Much respect goes to Hugh Roberts.
You probably never heard of the early 20th century sports editor of a long dead Birmingham newspaper, but you know his work. He surely wrote thousands and thousands of words for the Birmingham Age-Herald but two live on forever.
Roberts in 1907 was the first to refer to the Alabama football team as the “Crimson Tide.” That’s a legacy-making moment that’ll live on forever.
And it was that concept that led to my own selfish attempt at matching Monday.
Rarely does the opportunity -- or the illusion of one -- present itself to coin a new piece of the lexicon. A new entry in the sporting vocabulary of a sports mad state.
I sought to rename the basketball rivalry between Alabama and Auburn.
Intentions were noble in a bid to join Roberts in the word creation business because it felt like the “Iron Bowl of Basketball” didn’t show proper respect to the sport, programs or the event.
It’s like an afterthought of football.
No creativity. Just a fill-in-the-blank kind of name.
So I tried to get the brain waves flowing with a column Monday that offered a few suggested names.
In retrospect, my efforts weren’t ready for primetime. They were trying to fit a formula that honors the state symbols, exports, food groups, etc.
Nobody really liked them.
I’m no Hugh Roberts.
But I also asked you, the readers, to add candidates to the mythical ballot.
Turns out you’re no Hugh Roberts, either.
My email and social media lit up with a combination of people calling me stupid and suggestions that ranged from earnest to, well ... here’s the list.
- Dixieland Duel
- Red Dirt Rumble or Red Dirt Roadshow
- The Battle for the Heart of Dixie
- Barner-Bammer Classic
- The War Games
- AlabamaMADNESS
- The Tip of the Iron
- Alabama Hammer/Alabama Thriller
- Ironwood
- The Dixieland Delight
- The Dixieland Dispute
- The Southern Brawl
- BasketBrawl
- The Hardwood Hustle Cup
- Iron Hoop
- Iron Ring
- The Ore Floor
- Black Belt Bash/Banger
- Basketball’s Iron Bowl
- Yellowham Jam Slam
- War Pachyderm
- The War between Red and Blue
- Iron Basket or Iron Dance
- Iron Basket
- Iron Ball (a few sent this one)
- The Iron Court Rivalry
- Iron Hoops
- Heart of Dixie
- The BasketBrawl
- The Dixieland Dance
- The Copperhead Classic
- The Ore War
-
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the level of participation this thought exercise drew. Most of those who didn’t curse me out put in the work to find something that links these rivals.
But none of them hit me as a real marketable name that will become part of our day-to-day vocabulary.
We tried.
We failed.
At the very least, we got the creative juices flowing so that, perhaps, something organic will sprout from this field of rot.
IBOB if you choose.
But the spirit of Hugh Roberts will strike us eventually and this rivalry will emerge from its football shadow with a name that properly honors the sport.
