There are rivalries, and then there is the Iron Bowl.

The coveted college football game Alabama residents wait for each season was the only college football event that made USA Today’s “Bucket List.”

And it should have because the Iron Bowl, which puts Alabama and Auburn going at it for four quarters, is without a doubt the best football rivalry in the country, in my humble opinion.

This is what college football fans in our great state wait for each year. It’s the only game that matters.

Alabama holds the current matchup record at 42-35-1, but the Tigers have won six of the last 10 games.

As we all know, the rivalry got a little more heated in recent years when the-Alabama-fan-who-must-not-be-named poisoned the Toomer’s Corner oak trees in Auburn.

Fortunately, the university is renovating the corner and will plant new trees to replace the old ones, and according to AL.com, a portion of one of the trees was sculpted into a bowl and is now on display at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art in Auburn.

That’s pretty cool.

As I thought about this column, I couldn’t help but think about our local rivalries.

Andalusia’s rivalry with Opp goes all the way back to 1926, according to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society’s website. It is one of the oldest rivalries and still holds up each year as a good contest.

More recently, Andalusia has established another rivalry with Straughn. Now that both teams are in the same classification in 4A, and in the same region (2), it should be a good matchup when it comes to it late in the season.

The Bobcats-Bulldogs rivalry is interesting because from what I gather, players on both teams don’t really take too kindly to each other, and let it all out on the field.

For the Straughn-Andalusia matchup, it’s also about duking it out on the field, but also about getting a win.

Even the Pleasant Home-Florala rivalry means something to the players and fans.

All of these games have one thing in common, winning.

Each side wants to win and each side believes they can do it.

Combine all of these elements together and you get the main ingredient that makes the rivalry cake rise to new heights year in and year out.