Alabama fans invite UPS driver into home to watch end of Iron Bowl

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A UPS driver delivering a package to a home where fans were watching Saturday’s Iron Bowl received a special treat from his fellow University of Alabama rooters — he got to watch the thrilling finish from their living room.

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And what a finish it was, as No. 8 Alabama converted on 4th-and-goal from the Auburn 31. Jalen Milroe’s last-gasp touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond gave the Crimson Tide an improbable 27-24 victory against Auburn University. The victory kept Alabama’s hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff tournament alive.

Chris and Melissa Roberts of Tuscaloosa were on the edge of their seats as the Tide desperately put together a late fourth-quarter drive when they heard a knock at their door, AL.com reported.

What timing. There was 2:15 to play and Alabama needed a few inches to keep their drive alive. Chris Roberts opened the door, and hearing the game blaring on the driver’s radio in the UPS truck, invited him inside.

“I say, ‘Hey, it’s 4th-and-1, do you want to come in and watch it?’” Chris told AL.com. “And he says, ‘Sure.’ So he comes in and sits in my chair, and we watch the rest of the game together.”

Roydell Williams gained 3 yards to keep the drive alive and the Tide was at the Tigers’ 7-yard-line with 1:43 to play. But after a bad snap lost 18 yards and a penalty pushed them back another 5 yards, the Crimson Tide faced 4th-and-goal from Auburn’s 31-yard line, the news outlet reported.

Then, Milroe and Bond connected, with the receiver coming down with the football in the left corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score with 32 seconds to play, stunning the Auburn faithful at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“I don’t know if my wife has ever hugged a man whose last name she didn’t know in my house,” Chris Roberts told AL.com.

“When Chris said, ‘We’ve got company. He’s coming to watch the game,’ I was like ‘Absolutely he should come in and watch the game.’” Melissa Roberts told the news outlet. “I said, ‘Maybe you’ll bring us good luck.’ And so when we scored the touchdown, that’s why I hugged him. He was holding his hand up for a high-five, and I was like, ‘Oh no, you’re our good luck, I’ve got to have a hug.’ I was just thrilled Chris thought to do that.”

The driver stayed for a few more minutes, and when Alabama intercepted an Auburn pass to seal the victory, he went back to work.

“My son gave him a high-five, I shook his hand, my wife hugged him, and he was out the door to deliver packages,” Chris Roberts told AL.com. “There are probably 30 people in Tuscaloosa who will get their packages a little bit later, but will not care less about it.”