Former Alabama Crimson Tide superstar Mark Ingram II knows how SEC rivalries work. Speaking on his Fox Sports podcast, The Triple Option, the Heisman winner broke down the mindset players take into game week. The moment an opponent puts on that rival jersey, all personal friendships stop. For Ingram, Alabama’s legendary rivalries with Auburn and Tennessee are driven by the logo alone, turning off-field buddies into game-day enemies.
Ingram has the credentials to talk like this. During his 2009 Heisman Trophy season, he led the Crimson Tide to an undefeated national championship under head coach Nick Saban. That year, Bama survived two brutal games, a tense 12-10 win over Tennessee and a 26-21 dogfight against Auburn. Ingram finished his college career with a 5-1 record against these two schools, proving he backed up every bit of his trash talk on the field.
While discussing how deep the bad blood goes, Ingram didn’t hold back his true feelings about both programs. “You represent Auburn, which I hate. You represent Tennessee. We do not like you at all, quite frankly, and we want to smoke a cigar on y’all after the game, ’cause that’s what we do,” Ingram stated flatly on the show.
If you are wondering what he meant by wanting to smoke a cigar, it is a direct nod to Alabama’s legendary “Third Saturday in October” victory tradition against the Volunteers. The ritual started in 1961 when Bama athletic trainer Jim Goostree handed out cigars in the locker room to celebrate breaking a six-year winless streak against the Volunteers. Ever since, the winner lights up right after the final whistle.
Even legendary coach Nick Saban, who did not smoke, would chew on a victory cigar just to honor the locker room tradition. On game days in Tuscaloosa and Knoxville, local tobacconists regularly report massive spikes in cigar sales as thousands of fans prepare to celebrate.
Even though folks roll out cigars like they used to back in the ’80s, tobacconists in both Tuscaloosa and Knoxville report that overall cigar sales spike by 30% to 40% on game day. Ingram emphasized that this kind of genuine animosity is exactly what makes college football so special for the fans.
Ingram’s animosity isn’t reserved just for Tennessee. He made sure to direct plenty of shade toward Auburn as well, admitting he cannot stand the “War Eagle” battle cry. The feud between Alabama and Auburn carries its own crazy history.
Alabama and Auburn once refused to play each other for 41 years over a petty $34 dispute regarding referee expenses. Decades later, Bama coach Bear Bryant kept the fire burning by famously dismissing Auburn as “that cow college on the other side of the state.”
Even when Ingram shared off-field friendships with players on those rival squads, that personal affection vanished the second the helmet went on.
“Yes, we can respect the fans, we can respect players in that helmet, but that logo that you represent, that War Eagle that you say, that Volunteer that you represent, I don’t like it at all. And anyone that represents that that day has to get dealt with accordingly. You feel me?”
Ingram’s honest words capture what makes Southern college football so intense. Off the field, players might share mutual respect. But on game day, it comes down to simple math, and that’s to respect the person, but hate the jersey.