The War Eagle Reader

Pat Dye’s “Protect Our House” Commercial for Gulf Shores (IS FREAKING AWESOME)

Staff — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:14:05 +0000

Good God… that man can make a commercial.

Yes, Coach’s time this summer at Gulf Shores getting buried in the sand with Gene Stallings (so we’re assuming there’s another version coming) is bearing all kinds of fruit, fruit almost as good as the time he and Jimmy Rane tried to build a fence on the field, or when he was stuck on Golden Flake. [Here's one with Dye and other coaches playing golf: "DANG!"]

~~Can someone please turn “Man… we NEVER worry about the Tide” into a ringtone?~~ Someone already has turned “Man… we NEVER worry about the Tide” into a ringtone (thank you, BillRat!).

Related: Watch Pat Dye buy his sunglasses.

Check out our Spring of Dye series here, here, here, here, here and here.

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Keep Reading:

* Auburn almost had a giant eagle for a mascot
* Auburn tailgaters covert casket into grill
* Jaime Edmondson sports Auburn shirt in Cam Newton’s Pants photos
* Apple CEO Tim Cook only writes personal email replies to Auburn fans
* Auburn fan shot dead in Alabama fan rap video
* Shug Jordan dug the heck out of houndstooth
* War Eagle Moment from space scheduled for October 25
* “War Eagle” carved into face of the Spinx
* Fans equate Iron Bowl losses with the end of the world—now confirmed by science!

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AUDIO: WJHO Broadcast of “Beat Clemson” Pep Rally, 1962

Jeremy Henderson — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:16:23 +0000

One year off... but still... FEEL THE NEEL.

Listen:

Smilin’ Jack Smollon did more than record the best Auburn ditties of his day and interpret current events in his weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News (which included the lyrics to his “to the tune of” songs). He was also — judging by this and other material discovered in the dusty reel-to-reels salvaged from behind the dumpster of WJHO in Opelika that virtually no one has heard in nearly 50 years — a pioneer in Auburn Spirit field recordings.

And a gifted interviewer:

Who we got here?

Mailon Kent.

Boy, you did a tremeoundous job last week.

Thank you, sir.

I bet your really enjoyed it, too.

Yes sir, I always enjoy beating Georgia Teyech.

… Mailon are you married?

No sir.

Are you going steady?

Yessir, I have a girlfriend, Sue Ellen Robbins.

She’s a beautiful girl.

Thank you, sir.

I think you make a wonderful couple. Lots of luck, I hope you go all the way…. who we got here…. Jimmy… let me shake your hand.

Flubber up the pigskin and save Medfield – the results are positively Disneyian! And thanks to Mailon Kent and Jimmy Sidle and the rabid support of the student body, Auburn did B-E-A-T beeeeeeeeaaaaatt Clemson, 17-14.

Just listen to that…. how could they not have? Are you ready?

Count off.

Program cover via the quietly fantastic WeagleWeagl e.com.

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Keep Reading:

* Playboy in Auburn, 1989
* Ronald Reagan was an Auburn fan
* Who’s the kid with the Auburn shirt in “Return of Swamp Thing”?
* Mates of State’s Jason Hammel talks football
* Pat Dye responds to ‘loudmouth’ allegations from 1959
* G.I. Joe’s Auburn’s connection
* The Great Bo Jackson A-Day Race of 1984
* Actor named Auburn can’t get gig going by his first name
* How Fraternities Work
* That time Green Day played an Auburn house show
* Fantastic photos of Bjork inside Jordan-Hare Stadium
* Auburn buses still driving around Phoenix
* The Ten Best Auburn Games That Never Happened

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RPM: ‘Clobber Mississippi State’ with Smilin’ Jack Smollon

Jeremy Henderson — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:23:51 +0000

Our latest installment of Rah-rahs Per Minute, TWER’s longstanding series focusing on the vinyl (and otherwise-formatted) sounds of Auburn Spirit too long relegated to the rotting Shasta box bulk-bins of our thrift stores and garage sales, is a further exploration the Smilin’ Jack Smollon salvaged-from-the-dumpster-behind-the-WANI-in-Opelika oeuvre.

