We miss the eagle, you miss the eagle, all God’s children miss the eagle.

It’s there to visit for those who know the not-so-secret location of its (final?) resting place. But folks have been tweeting about it a lot and Instagramming their friends riding it like Falcor and really just missing it, so here are some photos we recently discovered of the day it first took flight: Dec. 2, 1989. That was the day. Sound familiar? Ditto. Yes, the eagle whose majestic wings welcomed fans to Auburn basketball fans to Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (then just Eaves-Memorial) was installed to mark the occasion of a football game, specifically the first Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare Stadium; obviously nothing basketball-related could occasion the installation of a giant bronze bird of prey, even for a team coached by a man named Eagles.

The ceremony was at 9:30 a.m. People were there. Auburn won. The eagle soared. For 7,842 days. This was its last in the air.

Related: VIDEO: Auburn’s eagle nearly flies the coop in epic pre-game flight.

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