SEC football: 15 instances where it just meant more

9. Butch Jones gets a Gatorade bath as an Alabama assistant after finally winning the Third Saturday in October

In my SEC football fandom, no one made my skin crawl in pure agony quite like the redundant cliche machine that was, and still is, Butch Jones. Whether it was rebuilding a great program brick by brick or getting those leadership reps in on the pathway towards being a champion of life, bless his five-star heart. It didn’t work out for him in Knoxville, so he went to Nick Saban coaching rehab.

Upon winning his first Third Saturday in October on either side of the rivalry, Jones got to taste sweet victory in the form of an impromptu Gatorade bath, as well as a delicious cigar afterward.

Prior to last year, the last time Tennessee beat Alabama, I was not even a year into having my license. You better believe that was at least four hairstyles ago (yes, I was rocking the cringy white dude wings, bro). Interestingly enough, I’ve had the same car throughout Alabama’s dominance of the rivalry. What if I told you I have had it longer than Alabama has even had Saban?

Bad trips down memory lane aside, it was good to see the goofiest of goofy goofballs have his day in the sun in one of college football’s best secondary rivalries. It may be going away in due time in the SEC out of fear, but we should never forget that Jones got a Gatorade bath as a pencil pusher on Saban’s 2018 staff. Last time I checked, he is still coaching over at Arkansas State, I believe…

The irony of this sticky Gatorade bath should not be lost on you because it’ll never be lost on me.