Last year we provided a soundtrack—four preambles to Auburn victories—for your Starkville road trip. Well, we found three more, and nothing would please us more to hear these downloadable ditties wafting over tailgates, playing over the Jordan-Hare PA, being sung sorority girls at Tiger Walk… in other words, being enjoyed.

Downloads the songs here, here, and here. War Eagle.

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Keep Reading:

* Toomer’s Corner possibly vandalized. Again.
* The Gene Chizik Elevator of Champions!
* Jaime Edmondson sports Auburn shirt in Cam Newton’s Pants photos
* Apple CEO Tim Cook only writes personal email replies to Auburn fans
* Auburn fan shot dead in Alabama fan rap video
* Shug Jordan dug the heck out of houndstooth

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Young IE, Yt release rap about the Toomer’s oaks, plan Saturday video shoot at The Corner

Jeremy Henderson — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:36:42 +0000

Former AU hoopster Young IE is shooting a video for his song "Can't Forget Our Tree (Toomer's Corner) this weekend.

If you’re worried you might forget about the trees, don’t be — Francis Aihe won’t let you.

Known in the studio as Young IE (a phonetic-esque spelling of his last name), the 6″10 former Auburn basketball player behind “Orange Navy,” the popular Auburn-ized version of Wiz Khalifa’s Pittsburgh (Steelers) pride anthem “Black and Yellow,” recently partnered with fellow Auburn — genre, not location — rapper Andrew Manheimmer, aka Yt, to record “Can’t Forget Our Tree (Toomer’s Corner),” a tribute to the recently poisoned Toomer’s Corner oaks.

“Me and Yt came together to do this and we definitely touched on both sides of what almost every Auburn person feels toward the situation and we kind of put a little spin on it,” Aihe. “It’s more of an upbeat song. It’s not a sad song.”

Aihe was recruited out of Sante Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida and played basketball for Auburn in 2008 before being placed on medical hardship his senior year. He graduated last summer and is currently doing grad work in rehab counseling at Alabama State. He met Mannheimer, who recorded 2008′s popular “Auburn Boys,” through mutual friends; he says that “Can’t Forget” just seemed like the right opportunity for the two to finally collaborate.

“I was getting ready to do the song just by myself, but a friend of mine called me and said ‘you always said you wanted to do a song with Yt’ and that this one would be a pretty good one to come together on and it just worked out perfectly,” Aihe says. “I called (Yt) and talked to him and he said he was coming to Auburn (Yt lives in Tallahassee) and it just worked out. He definitely did his thing on the song.”

Andrew Mannheimer aka Yt — Skybar scoundrel, Auburn rapper.

In the second verse, Mannheimer raps about sprinting across Magnolia Avenue, stealing toilet paper from the Skybar bathroom (“I hate to admit it but sometimes I had to”) and rolling “that tree” when “the clock hit zero and the game was won,” when his friend got engaged, or just “when the semester was done.”

“I think it’s going to be a song Auburn people can really, really embrace,” Aihe says.

If his previous work is any indication, they will: “Orange Navy” is regularly played at Auburn baseball and softball games and Aihe says the song was recently named one of the top five versions / covers of “Black and Yellow” by a Virginia radio station. He’ll actually open for Wiz Khalifa April 22 at the Lambda Chi house.

Aihe and Mannheimer are shooting a video for the song Saturday afternoon at Toomer’s Corner and have invited Auburn fans via Facebook and Twitter to join them. The shoot is currently scheduled for 1 p.m. but will be postponed until 2 p.m. Sunday if it rains.

Aihe is giving TWER readers the chance to stream “Can’t Forget…” before offering it as a free download via his YouTube page late Sunday night, which is when he expects the video for the song to be ready.

“I just want it to be us around the tree,” he says. “I just want to capture what happens there. When people see the video, I want them to think, ‘man, look what happened to them at Auburn but they’ve got good spirits.’ We’re still the Auburn family. We’re going to get past this. We’re still going to keep enjoying ourselves at Toomer’s Corner.”

