A lot of writers around the South have written that the Iron Bowl is forgettable this year because of the way both teams come into the game. Every time I read something like that, it makes me realize that a lot of people in the media (even local) still don't get it. The fact that both Auburn and Alabama are coming off losses means nothing to this game.
I read with amusement this morning the column by Troy Johnson of the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer. In the story titled, "This One Doesn't Have The Sizzle," Johnson slams the Iron Bowl for its lack of interest around the country. He talks about how the entire nation will be fixated on the Ohio State-Michigan game and concludes that virtually no one outside of the state of Alabama will tune in to the game on CBS.
Johnson muses about how the series for many years has lacked any kind of meaning beyond the state of Alabama. "Anyone who truly knows this rivalry must also know that it has lost whatever cache it used to possess beyond the state's borders," Johnson writes. "The results of this game haven't truly registered in a national championship race once since an 11th-ranked Auburn team knocked off a No. 2 Alabama team in 1989."
