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Rival - hated foe - the enemy.
When it comes to college football there are plenty of rivals. Every state has two schools that really hate to lose to the other.
I grew up in Alabama and every child has to declare at birth his or her allegiance to either Alabama or Auburn and their parents hope their first words spoken are "War Eagle" or "Roll Tide."
As a third generation Auburn man, my favorite colors are orange and blue.
The war between the Tigers and the Tide was played for years in Birmingham, thus the title - "The Iron Bowl".
It is the greatest rivalry in college football as it literally stops the state on the day of the game. The teams didn't play from 1907 to 1948 because of various arguments between the schools. Alabama leads the series 38-31-1, but Auburn has now won four in a row.
As proud Troy University graduate, the team we Trojans hated was Jacksonville State. The Battle for the "The Ol' School Bell" was the most important game of the year when I was a student and a short-term member of the Sound of the South marching band before focusing on my journalism future.
When Troy began its move up to Division I-A, the game was halted, but the road trips to Jacksonville and the parade at Troy the week of the JSU games were something I will always remember.
Here in Louisiana there are also several rivalry games that are played at the end of each season.
<center><p><a href="http://www.dailyworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051128/SPORTS/511280313/1006">The rest of the story</a>
Tom Dodge
Heads or Tails Column
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The annual clash between Grambling and Southern known as the "The Bayou Classic" was forced to move to Houston because of Hurricane Katrina.
Southern leads the series 27-26 and the series is tied 14-14 since the game has been called the Bayou Classic.
Almost as important as the final score is which band won the "Battle of the Bands" at halftime.
The other rival game is the battle for that huge trophy known as "The Golden Boot" when LSU and Arkansas meet.
LSU leads the series 32-17-2 and since the trophy was created the Tigers are ahead 9-3.
The "Golden Boot" is a trophy that bears the likenesses of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana. Put together, they look like a boot; hence the name. The trophy is 4-feet tall, weighs 200 pounds. But that is not the biggest trophy played for in the state of Louisiana.
My wife graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, the oldest settlement in Louisiana. Each year the Demons face Stephen F. Austin from Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas . The two teams play for the country's largest football trophy - Chief Caddo stands 7 feet 6 inches in height and weighs over 320 pounds.
I am making a suggestion to University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Louisiana at Monroe to do a better job promoting their annual contest as a rivalry game.
A "The Battle on the Bayou" trophy was shown by ESPN at Saturday's game - but it pales in comparison to the "Golden Boot" or "Chief Caddo."
They really could do a better design - the rivalry is growing so should the trophy.
If they want to stay with that present reward for the spoils maybe they should add a huge flag with state's outline on it with a fleur-de-lis and the Indian feathers.
I am writer not an artist - so I will leave the design to someone else. George Rodrique could do great job with the banner.
But the two schools really need to promote the game better and involve both the alumni and student bodies.
Every one else has a huge rival game - why not ULL and ULM?
Tom Dodge is the sports editor of the Daily World.
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