BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) - The traditions.  The locations.  The hard-fought games. 

Few rivalries can match the intensity of the Iron Bowl.

For the fans, for the coaches and for the players.

"Nobody has to say anything," former Auburn linebacker Quientin Riggins said.  "You get it.  This is it."

It's something many of the former players CBS 42 sat down with agreed with.  It's a rivalry that encompasses not just the time spent on the field, but a full calendar year.

"It's about so many things that happen for 364 days leading up to the game and 364 days after the game," Jay Barker, a former Alabama quarterback acknowledged.  "I've been around a lot of places.  I've been around pro ball.  I've talked to guys and everyone says our rivalry is different than any other rivalry in the country."

"If there's someone in the country that doesn't know about the Iron Bowl rivalry -- they've been living under a rock," Heisman Trophy winning running back Bo Jackson said.

Some say it's a game that splits the state 50-50.  Who you get to cheer for is often times decided at birth.

"When you're born in the state of Alabama you know the rivalry and all the great players and all the great coaches," Alabama legend Ken Stabler said.  "It's the greatest rivalry in the country."

Those outside the state will argue rivalries like Oklahoma-Texas and Ohio State-Michigan are better.  But those cross state lines.

"For Ohio State and Michigan...if Ohio State wins, Ohio is happy," pointed out one-time Auburn kicker Al Del Greco.  "There are not a lot of people from Michigan that lives among them."

That's what might separate the Iron Bowl from many of the other rivalries across the country.

"You can do it with other teams, other states -- but two in this state make it truly unique," weighed in football great and former Tide quarterback Bart Starr.

"In the dictionary, when you think of rivalry, you can think of Michigan State-Michigan," Riggins said.  "[But] the rivalry in the dictionary is Alabama and Auburn.  And for Auburn -- it's Auburn-Alabama."

Some describe the big game as that high school nemesis.  Said former Auburn running back James Joseph, "It's the guy you don't like and he doesn't like you.  You just knew it.  You were in gym class - he was in English.  You had to walk across the school to face each other.  Something was a stake.  That girl on the sideline.  Winner take all -- it's like that.  I'm going to face you -- you're going to face me.  Winner's going to take all for 365 days a year.  I'm going to have bragging rights."

It's 365 days played out in a matter of an hour.

"For sixty minutes you have a chance to beat that guy across from you," Riggins added.  "For sixty minutes you give yourselves a chance to play."

"For sixty minutes you were doing your thing to win that ballgame," said current Samford Coach Pat Sullivan, a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback for Auburn.

For each team the regular season finished with each other.  For the third year in a row -- a national title is being tossed around when you talk about the game.

But even without a national title on the line -- it's THE game on the schedule.

"There's nothing more important than to beat Auburn," former Alabama running back Shaun Alexander admitted.  "Every day you train and think about it, 'you have to take over the state.'"

"The Iron Bowl rivalry makes your season - no matter what side you're on," Jackson added.

"It's about bragging rights," Barker said.

Bragging rights that go beyond the field.

"The Iron Bowl is about family, pride, living in Alabama and feeling good about things for 365 days a year," former Alabama lineman Bob Baumhower said.

"Twenty-four/seven...365 - and we always look forward to that," Stabler said.

For the year after the game, fans and players of the winning team have a little extra in their step.

"A lot of people base what you do on that game," Sullivan said.  "Right or wrong.  I'm not sure if it gets any better."

To have two schools with the traditions as Alabama and Auburn playing in a single contest after Thanksgiving -- you might not be able to get any better.

"We're blessed to have two great schools like Alabama and Auburn," Starr pointed out.  "When you can climax your year in that game -- you can't get better."