<p>I’ve got a junior S who will definitely be NMSF and probably NMF, and so he may apply to U of Alabama as a financial safety. I know the university has a handful of diehard fans on this site (and I really appreciate all of the info and insight they are generous enough to provide here), and I know at least one mom of a current freshman there under the NMF scholarship who is very happy with it. I know it has some great opportunities to offer. </p>
<p>I’ve just got to ask about this rivalry between the Alabama schools. I think rivalry can be fun. But really, is it as intense as it sounds on some of these threads? How many people actually take it seriously? I mean, I’m all for rooting for a football team and so on, but I don’t ever extend rivalry to actually hoping for or celebrating misfortune that happens to the other side. Like a football player being injured, a landmark tree being killed, losing funding, a fire in a building, whatever. Of course the tree thing is being discussed right now on another thread and I made the other examples up. I certainly don’t lump everyone in together - I know some people keep the rivalry in perspective and some people don’t. </p>
<p>But really - in general, is the feeling of rivalry taken seriously? Because I find gloating over misfortunes or actually believing for real that “those people” are any different of worse than “us,” or even just constant good-hearted “screw Auburn - they suck” comments somewhere between silly and disturbing. Somewhere between childish and damaging. Either way, I find it tiresome quickly. </p>
<p>So - can anyone try to kind of sum up how in your face the rivalry is?</p>
<p>I am a total outsider to this, from Ohio, not a football fan.</p>
<p>We (son and I) went to the Iron Bowl Game this year…Auburn vs Alabama
I saw nothing but a friendly rivalry, all the tailgaters were friendly to each other, and there are tens of thousands, with lots of beer.
after the game - fans with both teams spirit wear mingled in the bars.
All very friendly. (We did notice a large, well organized and very polite police presence)</p>
<p>I think outside of the typical frat pranks - that can get out of hand… its all in good fun.</p>
<p>Honestly the rivalry is as intense as any in the country. There are alumni and fans on both sides that love each other and there are those that hate each other. </p>
<p>Your son can choose to be in either group. But anyone basing their college decision over a post from a total stranger on a message board needs to re-think their process. </p>
<p>My hate for auburn should have no impact on your son and his decision on where to go to school. You will find alumni at EVERY school in the country that have beliefs that differ from yours. Every school has a rival. And every fan base has those who take that rivalry more seriously than others. </p>
<p>Make your decision based on academics, scholarships, safety, and social life. Not on the message board comments of someone like me who you’ve never even met.</p>
<p>True. I’m just asking about the vibe in general. Well, the general vibe and how many people there are toward the extreme end of rivalry.</p>
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<p>Well, to varying degrees. Some to the point of not really having any kind of noticeable rivalry. And many schools don’t get real into their sports teams.</p>
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<p>My son will make his decision on those. This thread is trying to get some info about the social life side of things, because while this may seem trivial to some, some kids would find a rah-rah atmosphere that borders (or crosses the line) on nasty a bad start to a fun social life!</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply! And you too gojack - what you described sounds fun!</p>
<p>Believe me, Auburn fans and Alabama fans live peaceably in the same neighborhoods. My next door neighbors’ D goes to Auburn, my kids are at Bama. We’re close friends. The same with work colleagues. </p>
<p>As anywhere, some fans are more intense than others, but they’re the exceptions, not the rule. </p>
<p>I grew up with the USC/UCLA rivalry.</p>
<p>*True. I’m just asking about the vibe in general. Well, the general vibe and how many people there are toward the extreme end of rivalry.
*</p>
<p>a very small percentage. I have been to enough tailgates to know that an overwelming majority are cordial to each other…very cordial.</p>
<p>As for the Auburn oak trees incident. If it was done by a Bama fan, that’s not the school’s fault. 90% of Bama’s fans have never attended the school…most aren’t students or alumni.</p>
<p>I think as an appropriate gesture, Bama should offer to replace those trees. Obviously, the replacements won’t be old and lovely, but Bama should make the offer. I realize that the trees were dying anyway, but hastening their death was really just a horrid thing to do.</p>
<p>chiming in - but I think it is entirely possible to be a UA student and not really have this as part of your life in the slightest. I’m sure if you are into football then it can be a big thing, but contrary to the impression given, there are many UA students who may attend games for the school-spirit party of it, but don’t really care much about the sport in general. I can honestly say, not being into football at all and being OOS, I had no idea of who was rivals with whom until I asked around a bit.
