Dixie's Football Pride

In 2022, an invented controversy arose concerning the word Dixie. Individuals supposedly associated with the University of Alabama felt the word did not belong in the UA Fight Song. Dixie, the traditional name for the South, appeared to be fine in the typically raucous Dixieland Delight.

As I referenced in a previous article (August 2020), the word Dixie is generally thought to have originated from the French word “dix,” which referenced a $10 bank note. It morphed into the land of Dixies. For example, the old TV Show, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, has several episodes where financial transactions are made using Dixies.

After the unsuccessful War for Southern Independence, Southern States were occupied and held under martial law for about a dozen years—the South was severely punished for seeking independence. One version of history contends the Southern States agreed to support Rutherford B. Hayes in return for his removal of the occupation troops. Military subjugation of the South was a catalyst for the Posse Comitatus Act of 1877, which disallowed federal troops from being involved in domestic affairs.

As the South tried to rebuild within Lincoln’s new involuntary union, economic and political abuse continued. Nonetheless, the region was disproportionately represented in the military. Southern soldiers were suitable for the wars instigated by the corporations and bankers but they dare not believe in a voluntary union. Despite the boot heel paced on the South, many strides were made. One was that of perception and sports became a rallying point.

The University of Alabama (UA) has a long legacy of championship football. Beginning with their first team in 1892, UA has taken great pride in athletic endeavors. The stream of good to great coaches includes Xen Scott, Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Red Drew, Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings, and Nick Saban. Within that group one of Coach Wade’s teams made a significant impact on Alabama football and Southern football in general.

In the 1920s Southern football was generally considered inferior to other regions of the country. Although it sounds odd today, early powerhouses included Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Army, Navy, as well as traditional powers such as Notre Dame and Southern Cal. Coach Wade’s 1925 Alabama Crimson Tide went 9-0 during a dominating regular season and was chosen to face the powerhouse Washington Huskies in the 1926 Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The Alabama team was given almost no chance of winning—the cynical Will Rogers labeled the Alabama football team as “Tusca-losers.” Despite the cynicism, support for the team was incredible. On the train ride from Tuscaloosa to the West Coast, fans cheered the team from Southern State to Southern State. As noted by Ted Miller, Alabama, like other Southern teams, was “subjected to regional elitism and snobbery” and “many from the South chose to view the game as a re-enactment of the Civil War, with the team from Seattle representing the Yankees and Northern aggression -- historical and geographical accuracy be damned.”

Alabama’s Johnny Mack Brown, “the Dothan Antelope,” pondered how “a bunch of farmers” could compete. The heavily favored Huskies took a 12-0 lead into halftime with their star, George “Wildcat” Wilson, aka the “Purple Tornado,” leading the way. His use of excessive force while tackling Alabama’s Brown (later a movie star) brought on retaliation from Tide players and Wilson was temporarily knocked out of the game.

At halftime, Wallace Wade lamented “and they told me Southern boys would fight.” Accepting the challenge, Alabama dominated the third quarter and came back to take a 20-12 lead with Pooley Hubert scoring the last touchdown. Wilson returned to action and led his Washington team to within a point of Alabama. The “pluck and grit” of the Alabama team swung most of the Pasadena crowd to shift allegiances to the underdog Tide. A game saving tackle by Brown on a Wilson breakaway and a couple of late interceptions sealed Alabama’s 20-19 victory, considered a stunning upset.

Brown remarked Alabama “won the Rose Bowl for the whole South.” At every stop on the train ride back to Tuscaloosa, the team was celebrated with crowds, bands, and congratulatory speeches. Birmingham News sportswriter Clyde Bolton described the results: "The 1926 Rose Bowl was without a doubt the most important game before or since in Southern football history."

Auburn’s Fight Song references “Power of Dixieland” and mentions Dixie in the alma mater. Georgia’s Fight Song includes “Hail to Georgia, down in Dixie!” Ole Miss’ Fight song references Dixie’s synonym with “the Southland’s pride.”

To this day “most” (certainly not all) SEC fans cheer for their sister schools when playing outside opponents. This goes back to the regional identity of native Southerners, who, by and large, are similar people of a unique culture whether they live in Virginia, Texas or any point in-between.

Sources: “How a win over Washington gave rise to Alabama and football in the South,” Ted Miller, ESPN, at: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18325546/alabama-crimson-tide-beat-washington-huskies-1926-rose-bowl-establish-credibility-football-south; Remember the Rose Bowl, “The Story of the Alabama Crimson Tide & The Grandaddy of Them All,” January 1, 2011, at: http://www.remembertherosebowl.com/2011/01/the-1926-rose-bowl-alabama-vs-washington.html; and Alabama Football: How the 1926 Rose Bowl Legitimized Southern Football, Nick Gulas, Bleacher Report, at: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/37185-alabama-football-how-the-1926-rose-bowl-legitimized-southern-football; and Are You From Dixie?, John M. Taylor, Alabama Gazette, August 2020, at: https://www.alabamagazette.com/story/2020/08/01/opinion/are-you-from-dixie/1954.html Of course the new Alabama coach, Kalen DeBoer, came from the University of Washington.

THE VIEWS OF SUBMITTED EDITORIALS MAY NOT BE THE EXPRESS VIEWS OF THE ALABAMA GAZETTE.