There is also a Facebook page dedicated to this very subject. Jonathan Mitchell is the Alabama fan who started the Facebook page, and he and others have been working on putting together some kind of game to raise money.

Mitchell said his idea is in the planning stage, but he gave a few details that could be associated with the game.

The players who will participate have to be out of college at least two years and cannot be competing in the NFL. He also pointed out it is more likely to be a flag football game.

Most people cannot stand the idea of a preseason scrimmage. And I agree.

I like the idea of alumni scrimmage better than a scrimmage of the current Alabama-Auburn rosters. It looks like a great idea on paper for the current team scrimmage; however, a Dont’a Hightower preseason shot to Michael Dyer’s knee isn’t exactly what I would want to see. I’m not saying Hightower would try to hurt Dyer, but this is football and injuries happen. So, therefore, a preseason scrimmage between the two would be a bad idea.

I am warming up to the alumni game though. Almost anything to help raise money for tornado relief, I’m so for it, but I’m not for a preseason scrimmage because of the risk of injury.

Do you think this is a good idea?

Most predictions I’ve seen for the 2011 Auburn Tigers are that the upcoming season will a forgetable one for the Auburn faithful. Most people assume that Auburn will compete with the two Mississippi teams for cellar dweller in the SEC West. You may consider me a homer, or an eternal optimist, but I’ve seen this movie before.

In the Fall of 1972, I was a freshman at Auburn University. The year before, Auburn had their first Heisman Trophy winner in Pat Sullivan. Pat Sullivan to Terry Beasley was one of the top offensive combinations in SEC history. Both graduated, along with the starting tailback and a host of other starters. To make matters worse, Auburn lost the heir apparent to Sullivan to an injury in the off-season. 1972 looked dire for the Tigers, with most predictions being a 3-win season.

1972 began slowly for the Tigers, with a close win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs before classes began, and a tight 14-7 win over UT-Chattanooga. The offense was held scoreless by the Moccasins, with both scores coming on punt returns. Even at 2-0, it was looking like the predicitions may have been right. However, 1972 played out a lot like 2010 for Auburn, with the Tigers finding a way to win. Their only loss was to LSU in Baton Rouge, and their season ended with one of the most famous Iron Bowls ever. After blocking an extra point in the first half against the Tide, they blocked Alabama’s last two punts of the fourth quarter, returning them both for touchdowns, and winning 17-16. This game spawned the cheer “Punt Bama Punt”. Auburn would go on to crush Colorado in the Gator Bowl, and finish in the top five in the nation.

In 1985, Auburn would have their second Heisman Trophy winner in Bo Jackson. With Bo graduating in 1985, many assumed Auburn would sink back to the middle of the pack in the SEC. Auburn had lost the last two Iron Bowls, with one of them being the infamous “Wrong Way Bo” game, where Auburn was going for the win on a goalline fourth down play, with Brent Fullwood getting the ball and going one way, while Bo, who was supposed to block for him, went the other way. With Bo graduating, Alabama assumed they were going to dominate Auburn as they did for most of the 1970s. Chants of “Two in a row, and no more Bo” could be heard in every corner of the state.

Expectations were low for Auburn in 1986, but once again the unheralded Tigers rose to exceed expectations. Auburn’s only two losses in 1986 were a one-point loss to Florida in Gainesville, and a four point loss to Georgia. They would finish the season with a 21-17 win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl, and a 16-7 win over USC in the Citrus Bowl. Auburn would build off of this momentum to win the following three SEC championships; 1987, 1988, 1989.

In 1992, Auburn football had hit the rocks. Auburn had just finished it’s second consecutive losing season, had been hit with NCAA probation and had lost their head coach, Pat Dye. Once again, nothing was expected of this Tiger team in 1993. Auburn would finish the season as the only undefeated team in the country, with an 11-0 record, and their last win being 22-14 over Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Auburn has a knack for exceeding expectations. It’s when they’re the most dangerous. Even last year, they were picked to finish 4th in the SEC West. I don’t know what 2011 holds, but I have seen this movie before. Once again Auburn is graduating a Heisman Trophy winner. Once again there is little expected of them. Granted, Auburn does have a serious problem with experience, but they are also loaded with talent. With a top 20 recruiting class in 2009, followed up with two top five classes in 2010 and 2011, the talent is there, and with the youth they’ll be playing, watch out for this squad for years to come. What does 2011 hold? Who knows? I don’t think there will be a repeat of 2010, but I also think it’ll be a better season than 2009.

This Saturday, March 5th, Duke will square off against UNC.  Both are great teams historically and currently.  It’s a matchup that will likely be for the regular season ACC Championship.  It will be watched by many college basketball fans.

There’s just one problem: it’s completely meaningless.

It really doesn’t matter who wins the game.  The next week, the two teams will then battle in the ACC tournament and may play each other again.  This is still sort of meaningless, but at least you can win a conference title (something that really nobody cares about in basketball either).

All that matters is that both of these two teams are in the field of 68 for the NCAA tournament.  And of course they both will be in the field.

And there you have the biggest problem with college basketball and a huge reason why college football should avoid at any costs pursuing a similar course.  It’s such a worthless regular season, where college football is anything but.

It’s essentially the equivalent of the Iron Bowl at the end of the year between Alabama and Auburn.  Then having the same two teams meet again in a playoff a couple weeks later.  You would drop the intensity of the Iron Bowl dramatically, even if the fans indeed hate each other.

The UNC / Duke rivalry has intense fans, but again, the game is meaningless because of the structure of the NCAA basketball postseason.

Keep this in mind all you BCS haters.