The winning football team is an almost negligible part of what has made UA a great college choice for my son. You can roll with it or not, your choice.</p>
<p>Unlike in other parts of the country, this state does NOT have the ugly violence…turning over cars…burning personal property…etc…that goes on in other states in regards to their teams winning/losing. In those areas, police have to show up in riot gear. That doesn’t happen here.</p>
<p>It’s more of a “silly smack talk” kind of thing…Barners vs Bammers.</p>
<p>And, yes, a good number of kids don’t care at all about sports.</p>
<p>So I’m new to the SEC stuff and don’t have deep seated enthusiasm or disdain for many teams (except for deep abiding love for the Yankees & disdain for the Red Sox but I will tell you this: two of my D’s current roommates date boys who go to Auburn. The people who recommended that D look at schools in AL are Auburn alumni; once D made her decision to go to UA we bought their dog a UA frisbee. All in good fun.</p>
<p>The rivalry is also used in very constructive ways. For example both schools hold an annual food drive and compete to see who can provide the most non-perishable items for the food banks. The whole state benefits from their efforts and the winning school gets bragging rights. Definitely a win-win.</p>
<p>Last year we were in a similar situation as my daughter narrowed it down to UA or Auburn since both had an accredited program in her major. I’m convinced that once you start looking at the merits of Bama’s honor’s program, which are clearly mentioned in previous posts, I suspect UA will move up from a safety to being a real option. Seeing them back to back is a great way to notice the differences. Personally I was swayed when I realized how many different & interesting honors course options they had at UA.</p>
<p>I grew up in Alabama (third gen. graduate), lived there for years after marriage, and my oldest son attended there for a couple of years before transferring back to GA (Hope Scholarship, and he wanted to be closer to home). </p>
<p>My husband grew up an Auburn fan and his brother is an Auburn alum (he also has one who went to Florida, but that is a different story! ) . I consider the Alabama/Auburn rivalry to be all in good fun. YES football can be intense, but it does not generally go to the extremes you see on some message boards and certainly not to the extent this guy took it when he poisoned those trees. He did NOT attend the University of Alabma, by the way. He is a retired Texas state trooper who currently lives in GA. </p>
<p>I hope this Al/Aub thing will not color your son’s decision to attend or not. Best to you in the months ahead and congrats to your son for doing so well so far!</p>
<p>Thank you all for the comments! It sounds like for the most part, it’s just good friendly rivalry! I am excited about the opportunities at U of A and will have to figure out when we can get down there for a visit!</p>
<p>I am a Bama grad. My wife is an AU grad. My son will be attending Bama in Fall of 2012. My daughter will probably be attending AU in Fall of 2014.</p>
<p>Honestly, most of the ugliness you see and hear about the rivalry is perpetrated by non grads. Most UA and AU alumni and students have enough gray matter to keep things in perspective.</p>
<p>Having said that, I hate AU and hope they loose every freakin’ game. But I’m not going to poison their trees or burn down their barns or ridicule the people.</p>
<p>I didn’t want to beat the dead horse on the other thread, but I personally think tp in trees is gross. I had one plastic bag high up in one of my trees for years and it drove me crazy. Why would you trash one of the nicest places on your campus? When I was in college, we painted a rock.
Anyway, what does 'bama do to celebrate a win.</p>
<p>The rivalry has historically been confined to good-natured trash talk. The anonymity the internet affords has gone a long way to degrade protocols of good manners and basic human decency to the point where we see new lows reached each passing year. This is just the lastest low.</p>
<p>I bet if look into you will find the TP thing pretty common. I know Wake Forest University has a long history to rolling the quad after a winning game.</p>
<p>Please, let me put an “Out Of State” perspective on this subject. My son chose Alabama not for its football team but for the universities’ opportunities. We could really not have given a fig about the football rivalry. The football rivalry was unknown to us when we started investigating the university. However, we have seen that it is indeed a fun rivalry. </p>
<p>It is easy to either choose to participate in football mania or not. If football is not for you, there are other sports but more importantly there is a great educational opportunity to be had at UA. Choice the university for the reasons that are important to you: great education, unparalleled scholarship opportunities, terrific Honors College or even football. Really the experience you want is up to you.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the rivalry is not restricted to football! There are perceived grievances on both sides that go back to the early battles between two proud but poor state schools fighting for every last crumb of taxpayer support from a poor state. Hopefully, now that Alabama is not as poor, things can change, but I think that it the origin of this mess.</p>
<p>Delusional speech by David Housel. If one listens to this speech, one might get a glimpse of the rivalry from the AU side. Of course, his speech does not necessarily represent the majority of the AU “family”, but it is very interesting nonetheless and offers insight into the Auburn psyche. Also, the facts he cites have all gone the other way since his speech.</p>
but I will tell you this: two of my D’s current roommates date boys who go to Auburn. The people who recommended that D look at schools in AL are Auburn alumni; once D made her decision to go to UA we bought their dog a UA frisbee. All in good fun.</p>
) . I consider the Alabama/Auburn rivalry to be all in good fun. YES football can be intense, but it does not generally go to the extremes you see on some message boards and certainly not to the extent this guy took it when he poisoned those trees. He did NOT attend the University of Alabma, by the way. He is a retired Texas state trooper who currently lives in GA. </p>