Alabama wrapped up its clash with the Tennessee Volunteers in a cloud of cigar smoke as Crimson Tide fans began celebrating before the final whistle. The Tide secured a 37-20 win in the storied “Third Saturday in October” rivalry, extending their dominance over the Volunteers. The cigar-smoking tradition traces back roughly 60 years to the Bear Bryant era, and Alabama fans are committed to keeping it alive, even if it means filling up the entire stadium with smoke. It looks like the Vols’ celebration last year is still haunting them hard.

The annual rivalry has long been a marquee moment in college football, and this year, Alabama came in seeking revenge after last season’s three consecutive road losses. The Tide aimed to contain Tennessee’s dynamic offense. This storied win improves its standing in the national rankings and marks a fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season. Their move? Filling up the stadium with smoke as the Alabama Crimson Tide hit X with the video of fans lighting up cigars with a caption that reads: “Alabama fans already smoking cigars with 2 minutes left in the game.” Imagine selling off 10,000 cigars just to celebrate victory. It looks like Alabama doesn’t believe in learning from past mistakes.

Well, can we blame them? Last year, Tennessee’s students pulled off the same stunt when their students were smoking cigars. Even though they drew a lot of hate for letting kids smoke from Joel Klatt and many other analysts, there was no going back from it. Look, college football lives for its exciting traditions. It’s either the Iowa Hawkeye wave or the Wisconsin jump-around; fans tend to follow it. And one among them is Alabama and Tennessee’s cigar-smoking ritual, which is done by the winning team. Now, this tradition started back in 1961 when Bama’s athletic trainer Jim Goostree gave players cigars after a 34-3 win against the Volunteers. Since then it has become a part of this rivalry game.

But if you don’t recall, cigar celebration is technically against the NCAA rules because of the involvement of tobacco, which is banned, but players, fans, and students tend to follow it in honor of their tradition. Last season wide receiver Chris Braswell II smoked a cigar after the Vols’ 24-17 win against Alabama. So it’s pretty clear that nobody can take the tradition out of them.

Interestingly, both Alabama and Tennessee take their cigars from local providers. Bama gets it from R&R Cigars in Tuscaloosa, which supplies it to them because of the connection between their owner, Regan Starner, and Alabama’s former assistant, Mike Locksley. Coming to Tennessee, they get it from Nashville-based Ozgener Family Cigars, which got them cigars back in 2022 after their historic win against Bama, which even broke their 15-game losing streak. So, it’s pretty clear that fans and players don’t just see this as a tradition but as a symbolic moment that defines their dominance.

Even though Kalen DeBoer is still left to experience the cigar moment, as he said, “I haven’t gotten into that yet.” Players and fans are already celebrating their dominance.

Alabama’s strong game against Tennessee

Alabama didn’t lose a single game at home since 2003, and Kalen DeBoer made sure it remained the same. Every player was in their best form; just take Ty Simpson for starters, who completed 19 of 29 passes for 253 yards with two touchdowns. He’s the same guy who was once backing up behind Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe and is now making an early impact with his passing skills and impressive decision-making.

Even Kalen DeBoer couldn’t hold back his praise for him. “He’s amped up. For him, I think it is balancing the emotions and staying within himself … He’s kind of understanding where that fine line is for him.” … “He just prepares so hard for every game,” DeBoer said. With their offense, even their defense was in full swing. The turning point of the game came in before halftime when Bama’s cornerback Zabien Brown intercepted Joey Aguilar’s pass and sprinted 100 yards for a touchdown.

Look, Tennessee came into the game as the highest-scoring team with 48.2 points per game. But they couldn’t do the same against Bama, as their momentum was slowed down by a false start penalty and a failed scoring drive for the first time this season.  This makes it their 6th back-to-back win in the season. Now let’s wait and see if they can double down on momentum and continue their run or not.