Play “Can’t Forget Our Tree (Toomer’s Corner)” here:

UPDATE: Here’s the video.
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Keep Reading:

* Pine Hill Haints release song from new album to honor Toomer’s
* Harvey Updyke in high school
* Could Bieber Fever save the Toomer’s Oaks?
* Toomer’s Corner after Punt, Bama, Punt
* Did Auburn student’s roll Toomer’s Corner after Bear Bryant died?
* TWER interviews Stephen Enloe, the Emotional Agronomist
* Bama police keep vigil over Bear Bryant statue
* Dean Foy discusses the lewdness of youth
* Fear and Loathing in Tuscaloosa
* Jimmy Buffett Sang: Let’s Get Drunk and Screw (Up My 1st Year at Auburn)
* Outkast lasts forever

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Larry Lank Lank releases The Cam Newton LP

Jeremy Henderson — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:22:44 +0000

Worth it for the cover art alone.

Owing mostly to the instant folk-hero status of Cam Newton, Auburn fans have recently enjoyed an explosion in musical tributes to their team – most of them hip-hop.

Larry Lank Lank, one of the first to the game, says he’s about to drop a bomb.

On Thursday, the Mountain Brook-based musician will host a release party at The Downtown Lounge in Birmingham not for another made-for-YouTube rap video, but an entire Auburn-themed album – The Cam Newton LP.

The 13-song collection of Cam-centric rap, hip hop, R&B, and even techno, includes Lank Lank’s popular “6”6, 250”, which addresses the allegations surrounding Newton’s recruitment that dominated headlines for the latter half of Auburn’s season.

“You can try to take away from what the man has accomplished or try to bring up wrongs from his past, but you can’t take away from his God-given natural ability,” says Lank Lank, a Montevallo graduate who’s real name is Dezerick Kirkland. “He’s 6”6, 250.”

Not every song on the record is about No. 2.

Track 6, “Bo Jacksons”, is about Bo Jackson – or at least his shoes, the Nike Cross Trainer’s of 30-year-old Lank Lank’s youth.

(In what has to be one of the best explanations of fandom ever, Lank Lank says he became an Auburn fan as a child because of Jackson and because Pat Dye reminded me of my grandmother.”)

Track 10, “The Belt” is about Nick Fairley – or at least uses Fairley’s championship belt shtick to illustrate the mode of manliness (and sense of fashion – wearing pants around the waist, rather than “bustin’ a sag”) that Lank Lank, an African-American, feels is on the decline in the Black community.

Lank Lank traveled to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game, performing songs from the record at various Auburn tailgates. He’ll do the same in Glendale – if he can raise the cash.

“Something happened to me down in Atlanta,” he says. “I used to be an introverted person, but man, now I love to go out in public. That Auburn Creed is a part of me.”

Lank Lank is hoping money from record sales and upcoming performances can finance not a ticket, but just a trip to the national championship game.

“I want to work for it. I don’t care about the money, the money will come in time,” he says. “I just want to get the message out and support this team.”

The Cam Newton LP can be purchased for download at CD Baby. You can listen to the opening track, “Super CAM”, exclusively here at TWER – cause we’re cool like that:

Contact Larry Lank Lank at larrylanklank@gmail.com.

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Help TWER – support our sponsors:

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Keep Reading:

* Auburn shirt in Cannonball Run
* The University of Alabama White Bears?
* Gus Malzahn on the Wu-Tang Clan
* Toomer’s Corner after Punt, Bama, Punt
* Auburn’s Miss Universe contestant, Audrey Moore
* Auburn amputee has tiger-striped prosthetic legs
* Auburn grad tries to get Ryan Secrest to hire her with internet campaign

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The Gameday Post — Beat Bama

thewareaglereader — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 13:19:09 +0000

Phil Neelness again via the treasure trove at Weagle Weagle.

Postgame update from Jerry: I have neither the time nor the words at the moment, other than “War Damn Eagle,” repeated over and over again in a louder and louder voice.

So this will have to do:

This is the best of all possible worlds.

