Roll Tide!

          I wasn’t sure if John at The AC Is On was serious, but his comment asking about a possible connection between red tide and U. of Alabama’s Crimson Tide team sent me down the rabbit hole of the internet.

          No, John, no connection, but here for your reading enjoyment is the story behind Alabama’s team name (The following is from 2016 on the University of Alabama’s website) and to anyone who’s ever encountered the South’s red clay, it makes perfect sense.

How the Crimson Tide Got its Name

In early newspaper accounts of Alabama football, the team was simply listed as the "varsity" or the "Crimson White" after the school colors.The first nickname to become popular and used by headline writers was the "Thin Red Line." The nickname was used until 1906.

The name "Crimson Tide" is supposed to have first been used by Hugh Roberts, former sports editor of the Birmingham Age-Herald. He used "Crimson Tide" in describing an Alabama-Auburn game played in Birmingham in 1907, the last football contest between the two schools until 1948 when the series was resumed. The game was played in a sea of mud and Auburn was a heavy favorite to win.

But, evidently, the "Thin Red Line" played a great game in the red mud and held Auburn to a 6-6 tie, thus gaining the name "Crimson Tide." Zipp Newman, former sports editor of the Birmingham News, probably popularized the name more than any other writer.