The Third Saturday in October has always been special to Huntsville native Butch Worley. His grandfather played at Tennessee and he grew up going to the game, whether it was in Knoxville or Tuscaloosa. Then he became a kicker at Alabama in the 1980s.

“It’s a whole lot more than a game,” Worley said. “This week is really a huge part of my life.”

As kids who spent a lot of time in Guntersville, he and his best friend Gary Huckaby Jr. hatched a plan.

“Like in middle school, I remember us talking about when we get older, we’re going to have to figure out a way to take a boat up to the game to Knoxville,” Worley said. “That probably was always in the back of his mind as a goal and when he set goals, he typically accomplished them.”

This time was no different. Years later, Huckaby and a few friends bought a house boat and took it up the Tennessee River to the 2012 game. The group made the trip again in 2014, 2016 and 2018. It would include several stops along the way. The journeys created lifelong friendships and memories.

“Three of the best weeks of my life,” Worley said. “We would leave Alred (Marina) on Sunday and typically get to Knoxville on Thursday. Now, you can make the trip a lot faster, but he planned it as an adventure.”

The voyages garnered a lot of attention and got featured on SEC Network.

Sadly, the tradition hit a pause after Huckaby was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018. He passed away in 2023.

“Still miss him every day and think about him every day, but this week especially,” Worley said. “He was so amazing at what he did.”

So, the Third Saturday in October will always be more than a football game to Worley.

“It wasn’t about the rivalry, which has gotten more and more heated over the years for a lot of reasons,” he said. “But, it really was about coming together and enjoying how special it is. The time of year, the leaves changing, the river, just the tradition.”

And this tradition may not be finished just yet.

“It’s definitely something we would do again, not only to honor him, but to hopefully let others kind of get a taste of it,” Worley said.