A House Divided

Published 10:47 am Thursday, January 10, 2019

Rebecca Stewart finds herself a little outnumbered in her house.

The Stewart household has an unusual unbalance in the Alabama versus Auburn rivalry. Rebecca Stewart is the only University of Alabama graduate, while her husband, Andy Stewart graduated from Auburn University. Their daughters, Louise and Jane-Anne, both attend Auburn.

Rebecca Stewart, a Dietician at the Dallas County Health Department, said she always knows what she’s up against.

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“I’m a little outnumbered,” Rebecca Stewart said. “It’s three against one, but I love Alabama. My grandfather used to take me and my twin sister to Alabama games. He used to wear like former Alabama coach Bear Bryant. My grandfather’s dead, but we still buy him tickets.”

Andy Stewart, President of Trustmark National Bank, said their children fell in love with the Plains, the frequent nickname for Auburn’s campus. He’s attended every Iron Bowl since 1978, a 25-18 Alabama victory. It was also on of Bryant’s national title teams.

“I won the girls over by taking them to Auburn,” Andy Stewart joked. “Rebecca is a real good sport about it.”

The Stewarts have attended every Iron Bowl contest together since 1992, the year they got married. Andy Stewart, 50, said no wagers nor any animosity in the Auburn-Alabama rivalry have ever materialized between him and his wife after the game was over.

“We have never done any bets because Alabama’s so much better than Auburn right now,” Andy Stewart said. “We haven’t taunted each other over which team that wins. We’ve been really good sports about the Iron Bowl. For me and the girls, it’s more fun when Auburn wins.”

Rebecca Stewart admitted Auburn’s 26-14 victory last year at Jordan-Hare Stadium was a bitter pill to swallow. It knocked Alabama out of its number one ranking and cost the Crimson Tide a shot at the SEC Championship.

“Last year’s game was miserable for me,” Rebecca Stewart said.

Andy Stewart said the Iron Bowl didn’t affect the Crimson Tide’s postseason aspirations.  Alabama made the College Football Playoff and eventually defeated Georgia 26-23 in overtime to claim the school’s 17th national title.

“Rebecca got the last laugh when Alabama won the national championship,” Andy Stewart said.

Rebecca Stewart, 49, said friends introduced them in Selma, Andy Stewart’s hometown. The Bay Minette native was visiting a cousin in Selma.  Andy Stewart said they met on the Alabama River.

“It wasn’t an Auburn or Alabama thing how we first met,” Rebecca Stewart said. “It was a mutual friend who brought us together. I was in my last semester at Alabama and he had already graduated. I had nine hours left and was living in Demopolis with my mother.”

Rebecca Stewart said she’s proud to have her children attend Auburn. Jane-Ann Stewart, 20, is a junior majoring in Public Relations. Louise, 18, is a freshman majoring in Exercise Science.

“I’ll be happy when they’ll graduate from Auburn and get jobs,” Rebecca Stewart said. “I wanted them to stay in the state and not make them choose between Alabama and Auburn. They love the Auburn campus.”

The Stewarts have shown that family devotion will always outlast the annual outcome in the Iron Bowl.