Oh, and they can
Will Alabama bring home its second Heisman Trophy tomorrow night? According to Grantland, no, at least not if people who can read have anything to say about it. And the latest straw polls seem to back them up. Trent Richardson’s chances at winning were supposedly tripped up by not playing last weekend. Thank God for small scheduling miracles.
But I’m preparing for the worst, planning to again rezone my Auburn pride as we all had to that dark night in 2009—”Got Two?”—when Mark Ingram’s name was so undeservedly uttered and the huge, seemingly insurmountable lead we enjoyed for a quarter of a century cut in half. I still can’t believe I have to, though. I still can’t believe that the luxury restored so amazingly and immediately to the Auburn psyche by the healing stiff-arm salve of the Blessed Individual is again in jeopardy. So I’m digging deep. Just in case. Here it is.
There is one thing related to the Heisman Trophy that Alabama will never have, can never have. Sure, Auburn remains the only school where John Heisman coached football to have a player win the Heisman Trophy. We know this. We brag about it in media guides. We put it on T-shirts. But I’m talking more than trivia. I’m talking deep down, historical assurance that John Heisman—Big Papa H. we used to call him*—didn’t just coach football at Auburn, he loved Auburn. I’m talking about something physically and emotionally tangible.
I’m talking about a letter.
He wrote it after deciding to resign from coaching in order to become, get this, a Shakespearean actor. (That didn’t pan out and he instead headed over to Clemson, sure, but they don’t have any Heisman winners, so who cares?) It was printed in The Plainsman (then called the Orange and Blue) and later in Rich Donnell’s great book of quotations on Auburn football, “Down Through The Years.” And it’s beautiful.
December 11, 1899
Dear Auburn Boys,
At last we are to part. Is it not hard to believe? There are tears in my eyes, and tears in my voice; tears even in the trembling of my hand as I write you.You will not feel hard toward me; you will forgive me, you will not forget me? Let me ask to retain your friendship. Heaven knows I never felt more in need of it than I do at this moment.
Can a man be associated for five successive seasons with Grand Old Auburn, toiling for her, befriended by her, striving with her, and yet not love her? No. Where on earth’s surface have I found better friends, manlier sportsmen, truer gentlemen than among the sons of the deservedly popular A.P.I.
The many fresh evidences I have lately received of your unwavering respect and esteem for yo me have touched me to my heart’s center. It is true that “prosperity brings friends and adversity tries them” Our friendship has more than once been thoroughly tried and never yet found wanting.
You believe in me—you trust me. Let me ask for a continuance of that faith. It shall be my life’s endeavor to prove myself worthy of it.
I hope this is not the end. I hope that we shall meet again. The recollection of these years of mutual endeavor, of mutual joy over all that was good for Auburn, of intermingled sorrow over all that was bad for Auburn, shall never fade. To you, to your faculty, to your friends, who have all been so kind, so just, so unfailingly true to me that I doubt I deserve it, I say “Farewell and yet I say “Aufs Wideuschen.”
May God bless you, everyone!
Devotedly yours,
Heisman
Devotedly ours, now and forever. And no post-millennial string of undeserving Bama running backs can ever change that (DO YOU HEAR ME, GOD?!)
* Totally made up, but I mean, maybe.
Related: The press release announcing Bo Jackson as the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner.
..
So you’re obviously wanting to relive Auburn’s national championship season now more than ever.
Go to WarEagleDVD.com and enter TWER as your promo code. You’ll get free shipping… and you’ll help your favorite Auburn website keep the lights on during the long winter.
…
Keep Reading:
* Auburn coeds at the Rodeo
* Crazy Auburn mural at Firehouse subs
* Auburn Playboy shoot at Chewacla during power outage
* Glee star Naya Rivera wears Auburn shirt in FHM photo shoot
* Gene Chizik in high school
* Saban’s reaction to ticketing caught on police dash cam
* John Travolta in an Auburn shirt
* Auburn grad stars in new National Geographic reality show
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Want to advertise?
Devotedly ours. Suck it, Bama.
Ingram didnt deserve the heisman? And now youre saying Richardson doesnt deserve it? What a complete… Idiot. Bo Jackson cant even spell Heisman. Worst article ever published. Thanks for reminding us of exactly how classless you AU folks are. Whata idiot.
@Patrick Williams: didn’t* Heisman* you’re* doesn’t* can’t* what an*—- There. I fixed that for you. Rohh Tahhd.
Patrick – I don’t remember too many Bama blogs giving Newton Heisman praise last year. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit and read an article on an Auburn blog.
Richardson wasn’t even the best back in the state, much less the nation, and will go down as one of the least deserving Heisman winners ever. At least Rent…erm, Trent…won’t have to worry about that stigma.
Oops, I meant Ingram in that first sentence. That’s what I get for hitting “send” too quickly.
Patrick –
No, he doesn’t deserve it and the voters agree. Don’t believe me? Try this site: http://www.stiffarmtrophy.com/
They have only been right each of the last 9 years. And they called this race on Wednesday in a landslide…..for Robert Griffin III.
That badass ballcard should be re-printed w/ that speech on the back and “Got Four” on the front.
Hey Jeremy, Heisman trophy discussion aside… there is something else that I found interesting in that letter. This part: “….“Farewell and yet I say “Aufs Wideuschen.”…
Heisman was born in Cleveland but were his parents possibly from Bavaria? More correctly spelled as “Auf Wiederschauen!” – it is Bavarian for “see you again” and is sorta pronounced the way he spelled it. I lived in Munich for 10 years. Bavaria speaks southern German… in the north they would have used the hochdeutsch “Auf Wiedersehen”
War Damn Eagle!! (or “Krieg Verdammen Adler!”)
@ Kathleen, I was curious about the same and was about to start googling but decided to read comments first. Thanks for saving me the trouble!
I found that article extremely difficult to read. I think it was because you were trying to appear clever. Couldn’t tell but it made for awful reading.
MJ Scott says:
December 9, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Richardson wasn’t even the best back in the state, much less the nation, and will go down as one of the least deserving Heisman winners ever. At least Rent…erm, Trent…won’t have to worry about that stigma.
Who knows how good Dyer would have been if he’d have been sober
That is some major league jealousy there. Maybe he should steal someone’s term papers to capture your admiration.