Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em: Alabama Players Celebrate 14th-Consecutive Victory Over Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After defeating Tennessee 48-17 for its 14th-consecutive victory over the Volunteers, Alabama football celebrated the same way it's done every year since 1961:
Smoking cigars.
Along with fans, Alabama players and coaches share the tradition of smoking in the locker room after winning the Third Saturday in October. While Tennessee shares in the tradition, they haven't been able to celebrate since 2006.
The tradition started under Paul 'Bear' Bryant's era as head coach of the Crimson Tide. Bryant was well-known for despising Tennessee, as did his team's trainer, Jim Goostree. Goostree was an assistant coach at Tennessee before joining Alabama, and in the fall of 1961 made a bet with his players that if they could beat the Volunteers, he would dance in the locker room naked.
Alabama did win, defeating Tennessee 34-3. True to his word, Goostree did as he promised, adding a victory cigar to the routine.
Fortunately for both Alabama and Tennessee, the cigar was the only part of the tradition that stuck around.
"It's always a great win," Saban said. "It's a great rivalry game. I know it means a lot to a lot of people in the state of Alabama and certainly proud of our players for the effort that they put in and the game we played. It's always good to win."
Below is a compilation of Alabama players and their cigar posts on social media following the Crimson Tide's win over the Volunteers on Saturday night, including some coaches and former players:
