Assessing Alabama, Tide fans’ feelings ahead of rekindled rivalry with Tennessee

One of the more unforgettable games from last season, for the winners as much as the losers, was No. 6 Tennessee’s 52-49 win over No. 3 Alabama that ended the Volunteer’s 15-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide. Now, with the third Saturday in October almost upon us again, BamaOnline’s Tim Watts expects a fitting response from ‘Bama and their fanbase.

Watts joined ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Sunday to talk about Alabama, including their matchup with the Vols next weekend. He thinks it will have the same energy as all of their games in the series but does anticipate a little extra from the home team based on what happened a year ago.

“I’ve never really remembered a time when the game didn’t mean something to somebody,” said Watts. “I know it has been a very streaky series but I think Alabama fans always wanted to win and Tennessee fans always wanted to win.”

“You look at Alabama’s angle, just speaking from their angle after last year? You know how mad they were,” Watts added. “To lose the game, you saw the celebration which, obviously, is irritating when you’re on the other end of it. Plus to lose in the fashion they did? I mean that was one of the craziest games I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.”

Watts continued on to talk about the rivalry with the context of last year’s contest added in. He said that the buzzer-beating, Top-10 contest from a season ago has lit a new fire in the fanbases and their hopes of beating on another as competitors.

“I can tell you the difference is a couple times over the last few years? They would say, ‘Hey, who is our biggest rival?’. That was the discussion that you really didn’t see. And you had people saying Tennessee wasn’t one of them,” explained Watts. “I bet, you ask them now, they feel like that they’re back to rivals.”

“These games have been streaky. I’ve been on the other side of it, I’ve seen Tennessee run off some – I had a couple brothers that were Tennessee fans,” said Watts. “I’ve seen both sides of this. But I think Alabama fans will definitely be up for this game.

Both sides will have to let go of last season’s result in some sense this week. At the end of the day, this is a brand-new season with new hopes for each side. That’s why, heading into next Saturday’s Top-20 edition of this rivalry, Watts is expecting another classic with what all is up for grabs again.

“There’s a lot for Alabama (to play for). And, of course, Tennessee is playing well, they want to win that game,” Watts said. “There’s a lot on the line for both these teams.”