Auburn releases Iron Bowl hype video hours before kick off
By Andy Erk
Auburn releases hype video hours before kick off, making it nearly pointless.
Burnt orange and crimson: the two colors that if the state of Alabama were cut open would come spitting out. Auburn university and the University of Alabama square off in one of the best rivalries in college football today: The Iron Bowl.
The Iron Bowl has a long documented history of two college football powerhouses, beating each other up year in and year out. Every season thousands pack the stands at Jordan-Hare or Bryant-Denny Stadium to see these teams battle it out. At 3:30 another instance of the Iron Bowl will be spelled out. For Alabama, this game is all about survival to reach the SEC championship game and another playoff berth. For Auburn, this game is all about redemption, making this mediocre season something to remember.
With the Iron Bowl being such a blue blood, classic college football rivalry, creating some hype around this game seems like nothing less than a necessity. Creating extra hype around such a big game draws in thousands of extra viewers who may know nothing about the Iron Bowl. It shows the deep roots of the rivalry and can send chills down the spin of sports fans everywhere. This season, the Auburn marketing decided to release this hype video on the same day of the game.
Releasing this hype video on game day, mere hours before the kick off, has really watered down the value of this video. The hype video is meant to capture the excitement throughout the week, putting fans on edge. Making folks beg for the coin toss, first whistle, and the crack of the first hit. Releasing this video so late runs parallel to creating a movie trailer and releasing it only hours before the movie.
I admit that this rivalry doesn’t need much pushing for people to watch, but it is unwise to think that people don’t want extra excitement surrounding such an important college football matchup. Next time, the Auburn marketing team should think about letting the hype video breathe for a few days before the game, rather than a few hours.