Before anyone thinks I’m here to belittle the Alabama faithful, you’re absolutely wrong. Auburn people may not have poisoned a tradition, but they did some pretty stupid things. My son was the first person to show me the picture of the Bear Bryant statue with the Cam Newton jersey on it. I told him at the time that this picture was in very poor taste, and was also very stupid. Anyone who understands a rivalry game KNOWS you don’t give the other team locker room fodder. You know the coaches had one of those pictures in every locker in the Alabama dressing room at Bryant-Denny Stadium before the Iron Bowl, and Alabama came out and played like a team on fire in the first half.

I’m not going to get into the money thrown at Cam Newton before the Iron Bowl. In honesty, that’s always been part of the game. I can remember when opposing teams used to wave pizza boxes at Charles Barkley when he was at Auburn. Allowing “Take the Money and Run”, and “Son of a Preacher Man” to play over the Bryant-Denny Stadium was a bit over the top, though.

One other thing that has taken off like the Cam Newton rumors is the internet rumblings repeating the claims of “Al from Dadeville” that Auburn students rolled Toomer’s Corner when Bear Bryant passed away in 1983. Paul Finebaum was a writer for the Birmingham Post-Herald in 1983, and he stated emphatically to “Al” that it never happened… that he would have known about it or read about it if it had. There has now been an exhaustive search done, and no newspaper, radio or television station has a record of any such story. There is no one old enough to remember Bear Bryant’s death, that can remember this supposed incident. So, can we stop fanning the flames with that falsehood?

However, as an Auburn fan, I’ll be the first to admit that we have sometimes laughed a little too hard at things that were in very bad taste. I’ve seen pictures of a skeleton dressed like the Bear at Auburn-Alabama games, with signs saying, “Shake the Bear’s hand. $5″. If we’re ever going to make a better rivalry out of the Iron Bowl, it’s going to take both sides looking inward, instead of both sides pointing fingers outward. I’ve seen a lot of that over the past few days; Alabama people putting together drives to help try and save the trees, and Auburn people who are accepting this help with an open heart, instead of plotting their revenge. It’s times like this that give me hope that we can all get past this, and learn from it.

Trees or no trees, there will be celebrations on Toomer’s Corner. They didn’t start rolling the trees until the 1970s. Before that they rolled the power lines around the intersection. Putting the power lines underground didn’t stop the tradition of rolling Toomer’s Corner, and if the trees die off, the Auburn family will still find something to roll, even if the University has to create something for them. The trees may die, but as long as there is the Auburn spirit, the tradition will carry on.

When Auburn defeated LSU last weekend, all eyes turned to the Iron Bowl as the determinant game for the SEC West this season. Though Auburn now stands in the No. 1 spot in the BCS poll, I argue that the Tide’s biggest remaining challenge this season awaits them in Death Valley next weekend, over the Iron Bowl.

Iron Bowl Always Difficult

I do not expect either Auburn or Alabama to dominate the Iron Bowl. The tension between these teams runs high and players tend to compete beyond their means when facing rivals on the field.

Auburn fans are quick to point to Alabama’s loss at South Carolina to proclaim Alabama vulnerable this November; however, a look at a few of Auburn’s games this season reveals similar weaknesses. An overtime win over an ACC Clemson team, and a last-minute game-winning field goal to beat Kentucky do not scream invincibility.

Alabama also holds the home advantage in the bowl. The Tide has not been defeated in Tuscaloosa since 2007, a winning streak players will be vehemently against losing to Auburn.

Auburn hails Cam Newton as the key to defeating the Tide, but Alabama plays well against teams with good quarterbacks. Look no further than 2009, when Alabama defeated Tim Tebow’s Florida Gators in the SEC Championship game, and more recently Ryan Mallet’s Razorbacks, have provided the Tide players with good practice in the effective handling of stand-out quarterbacks. The defense tends to rise to the occasion.

Overall, the Iron Bowl will belong to whichever team shows up to compete. The bowl is always tense and victory belongs to whoever plays the hardest, not who enters with the best ranking.

The Teams by the Numbers Right Now

Record	7 and 1	8 and 0
Average Spread Over Opponents	18.625	13.875
Average Points Scored For	34.25	38.625
Average Points Scored Against	12.5	23.5

Playing LSU in Death Valley

No team looks forward to a meeting in Death Valley, especially a team whose last road game ended in a loss. Alabama plays worse on the road; its only loss and small-margin win against Arkansas, have been the Tide’s two worst performances of the season.

The home advantage held by LSU in Death Valley does not hold a quantifiable value; LSU’s often raucous fan-base is known for its spirit and fervor nationwide. LSU also holds a dear place in their hearts for former Coach Nick Saban, and Tiger fans dream of an upset.

The Tide tends to struggle not in high profile games, but in those without hype or extreme publicity. Alabama also struggles against teams that lack a key player, and rely on well-rounded offensive and defensive strategies.

South Carolina employed this strategy in their defeat of Alabama and as did the teams which gave Alabama the greatest challenges last year- LSU and Tennessee. LSU’s unusual dual-quarterback scheme will be unlike anything the Tide has encountered this season and may cause some hiccups for the team’s young defense in terms of preparation and adjustments. They simply cannot take the lack of quarterback production lightly.

The most difficult component of the LSU game may be the simple fact that it appears before Auburn on Alabama’s schedule. In preparation for playing the undefeated rival at home the Tide may be tempted to overlook LSU in its anticipation.

The Tide must remember that LSU’s only loss this season is to that same rival, Auburn, and that they must play this game with as much enthusiasm and effort to achieve a victory in Death Valley, as they would in the upcoming Iron Bowl.