Kalen DeBoer has coached in rivalry games before, but he’s never coached in the Iron Bowl.

The first-year Alabama football coach is about to get a real taste of what this game means to the state. It won’t be his first experience seeing how important football is to Alabamians; there were hundreds of people waiting for him at the airport when he arrived in Tuscaloosa, after all. But coaching against Auburn at Bryant-Denny Stadium will provide perhaps the most thorough introduction yet.

College football changes by the day, but this rivalry doesn‘t. It still fuels identity in the state. When people learn you’re a sports fan in the state, the next question is something along the lines of: Roll Tide or War Eagle?

Every day, Alabama and Auburn fans share classrooms, workplaces and church pews. Then one day in November every year, they root against the other team with fiery passion. That game sets bragging rights for the next year.

Alabama will face Auburn on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, ABC) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

If DeBoer wins it, he can give Alabama fans a respite from hearing about it from Auburn fans for the next year. There’s some joy for the Crimson Tide fans winning the Iron Bowl, but these days, mostly relief.

To find out just how much it means, all a coach needs to do is lose the game.

To introduce DeBoer to the iconic rivalry, AL.com has made this video essay, written and narrated by Nick Kelly and produced and edited by Laura Goldman. Watch at the YouTube link above.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.