You don’t need a chart to tell you that Auburn and Alabama fans equate an Iron Bowl loss with the end of the world, but it’s nice to have a scientific point of reference.
From a blurb in the April 1993 issue of Harper’s Magazine citing “Perception of Threatening Events in the Emotional Aftermath of a Televised College Football Game,” a study first published in the Spring 1992 Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media:
Immediately following the December 1, 1990 ‘Iron Bowl’ football game between Auburn University and the University of Alabama, the authors asked students at each university who had watched the televised game to assess the likelihood of war with Iraq (on a scale of 1–10) and to estimate the number of American casualties that would occur if war broke out. The responses were compared with those of control groups of students on each campus who hadn’t watched the game. Alabama defeated Auburn, 16-7; the researchers found that the “distraught fans” at Auburn deemed a war “significantly more likely and devastating, in loss of life, than did their ecstatic counterparts” at Alabama.
We’re not sure how much representative stock you can put in data gleaned from students who didn’t watch the Iron Bowl (how many were there?)*
But we’re pretty sure that were a similar experiment to have been conducted in the immediate aftermath of the 2010 Iron Bowl, half the Bama students would’ve checked “90 percent probability” to Cam Newton being an actual terrorist or something.
* But thank God they all sucked at guessing back—the actual number of U.S. casualties during the Gulf War? 294.
…
Keep Reading:
* Auburn is the question, Cam the answer on Jeopardy!
* Derek Jeter’s guardian angel spotted—and he’s an Auburn fan
* Ad for a Wet T-shirt Contest at Nichol’s Alley
* Pat Dye buying sunglasses
* Muhammad Al on the Haley Center concourse
* Playboy in Auburn, 1989
* Outer Space is full of Auburn shirts
I wonder what the chart would’ve read after the 2008 Iron Bowl? *ubarn wins six straight games (though they are tainted due to the Sociology scandal, signing bonuses, and $1000 sacks) and after their first loss in over half a decade, they immediately turn on their most successful coach in modern history because of one loss. It makes you wonder…
If *ubarn loses to Alabama for the third time in four years, this season, I have a feeling Malzahn may be replacing Cheez-it shortly thereafter.
LaMarcus, what has that big contract with Nabas got $PUAT?
($candal Plagued University of Alabama at Tuscalooser)
2 Wins and 2 Losses vs AU is what…
and ole Nabas is a lifetime 3-4 vs AU….
So, why should AU fear anything Bammer?
Answer is they don’t…
The 70’s are gone and leisure suits will come back before Bama dominates AU like those days…
Hint, check the AU vs Bama record W v L since 1982 when CPD broke the
chokehold Bama had…
What’s a ‘*ubarn?’
*Ubarn is the most clever insult to the name he can come up with… either that or he can’t spell :O)