The “Third Saturday in October” rivalry between Alabama and Tennessee is way more than just a game, it’s a legendary showdown, and after this Saturday’s clash, you can bet CBS cameras will be dialed in on fans lighting up those victory cigars. This isn’t just some fan thing, though: this iconic tradition, one of the most distinct in college football history, actually kicked off in the locker room before spilling out into the stands for both the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers.
It All Started With A Wild Bet (Seriously!)
You wanna know how this whole cigar thing began? It’s a wild story, for real. Legend has it, back in 1961, longtime Alabama athletic trainer Jim Goostree , who also worked with Tennessee , made a bet with the Crimson Tide. He told them if they could beat the Volunteers outright for the first time since ’54, he’d dance butt-naked in the locker room. Well, No. 5 Alabama went out there and absolutely hammered the Volunteers 34-3 in Birmingham. Goostree, a man of his word, did his dance, victory cigar in tow. The players saw that and were instantly hyped, wanting to join the celebration, and just like that, a tradition was born. For years, according to an ESPN feature from Alex Scarborough in 2020, Goostree would even pack boxes of Tampa Nugget cigars for a Tide win, ready to return them to the drug store for a refund if they lost. Good thing he only had to do that seven times between ’61 and ’83, ’cause Bama rolled over the Vols with a 16-6-1 record in that stretch. Imagine trying to explain that expense report!
How The NCAA Surprisingly Looks The Other Way
For the longest time, both Alabama and Tennessee were super secretive about these victory cigars, even supplying them to players behind closed doors. Why? They were absolutely terrified of the NCAA dropping the hammer with violations for improper player benefits or letting tobacco products into the locker room. But then, things got interesting. After Bama’s 6-3 grind-it-out win over Tennessee in 2005, their first victory in three years and only the third since ’94, the university publicly brought the tradition back. And get this: Alabama officially self-reports it to the NCAA as a secondary violation. Yet, somehow, the organization has surprisingly let this tradition keep rolling with zero issues. Seriously, zero issues! It’s wild, especially now in the social media era, where you see players and even occasional coaches,like a former Volunteer head coach,lighting up. Even legendary coach Nick Saban acknowledged it back in 2013, saying, “I know it’s something that a lot of people really enjoy. It’s not a tradition I started. It’s a tradition that was here that the players have continued. I think it’s something they have fun with. I’m happy that they do. Not really something that I’m interested in.” Clearly, not everyone’s puffing, but the tradition still burns bright.
This “Third Saturday in October” tradition is just one of those things that makes college football so damn special. Get ready to see those victory cigars lit up again this weekend, celebrating another chapter in one of the game’s greatest rivalries. It’s a throwback to a wilder time, kept alive by generations of players and fans, and honestly, you gotta love it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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