As civil as fans try to keep the Iron Bowl rivalry, it doesn't always work.

Another Alabama-Auburn football game fast approaches, and each fan base will throw a little gasoline on to the fire, exacerbating the annual name-calling.

That means you'll hear the typical "Bammers," "Barners," "Gumps" and other all-too-familiar (and creative) nicknames the fans came up for one another.

Those already listed make enough sense without too much thought, but what about one Alabama fans have used for the past few decades?

"Booger Eaters."

Or you might have heard "Boogs" or the phrase "Aubs Eat Boogers."

It's gross, sure, but it just comes with the territory like anything else.

So where did it come from? Many insist you'll find the answer in Egan's Bar on the Strip in Tuscaloosa, arguably the birthplace of the moniker.

"In the 70s, there was a picture of Shug Jordan in the Crimson White or the alternative paper at the time," says Egan's owner Bob Weatherly. "And he was picking his nose -- his thumb was in his nose. The caption read, 'Shug picks a winner.' We thought that was pretty funny."

That birthed the latest childish phrase in the rivalry, apparently, but Egan's took it up a notch by making crimson and white buttons with the words that they've sold ever since.

You might see these "Aubs Eat Boogers" buttons pinned on Alabama fans during Iron Bowl weekend, or really just year-round. (Submitted photo)

"It didn't happen until about the 90s that we started making those buttons, and we've sold a whole lot of them," Weatherly says. "It's mainly been in good fun. It makes some people mad, and some people not so mad, but it's all in good fun, so to speak."

And how is that supposed to make Auburn fans feel? We asked one of their biggest and most public fans, none other than War Blogle himself. He, like many Tiger fans, was at a bit of a loss.

"I honestly have no clue where it came from," he says. "Maybe they just think we're this agricultural, dumb, hick farm kind of thing, and all we can do is sit here and pick our nose."

Blogle, who remains anonymous at all times, says if the phrase really meant something and the fans had a reason to be bothered by it, it might bother them a little bit.

"There's nothing for us to really connect this to," he says. "It's not like they're making fun of us for liking trees or any other traditional, real thing."

I don't think it bothers us. I just look at it as a stupid online banter kind of thing.