Former Alabama DB Roman Harper: We dislike Auburn, but we ‘hate’ Tennessee
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The third Saturday of every October heralds in the annual renewal of one of the best rivalry games in all of college football between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers.
These 2 bitter rivals have been meeting up on the gridiron for the past 124 years, and they will be facing off once again on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa to write a new chapter in their shared history.
Given the nature of this rivalry, there isn’t a lot of love lost between the Vols and the Tide, and former Alabama safety turned SEC Network analyst Roman Harper understands that better than anybody.
“Let me tell you about Tennessee, we hate Tennessee,” Harper said on SEC Nation Saturday morning. “This is Tennessee hate week. We don’t even talk about it. Don’t get it twisted, the reason you hear Rocky Top blaring at practice all week long is because you are trained to hate this team. Everybody talks about Auburn being our biggest rivalry, and that may be true, but we dislike Auburn. The word ‘hate’ only gets brought up for Tennessee.”
Harper played with the Tide from 2002-05, going 2-2 against the Vols during that time, so his experience with the rivalry is a bit more intimate than most. If Tennessee can get the win today, then it will also be the first time since Harper was roaming the secondary for the Tide back in 2003 that they have beaten their hated rivals in Tuscaloosa.
