, all the time I was thinking , ‘What can I do to make sure this emotional high we’re on right now carries to the game?’. I didn’t do anything special. I just rode the wave.”

What about the game itself?

“The thing that I thought was a little bit strange, but maybe I shouldn’t have thought it is that we had developed to be a pretty good football team by then. We had lost to Tennessee and Florida State early in the season, but we had gotten better and better and better as the year went along. I thought we had the best football team going into the game. I was a little bit shocked when I met with Coach (Bill) Curry before the game because he was so confident that Alabama, who was ranked No. 2 in the nation, was going to win the game. I will never forget thinking after we got through visiting, he went back to his end of the field and I went back to mine, thinking, ‘Coach Curry is mighty confident they’re going to win this football game, but I think there’s going to be a helluva fight before that happens.’”

What did it mean for your team?

“I think the fact that we won the game like we did, and it was a physical football game, was very satisfying for our players and coaches. Alabama had a really good offensive team. Homer Smith was the offensive coordinator. (Gary) Hollingsworth was accurate throwing the football and they had Lamonde Russell. We couldn’t cover him. He gave us fits all day. To close the season went to Tampa and played Ohio State and beat them 31-14. I don’t think they made a first down the second half. I think we were one of the top two or three teams in the nation at the end of the year.”

Does it seem like 30 years?

“It just seems like five years ago. In my mind it was just like we played it last year. There are so many things I’ll never forget.”

What do you remember about the week leading up to the game?

“There was so much pressure on us to win that football game. I know Coach Dye tried to not build it up and tried to talk down the importance of it and that more than anything it was that they were coming, but to us players there was so much pressure on us to win that first game. Back then you had two weeks to prepare. That seemed like an eternity. We were ready to play. I know I didn’t sleep the night before. Then you walk through that first Tiger Walk like it was being packed. I actually saw players hyperventilating because they were so excited. It was more special than any of the Iron Bowls I played in. It was definitely the highlight of my career.”

Is that the biggest game of your career?

“There’s no doubt. If you look at the wins in my career that was the number one win. Obviously, we would have loved to play in the national championship game, especially the year LSU beat us 7-6 (1988), but there’s no doubt it was winning that football game. Plus that made it four in a row, which had never happened. That made it even extra special. Throw in the fact that they were ranked number two and trying to play for the national championship and we kind of ruined that for them. There were a lot of things that came out of that game that were special for Auburn.”

What do you remember about the game?

“We all knew the work that had gone into getting that game brought to Auburn. We felt some pressure, but we knew we had a good football team. We didn’t have a bunch of superstars. I think we had one All-American on that team, but we had a bunch of guys that loved each other and played hard. We knew we were going to go out there and get after them, there was no question about that. Even though we felt some pressure it didn’t really affect how we played that day. We were excited to be a part of it.”

Tiger Walk have a different feel?

“The first thing that comes to mind is there were a lot more people and we had to walk single file down the street, which we had never had to do before. It was just a completely different feel all together. You could tell how excited all of the people were. It was a different feel. Everybody was excited. James Joseph got so excited he hyperventilated. They had to give him a paper bag when we got to the locker room so he could breathe into it.”

You had some big moments, but is that win the biggest?

“That’s the first game I think of when I think back. I feel privileged that I played a small part in it. If we had messed around and lost that game it wouldn’t have been near as sweet getting that game played in Auburn. We had to win.”

Could you tell what it meant to Coach Dye?

“In the locker room after the game and all of the emotion there from him, it was definitely heartfelt and genuine--just how appreciative he was of us going out and winning the football game.”

Is it hard to believe it has been 30 years?

“It seems like it was yesterday to be honest with you. It was quite unique. For the whole week of practice leading up to the game we all knew what was at stake. We had a great week of work and the guys were excited about it all week. Of course, coming into the stadium that day was pretty electric. It was a great atmosphere.”

Have you ever experienced a better gameday?

“I haven’t. It was a single file line and everybody was glad-handing everybody. We walked into the stadium and it was rocking from the kickoff until the end. It was a good game. I remember we came up with our first third and five and we threw a takeoff to Ace (Alexander Wright) and he made a great catch. We got on them pretty good and had a great ball game.”

