Tennessee beats Alabama -- Celebratory cigars and a party 16 years in the making

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There were cigars everywhere in the city.

The University of Tennessee does not allow tobacco use. For a long time. There were hundreds of thousands of college football fans who came to East Tennessee for the game. Behind their back pockets, hidden in the lining of their purses, were Mission Impossible-like compartment of ball caps.

It was a big problem. You know what, at the end of the most glorious football night seen by this town in a long time, you don't have to worry. There was no problem at all.

The biggest indicator that the Third Saturday in October was back to being relevant was that cigars were being sneaked into the stadium by the pallet.

Since 1901, there has been a series of border football rivalries. It has been easy to identify the victor in this winning streak-dominated series by the trails of white smoke that have risen from the locker room of one team or the other. A trail that rose into the sky after what may have been the most entertaining game of the 104 played between them.

The scent of burning tobacco could be smelled from corners and tunnels to the steel beams of the century-old stadium. It came from men who rode torn-down goalposts like mechanical bulls, and from sections of the parking decks around the stadium and the party decks on the Tennessee River. The torchbearer statue at the center of campus has an eternal flame. The smokers were seen easily. Good luck finding someone who knows what they're doing. There were no instructions. Excellent orange anarchy.

When you survive a 52-49 track meet and clock-expiring wounded duck field goal that exorcises a generation's worth of demons, it's that way.

Tom Bryan of Nashville coughed as if he had just downed a bucket of sand as he said, "I have been holding on to this damn thing for 16 years." I bought it in Tuscaloosa because I wanted to smoke it down there and smoke one of their own. Since they whipped our ass, I have been waiting. The humidor thing did not work for me. It is less dry than a bone. I also don't care.

Stories were written all week about the cigar smoking tradition. Tobacconist sales increased in both states. No one would confirm that the equipment manager secured several boxes of "Bosphorus Straits" from a Nashville cigar maker and UT fan because of the campus tobacco ban. No matter how long ago the victory was, the former players from both schools continued to smoke.

Since 1983, when Reggie White ruled Tennessee football, Smoky's Tobacco has been the go-to for smokes in Knoxville, but they couldn't keep up with their 2006 orange-banded specials.

There has been a cigar tradition that has been tied to this contest for over 50 years. It was the same reason that Smoky's chose those models. The last time the Vols beat the Tide was that one.

It was thought that the losing streak would end on Saturday.

The thing did.

After Tennessee jumped out to a stunning 21-7 first quarter lead, those in orange began fiddling with their smuggled goods, eager to fire them up. They pulled their hands out of their pockets to cover their faces when Alabama scored 18 unanswered points to tie the game. Take lead, lose lead, tie again.

It was hands in, hands out. For a long time, it was that way. Tennessee fans have had recurring nightmares over the last decade and a half, a dark feeling of "Ohhell, here we go again" Is it possible to pass interference. Is it true that they just lost a touchdown?

Tide fans kept waiting for the same feeling they've come to expect from Nick Saban. We will start pulling away now.

haymaker after haymaker A stadium that was loud in the daytime settled into a quiet night and woke up again. College football rivalries are supposed to make people feel good. It had hurt the hearts of fans on both sides when people decided the Third Saturday in October couldn't possibly be a real rivalry because the Tide had been so dominant. The people who really know this game are the best. They know it has been going on for a long time. Since World War II, it has been that way. Tennessee won 10 out of 12 before the current Alabama streak. The Alabama team went 8-0-1 before that. Alabama has been in a row of four in a row. Alabama ended a six-year winless streak in 1961.

Those who have been around the game long enough would always grab those doubters by the arm at the end of the game, even if the Tide wins were piling up. It smells like people don't care who wins the game.

They paid attention on Saturday night. A large amount. The cigars hung from the smiles of the winners. A team that finally feels like it might be emerging form the Big Orange desert in which it has been wandering for nearly two decades, maybe finally ready to return to the national championship conversation for the first time since before cellphones existed. The last time Tennessee beat Shields-Watkins Field was two years ago, when any freshman who was part of the invasion was young.

Smoke if you get them.

The Mayor of the Mountains admitted that this tastes terrible, but it also tastes great. Don't tell my doctor that I am doing this. He is a fan of the Vols.

There were a lot of Coronas, Havanas and Belvederes in the trash can. There was no moral victory here. It's just a W and an L, and a lot of wasted tobacco leaves.

A box of King Edwards was thrown into a concrete receptacle next to Thompson-Boling Arena by a woman. They're in a bad spot. They are not good for me.