By CHRIS LOW
The Tennessean

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The trapezes might be replaced by goalposts, and the only big top will be Neyland Stadium. But make no mistake. The circus is in town.

Amid all the lawsuits, wild accusations and name-calling on both sides, it's easy to forget sometimes that a football game will be played Saturday.

Not just any football game, either.

Alabama vs. Tennessee is steeped in tradition, etching its place among some of the most storied rivalries in the land.

"Heroes have been born out of this game," Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said. "To me, it's the best game in Southern football."

It's easy for Fulmer to say that now. He has beaten the Crimson Tide eight of the last nine years.

And if you listen to a certain sect of the Alabama faithful, not to mention a couple of dogged attorneys with a fondness for the Crimson Tide, Fulmer is also firmly in control of the NCAA's enforcement division.

Not that this rivalry needed any extra spice, but the off-the-field drama the last year and a half has reached Jerry Springer proportions.

"The irony of Alabama accusing Tennessee of being a sacred cow, even though I'm a part of where those accusations are coming from, is somewhat amusing," said Paul Finebaum, host of the most popular syndicated radio talk show in the state of Alabama.

"It used to be the other way around. Alabama was the one winning and was the sacred cow, and Bear Bryant could do no wrong. Now, the world has been turned upside down, which proves it might be flat after all."

Attorneys Tommy Gallion of Montgomery, Ala., and Phillip Shanks of Memphis have been regulars on Finebaum's show in their quest to expose what they say is a conspiracy between Fulmer and the NCAA to bring down Alabama's program.

They've accused Fulmer of committing his own improprieties at Tennessee, but being protected by the NCAA in exchange for dirt on Alabama.

Fulmer was one of several coaches who talked to the NCAA during the probe of Alabama and was labeled a confidential witness by NCAA investigator Rich Johanningmeier in documents that were released in the Logan Young federal case.

Ever since, Fulmer has been Public Enemy No. 1 in the state of Alabama.

"I said what I needed to say about all that during the SEC Media Days teleconference," said Fulmer, who didn't attend the Birmingham event at the advice of his attorneys to avoid being subpoenaed by Gallion.

"Nothing has changed. I stand by what I said, but none of that has anything to do with this game, these players and this rivalry."

For the players - past and present - all the talk of litigation and depositions might as well be a foreign language. All they know is that this is a football game that endures - one way or the other.

"I remember when I first got here, you'd hear about the Alabama game," Tennessee senior linebacker Kevin Burnett said. "But I was thinking, 'Florida's the game,' and it is.

"But there's just something about Alabama around here, and that's never going to change."

Dale Jones is living, breathing proof.

Now the defensive coordinator at Appalachian State, Jones made a play in the 1985 game against Alabama that's as vivid today in the minds of Tennessee fans as it was nearly 20 years ago when it occurred at Legion Field.

Jones, an outside linebacker, batted a dump pass down near the line of scrimmage and was able to cradle it for an interception before it hit the ground. His interception sealed the Vols' 16-14 win and sent them on their way to their first SEC championship in 16 years.

And by the way, the Alabama quarterback that day just happened to be Mike Shula, in his second year as the Crimson Tide head coach.

"While we were there, we were able to shift the momentum against Alabama," Jones said. "It's every guy's dream to make a play like that against your rival. I got to live out that dream. How special is that?"

Jones and Shula have kept in touch over the years. In fact, Shula's father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Don Shula, has a house in the North Carolina mountains not too far away from the Appalachian State campus.

A couple of years ago, Jones and Shula played golf together. At the time, Jones had never met Shula's wife, Shari.

"When Mike introduced her to me, the first thing he said was, 'This is the guy I made famous at Tennessee,' " Jones recalled. "So I guess it lives on."

Even when former Tennessee tailback Jay Graham was playing in the NFL, he said Alabama-Tennessee week didn't stray too far from his thoughts. While playing with the Seattle Seahawks, he and former Alabama tailback Shaun Alexander went at it pretty good.

"But there was always a respect there," Graham said. "I think off the field is where it gets crazy sometimes."

Graham, who will be honored Saturday as one of the Vols' Legends, is probably still a blur racing down the sideline in the minds of Alabama fans.

He had a 75-yard touchdown run to punctuate the 41-14 romp in 1995 when the Vols snapped a nine-game winless streak against the Crimson Tide.

Then in 1996, Graham broke loose on a 76-yard touchdown run with two minutes remaining to win it 20-13 for the Vols.

"Just to see Coach Fulmer, Coach (David) Cutcliffe and Coach (John) Chavis that night in 1985 and all the guys who'd been there for so long and had endured so many years of losing to them and what it meant to finally break through was special," Graham said.

"It's not like it was a bus hitting a dog for nine years or that they killed us every game. It was always a hard, tough, close game that they won.

"But we turned it around that night."