A Little News

We have been banned from this workroom ever since this

You guys seem to really have eaten up this Iron Bowl stuff.  So shamelessly playing to your interest, I thought I would share some Iron Bowl memories with you.  This was my fifteenth football season in Decatur and during that time I think I have covered eleven Iron Bowls.  I have worked with a variety of other photojournalists in that time beginning with my current boss John Godbey.  That list includes Scott Trigg, David Higginbotham, Dan Henry, Emily Saunders, Jonathan Palmer and most recently Deangelo McDaniel.  I must be pretty tough on co-workers ehh?  And I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone.

How about a list of my Iron Bowl goofs.  Oh yeah, this could be a long list.  My very first Iron Bowl was in 1994 and was at Legion Field.  I was still in my first year at the paper and was shooting with John Godbey.  John’s sister lived in Birmingham and he was going to shoot the whole game and process at her home.  I was to shoot the first half, take all the film for both of us and head back to Decatur to process that take.  I shot and scooted without remembering to get John’s film.

That was a minor SNAFU compared with the 1996 Iron Bowl also played in Birmingham.  Scott Trigg was my partner for that game and it was a night game in Legion Field.  Scott was shooting the first half and leaving with our film to go to his girl friend’s home just outside Birmingham.  I would shoot the whole game and then run over as soon as possible after the game with my film.  It is somewhat traditional to get a photo of the coaches at mid-field after the game but I decided not to so I could beat as much traffic out as possible.  As soon as the buzzer sounded ending the game I dashed to my car and busted out of the parking lot as fast as I could go.  I got to Scott’s girl friend’s home and his first question was, “Did you get Stallings at the end of the game?”  It was only then that I found out that Coach Stallings had announced his retirement during the post-game press conference.

During the 2000 Iron Bowl no one scored a touchdown.  I believe the final score was Auburn 9 Alabama 0.  Neither I nor David Higginbotham bothered to send a photo of the field goal kicker who was the only person to score.  That Iron Bowl was also the coldest I have ever been.  The game began with sleet and progressed to an extremely cold rain.  My thermal gear was all soaked by half-time and I had no other coat to wear in the second half except a thin, vinyl rain coat.  I nearly froze.  (Don’t laugh out loud there Corey.)  I spent more time shivering during the second half than I did shooting.  This was also the infamous Bear hugging incident where Dave found a larger than life sized Bear Bryant statue carved from a tree and spent a little time hugging it.  Needless to say, there is now a restraining order against Dave filed by the spirit of Bear Bryant.

I have also had a hard time keeping up with monopods at the Iron Bowl.  I lost my second one at this year’s event.  I have no idea what happened to it.  I left my personal monopod beneath the hedge at Auburn a few years ago and have never seen it since.  Weird, I know.  At least it is not long glass I am losing.  Oh, and lest I forget, there was the photo of Jerraud Powers, the guy from Decatur, making a key interception in the 07 Iron Bowl.  It was only the play that kind of turned the game.  No big deal right!  But, I had the photo, toned it and then saved it in the wrong folder and never transmitted it.  Yeah, fun times.

A rare photo of me working. Double meaning intended! Photo by Deangelo McDaniel

I do have good memories too.  It is always a great pleasure to get together with a lot of other shooters in the state.  There is some really good talent in that photo work room.  We also get together after the game for the annual Shrimp Boil.  I didn’t hang around this year but the Shrimp Boil is usually hosted by the group from the Mobile Press-Register and it is a great social time.  There is a lot of good natured verbal jousting and some excellent fellowship.  Oh yeah, it is great to cover the biggest game of the year in Alabama.  This is the year round game.  It never really ends, it just kind of morphs into mythology and begins again the next November.  To be part of that legendary game is just really cool. Every now and then I even make a picture worth publishing so over all, the Iron Bowl is really great experience.

By the way, did I mention that when the Auburn Tigers win at home they run down to Toomer’s Corner and roll a huge tree there with toilet paper.  I guess everyone to his own thing but that just seems a little weird to me.  I guess it beat setting police cars on fire and vandalizing property like some of our brethren in larger cities do when their team wins.  Well, let me leave you with a big Roll Tide since Bama won this season and , yes, I do have loyalties in this game but only when I am sitting home in my living room watching on TV.  There is nothing more annoying or out of place than photographers being fans on the sideline.

There you go then, some memories good and bad of Iron Bowls past and still looking forward to Iron Bowls future.  My fondest wish for future Iron Bowls is that both Alabama and Auburn go into the game unbeaten.  It’s always nice to have a little something on the line.

Photos copyright Deangelo McDaniel and Gary Cosby Jr.  The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.