Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama Football: The Story Behind the Ax

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Alabama football fans saw the WWE Championship Belt make it’s appearance last season. This year, we have seen something new on the sidelines: an ax.

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Last season, Alabama football fans saw players battling it out on the field for a WWE Championship Belt. Players referred to the prize as the “Ball Out Belt“, and it went to the defensive player who stripped the ball, causing a turnover.

“The coaches thought of it, ” mused former Tide defender Reggie Ragland in the fall of 2015. “… a lot of people weren’t really stripping at the ball this past season and we had a down year with turnovers. That gave the coaches an idea for guys to start getting after the ball and get the ball out.”

This season, the Ball Out Belt took a backseat to a new type of trophy, albeit a strange one.

An ax.

The #SEC gets it. No more of this PC stuff. Better yet, get a concussion? Get to finish the game with an axe. @PFTCommenter

— Matt Pjesky (@Matt_Pjesky) September 17, 2016

Viewers first saw Alabama football receiver ArDarius Stewart with the ax slung over his shoulder after his injury in the Ole Miss game. The ax is crimson spells out the word “assassin” down the handle in white.

Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

The sighting perplexed many fans, because no explanation of the ax’s presence was offered, until yesterday.

According to Tide102.9 FM, the ax is a symbol for the receivers of playing so hard, they “chop somebody’s head off.”

Yes, really.

Calvin Ridley sported the ax over his shoulder Saturday night in the game against Kentucky, and subsequently answered questions about “the Assassins” in a post-game interview.

“We try to play tough and chop your head off at the receiver position. Stew(art) brought that out for us and that’s how we live by,” Ridley said.

The Assassins will need all the toughness they can muster this coming Saturday as the Crimson Tide face Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks have given up a measly three touchdown passes in their first five games this season. However, if anyone can wear down the Hogs defense, it’s Bama.