Ex-Alabama QB Admits to Playing With Lighters in Pocket Against Tennessee
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Ever wonder what’s hiding in a quarterback’s pocket? During the 2008 Alabama-Tennessee showdown, the former Bama QB Greg McElroy was packing some seriously flammable contraband from the stands, thinking Saban wouldn’t put QB2 in…until he did. Looking back in hindsight, it turned into one of the most absurd and unforgettable moments of his career.
Since college athletes can’t exactly run to a corner store in the middle of a rivalry game, McElroy had to get creative. He turned to the most unlikely source available, which was the hostile crowd sitting behind the visiting bench at Neyland Stadium.
“I had lighters in my pants against Tennessee. Multiple (lighters). I was a backup in 2008. I’ve told this story before. We bought all the cigars, and we realized about midway through the fourth quarter, we’re up pretty big, that we don’t have lighters. Baron Huber was like, ‘We’ve gotta get lighters! I’m like, ‘Oh gosh, fine, we’ll get lighters.’” Greg McElroy said on his McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning podcast.
It all started back in 2008 when Alabama was playing Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. Alabama just became a powerhouse that year, coached by Nick Saban in just his second season, and led on the field by starting quarterback John Parker Wilson. As the No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide dominated the game, backup quarterback Greg McElroy and his teammate Baron Huber realized they had a major logistics problem.
They had the victory cigars ready for the team’s traditional “Third Saturday in October” celebration (the winner gets to light up victory cigars), but they’d completely forgotten to bring anything to light them with.
He literally started asking Tennessee fans in the front rows for lighters. Surprisingly, the Vols fans actually tossed several Bic lighters down onto the field. McElroy scooped five of them up, and shoved them into the pockets of his football pants.
“I put all the lighters into my pants, thinking it would just be a safe place to store them… And then sure enough, the final four plays of the game, Coach puts me in because we’re up big.” McElroy said.
With about two minutes left and Alabama leading 29–9, Coach Saban suddenly called for McElroy to go in and finish the game. The Crimson Tide had put up a solid performance. They held the Vols to just 231 total yards and also forced a fumble. And now it was time for the backups to milk the clock. McElroy didn’t have time to dump the lighters. So he jogged out onto the field for the final four plays of the game with five pieces of plastic-cased fuel pressed against his thigh.
His job was simple: take the snap, hand the ball off to the running backs, and let the clock bleed out. He didn’t attempt a single pass, and his only real objective was avoiding a direct hit to his legs.
Playing those snaps was a nerve-wracking experience for the young QB. Every time he took a snap or handed the ball off, he was acutely aware that a single hard hit or an awkward slide could have cracked one of those lighters wide open. He later joked that it was probably his biggest concern on the field was not seventh-ranked Tennessee’s defense. But the risk of becoming a human firework if he got tackled the wrong way.
Thankfully, he managed to execute the handoffs safely and kept his “hot” pockets intact until the final whistle blew.
The risk paid off in the end, apparently. Alabama won 29–9, and the Roll Tide was able to keep their tradition alive by lighting up their cigars in the locker room. Even though McElroy eventually became QB1 of the team and led Alabama to their first national title of the 20th century, this lighter incident to this day remains one of his most legendary moments on the football field.
The Cigar tradition history
The Alabama-Tennessee cigar tradition is easily one of the coolest and most “rebellious” rituals in college football. It all started back in 1961, thanks to an Alabama trainer named Jim Goostree. He was actually a Tennessee alum, but he told his Bama players that if they finally beat the Vols to snap a losing streak, he’d dance in the locker room while smoking a big cigar. Alabama went out and crushed them 34–3. Goostree kept his word, and a legendary tradition was born where the winner gets to light a victory smoke right on the field.
What makes this tradition so funny is that it’s technically “illegal” in the eyes of the NCAA. Since the 1990s, there have been strict rules against tobacco products at games, but neither team cares, actually. Every year, the winning team, whether it’s Alabama or Tennessee, still does it. After the game, they even report it to the NCAA themselves, basically saying, “Yeah, we did it, and we wouldn’t mind paying the fines.”
Even though it’s a big celebration, the rule for fans is simple: you only light a cigar if your team wins. If you’re a Tennessee fan and your team loses, you don’t light it at all. Because Alabama won 15 straight games from 2007 to 2021, safe to say their entire generation of fans got used to celebrating like this every year.
When Tennessee finally ended that streak in 2022 with a 52-49 win, the whole stadium in Knoxville filled with smoke in seconds. Boy, they sure waited for that for a very, very long time.
Needless to say, the economic side of this rivalry is actually pretty wild, too. Local cigar shops in Tuscaloosa and Knoxville see about 30% to 40% jump in cigar sales during their game week. These college kids couldn’t care less about holding the cigar the right way. They are just there for the photo and obviously enjoy the smell of victory.
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