When it comes to college football, it all comes down to bragging rights within the borders of Alabama.

Any athletic event between the Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide is considered an Iron Bowl. With football, it’s a tradition that started in Birmingham on Feb. 22, 1893. The Tigers won that first match-up, 32-22, and a strong rivalry was born.

“I think the rivalry is so different because of what it used to be,” Alabama sophomore and Million Dollar Band member Kyle Peace said. “It was two mediocre teams that just played for bragging rights.”

Now, the game switches between Tuscaloosa and Auburn. The rivalry is still going strong, maybe even more so.

Since coach Nick Saban came to Alabama in 2007, Alabama leads in Iron Bowl victories, 4-3.

Sophomore Natalie Garner is from Montgomery, which is closer to Auburn than it is Tuscaloosa, and grew up knowing and living this rivalry. Her brother, Morgan Garner, played for the Crimson Tide from 2004 to 2008.

“In the Iron Bowl, it doesn’t matter what anyone’s record is,” Garner said. “Anything can happen, and that’s what makes it so different.”

Regardless of Auburn’s record, Alabama fans think defeating them feels so much better than beating any other team.

Although Alabama has rivalries with other SEC schools, such as LSU and Tennessee, its rivalry with Auburn is on a different level. It also cannot be compared because it’s an in-state rivalry.

It’s as if there’s only room for one college football team in this state. Alabama’s dislike towards Auburn is – simply put – different.

“I don’t quite know how to describe it, but I’m sure [other Alabama fans] know what I’m talking about,” Peace said.

And they do.

Senior Heather Adams attended the Iron Bowls in Bryant-Denny Stadium and said the atmosphere is more exciting.

“There is only one team we feel like we have to beat every year, and that’s Auburn,” she said. “We have to have those bragging rights.”

Having a lot of close friends who go to Auburn, senior Kayley Woodham said talking about the Iron Bowl is a year-round thing. She grew up in Alabama and remembers even before college, she’d spend almost the full class time talking about it sometimes.

Til this day, things can still get heated between her and her friends when discussing anything Alabama or Auburn sports wise, especially during football games.

“I’d be careful with what I said because it could get real ugly, real quick,” she said.

Woodham has experienced an Iron Bowl in both Bryant-Denny and Jordan-Hare. She said Bryant-Denny has more energy during the Iron Bowl than it does any other game. It’s easier to fully get into and lose yourself in that game compared to others because the rivalry is so competitive.

In Jordan-Hare, she said although it’s friendly competition, it’s not the best idea going into the Auburn student section as an Alabama fan.

“It’s not the best feeling in the world,” she said. “You don’t want to go in by yourself, that’s for sure.”

Adams isn’t an Alabama native – she’s from Florida – but even she has always understood the bragging rights that accompany an Iron Bowl victory.

After how the last second of the 2013 Iron Bowl played out, every Auburn and Alabama fan knows about the bragging rights. It makes it that much more important to win the following year after a loss, because once a team wins, it’s fair game until it loses.

Alabama came back in 2014 and won at home.

“We wanted to make sure we never had to watch the kick six again,” Adams said.

Right now, Alabama holds the bragging rights, but the 2015 Iron Bowl will be in Jordan-Hare on Nov. 28. On that day, all bets are off until the clock runs out.

Whether it’s about the bragging rights or the long-lasting, in-state rivalry, Alabama fans do not want to see Auburn prosper.

“We genuinely want Auburn to lose,” Peace said. “Whether it be in football or chess, I never want them to win.”