Nov. 24, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" ESPN's College GameDay has been all over the country this season, from Indiana to New York to Miami, but some might argue that they saved their best stop for last as they'll be airing live from Auburn on Saturday for the Iron Bowl. It will be the show's first and only visit to an SEC campus.
On Friday afternoon before the big game, some of the crew spoke to the media about the Auburn-Alabama rivalry and how it's perceived nationally.
"I think it depends on where you live," analyst and former Georgia star David Pollack said. "Up North, it's all about pro teams. I think anybody in the South understands the magnitude of this. And if you're a college football fan and you're not paying attention, you're not realizing that this is the biggest rivalry in college football. It's not really debatable. It's the most significant.
"I think it's four of the last six years the winner has played for the championship. That, to me, is the most impactful rivalry in sports."
Fellow analyst Desmond Howard might have a different take on the best rivalry in college football seeing as he won a Heisman Trophy playing for Michigan. Where he's from, the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry will take center stage Saturday. But even he can appreciate and enjoy the passion that comes with the Iron Bowl.
"You have to pick," Howard said. "You have to pick early. Are you going to be an Alabama fan or Auburn fan? To me, it just brings out the best in both teams. That's what rivalries do. It's like Ali-Frazier. You know it's going to bring out the best in both teams, and that's what I really appreciate about the rivalry here."
Nobody on the GameDay crew knows the Iron Bowl rivalry better than Rece Davis. The show's host grew up in Alabama cheering for the Crimson Tide and later attended college in Tuscaloosa. However, his wife graduated from Auburn. He has ties to both sides.
"I think a lot of other rivalries like to say that it's lived 365 days a year, but it's a little different here," Davis said. "It's really part of the way a lot of people identify. It has great impact on the way they feel about how things are going with them, at least for a while, and a lot of that is because they have neighbors or friends or family members or whatever that might root for the other side, and for as much joy as the winning side gets, there is probably almost as much relief that they don't have to deal with it as much.
"I think because of the great importance that people put on this sport, on their connection with both schools, I think that makes it a little bit different than maybe some of the other ones. We do our best to avoid bias, but having grown up here, I might be a little biased towards this rivalry."
You can catch College GameDay on Saturday morning from 8 to 11 a.m. CT. The show will be broadcasting live on Samford Lawn adjacent to Toomer's Corner.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf
.@ESPN_ReceDavis grew up in Alabama. He knows the Iron Bowl rivalry as well as anybody. His Pat Dye impression isn't bad either. pic.twitter.com/brS1aaYdV1
- Greg Ostendorf (@greg_ostendorf) November 24, 2017