Was that the most important game of your career?

“Absolutely. Winning the first time the game had been at Auburn was special for everybody involved, the players, the coaches and the fans. You have to give Coach Dye the credit for having the foresight to want to bring it here and get it here. You look at where the game is today, whether it’s in Auburn or Tuscaloosa, and they are great venues. Without a doubt it was the best thing to do.”

When you think back to that day and that game, what stands out to you?

"A couple of things stand out to me when I think about that week leading up. Bill Curry saying he was concerned about his players' safety, I thought was interesting because it was the only real negative that stood out to me. I hate to say it, but during those times you got hate mail. Typically it was the quarterback or the running back. Reggie Slack and Jeff Burger probably had a lot of that stuff. It got played up a little bit more by Curry. I think it ended up being a distraction. 

"What stood out that was good was the pep rally Friday night before we left to go to Georgia (hotel) on the baseball field. I'll never forget James Joseph being one of our speakers and he's leading us. Bo Peep was just an emotional guy anyway. He got the students amped up and everybody was jacked up. It was just the perfect way to end a week of intensity where each day it just gets picked up.

"The second thing I remember is coming back Saturday morning. When we turned and were headed to Sewell (Hall) and seeing all the campers and cars and people, never had we imagined it being that crowded. Getting off the bus people were greeting us and we had some time before Tiger Walk. I think that's the first time it really sunk in or at least got our attention that 'this is big.' It wasn't like any other Iron Bowl game.

"The third thing was as we assembled for Tiger Walk the overflow crowd was the best part. There were so many people that they overflowed to the top parking lot at Sewell Hall. Coach was like 'let's go' and we're trying to figure out how. I don't know who was the first brave soul to go, but we went. People were hanging off trees and the tops of campers. They were slapping you on the back and hugging you. Understand that there were no barriers. The only thing that you could walk down was the street and you were touching people on both sides of your body. It was so enormous that we couldn't see outside of that Tiger Walk. You could only look up. That's when you saw the people in the trees. Just the emotion of people hugging you and crying and yelling War Eagle, it was just electric. It just makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

"The fourth thing I remember is just one for me personally. I used to have a ritual that I would get my ankles taped the first thing after Tiger Walk. I realized my feet were still numb from all of the excitement. Just think about having your feet or your arm fall asleep and having that tingling feeling. It stuck with me throughout the first half. It was just that emotional and electric to me.

"The fifth thing I remember that will stick with me was the third play with Alexander Wright catching the pass over his shoulder going into the student section. I knew it then 'here we go.' From the students there was just a roar. That was special.

"The final thing is Coach Dye's locker room speech. It was so emotional because we were the two-time defending SEC Champs. We didn't play well at the beginning of the year and we lost to good teams. We lost to Tennessee on the road and Florida State on the road. We got it together shortly after the Mississippi State game where Coach would not throw the ball. He wanted to make us tough. I think we beat them 14-0. From that point on we just exploded and started scoring points here and there. He watched us grow up. He talked about us as a team 'wrestling with those angels.' We probably gave him a lot of sleepless nights the first part of the season."

What does it mean to you to be a part of that game and a history making moment for Auburn?

"Knowing you were the first and that you're actually a trailblazer for something that is so special for Auburn people, you can't put words to it. Winning was one thing. That was just the icing on the cake, but for Auburn people and Auburn students to just walk to the game and for our alumni to sit in their seats, to be a trailblazer for that for the next three decades is one of those things you'll never be able to put into words, but is a tremendous feeling. David Rocker is a trailblazer for Derrick Brown. I get to be a trailblazer for K.J. Britt. Bo Nix gets to fall into the steps behind Reggie Slack. For us it's special because I always look back and see people like Bo Jackson and Gregg Carr, Joe Cribbs, William Andrews, those guys didn't get to play at home. They are special players, Hall of Famers, and we did. We will always be special in the Auburn family's eyes. I like listening to my daughter tell that story, too."

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