{"id":453054,"date":"2025-12-17T10:59:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T10:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/453054\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T10:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T10:59:39","slug":"fans-pack-stands-as-troy-and-jacksonville-state-renew-24-year-rivalry-at-salute-to-veterans-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/453054\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans pack stands as Troy and Jacksonville State renew 24-Year Rivalry at Salute to Veterans Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA<\/a>) – For college football fans in Montgomery, Tuesday night wasn\u2019t just another game under the lights.<\/p>\n

It marked the first time in 24 years that Troy University and Jacksonville State University faced each other on the football field, a long-awaited matchup that brought history, school pride, and a historic rivalry back to the stands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one hits different,\u201d many fans said, and the crowd showed it.<\/p>\n

Among them was Lacey Harrell, a lifelong Troy fan who made sure the moment didn\u2019t pass her family by. Harrell brought her son and his friend to the Salute to Veterans Bowl so they could experience a piece of Troy and Jacksonville State history.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe watched them practice, took him to lunch, and we\u2019ve been here since about four,\u201d Harrell said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long day, but we\u2019re super excited about the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrell has been a Troy fan since attending the university in 2003 and remembers the last time the two teams played back in 2001, when she was a member of the Troy band. For her, returning to the stadium brought back more than football memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just the game,\u201d Harrell said. \u201cIt\u2019s the band, the atmosphere, and being able to show both of my boys, who are in band, what two good schools with good bands look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Harrell was confident Troy would come out on top, she was seated right next to friends rooting for Jacksonville State, affectionately known as \u201cJax.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rivalry, she said, stayed friendly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be nice to each other and still pick on each other,\u201d Harrell said. \u201cIt\u2019s good, clean fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

But beyond the football rivalry, organizers say the most important part of the night was honoring those who served.<\/p>\n

The matchup is part of the Salute to Veterans Bowl, an event designed to recognize veterans while connecting them with resources, organizations, and support services available in the community.<\/p>\n

Groups like the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association were on site, sharing information and raising awareness about services for veterans who may need help transitioning back into civilian life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d said David Mills, Chapter Commander with the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. \u201cThere are a lot of veterans out there who need help, and we\u2019re here to do that. We hope events like this bring awareness to what\u2019s available.\u201d<\/p>\n

From packed stands and marching bands to meaningful conversations off the field, fans say the night proved that football can do more than bring teams together, it can bring communities together, too.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the WSFA Newsletter<\/a> and get the latest local news and breaking alerts in your email!<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 WSFA. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – For college football fans in Montgomery, Tuesday night wasn\u2019t just another game under the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":453055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,718,104791,3248,3188,723,7310,103795,26979,9631,1317,2774,11547,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,207859,53736,207860],"class_list":{"0":"post-453054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-division-i","11":"tag-fans","12":"tag-fl","13":"tag-florida","14":"tag-jacksonville","15":"tag-jacksonville-state","16":"tag-montgomery","17":"tag-montgomery-county","18":"tag-ncaa","19":"tag-rivalry","20":"tag-troy","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa","27":"tag-wfsa-12-news","28":"tag-wsfa","29":"tag-wsfa-12-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115734561695381112","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}