Pregame update 12:45 by Jerry: I promised Jeremy I’d have a pre-Iron Bowl post. I started it three different times, and a dozen more in my head. I wanted to try and encapsulate this entire season, contrast it with 2004, how that team was an unstoppable steamroller you could set your watch by and this one a harrowing Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride on the field and off, how personally speaking in the middle of the best but most exhausting fall of my life I could have used a little more 2004, but how none of that will matter the slightest micron if they win today.

I never even got halfway to finishing any of them, because between caring for a newborn while travelling for the past couple of weeks and keeping up with a brand-new job, spare moments were spent in sleep. Glorious, glorious sleep.

But that’s for the best, because all of that stuff, honestly, completely besides the point the moment someone kicks off today. After that, for the next 60 minutes of football and three-and-a-half-to-four hours of real time, all that matters — all that matters — is beating ‘Bama. The Heisman, the BCS, the allegations, the close calls, the media smears, Ted Roof’s performance review, the slurs of Tide fans, the exhaustion, the everything … pardon my French, but f**k it all. It’s the Iron Bowl.

Beat ‘Bama. Destroy them. Make them hurt. Win. That’s all that has to be written about today, really. Everything else will have to wait.

War Eagle, Auburn. Do this. Please.

War Damn Eagle!

[Pregame 10:50 a.m. CST] Last post from me until after the game. I’m heading to D.C. with leftovers to watch the game with my crew. Walt and Van P will be commenting below. Jer checks in with a couple of twit pics:

Hells yeah: Angry alums with horns are here.

At the No-Tiger Walk Tiger Walk.

Auburn fans ridin' in style!

You can see his updates and photos here.

It’s cold. It’s rainy. I like it. It’s gonna be like a long, cold dark day for Bama fans.

We comin’. War Damn Eagle! We comin’. As a participant of the unofficial Tiger Walk in Knoxville last year, let me just say you can’t stop it from happening. You can’t stop or quash Auburn Spirit. Give ‘em hell today Tigers! Beat Bama!!! – J.M.

[Pregame 9:15 a.m. CST] Jay G. Tate’s Hotties have a tailgate here: “Official Hottie Tailgate is set up right on the backs side of the Mound in the quad. Come by and see us. If you find the historical marker titled “Site of Franklin Hall (The Mound), Turn around and you’re looking at us.”

Official TWER tailgate is wherever Jeremy Dale is at. He brings da ruckus son!!!! Hoooootie-hoooooo! And the chips. Jer will bring the chips. – J.M.

[Pregame 9 a.m. CST] Truckers Jukebox. Jer’s tweet: “47 miles. All I Do Is Win on the radio. Beat Bama.”

Here’s a trucker’s (driving music) classic from the Flying Burrito Brothers if you are on the road today:

“White Line Fever” by The Hag:

And once again, the Flying Burrito Brothers’ version (one of my favorite songs ever):

Safe travels y’all! – J.M.

[Pregame 7:55 a.m. CST] Oh. And I love both of these stories from al.com published yesterday morning. Quentin Riggins and Roger Shultz think back to the 1989 Iron Bowl.

Riggins:

We didn’t really understand how big the game was until we came in. We stayed in LaGrange (Ga.) the night before. We rolled into Auburn and came onto College Street and turned onto Donahue and we were met with cars everywhere. Everywhere we looked there were people. We could barely get up to Sewell Hall and get off the bus. We were thinking, “Oh my goodness what have we stepped into?”

We got ready for Tiger Walk and we started out trying to go five- or six-across. It got to the point when we got down to Donahue we had to walk in single-file. You saw people on top of campers, people in trees, people crying. That’s when it really hits you. Guys we are playing for something a little bit bigger than our third SEC championship.

You’re 18 or 19 years old, you’re not really a history buff. We weren’t into the politics why the game was played at Auburn. But it hit me like a ton of bricks. You’re playing for guys like Bo Jackson and Lloyd Nix and Tucker Frederickson, guys that never had a chance to play Alabama at Auburn.

Shultz:

It was a great game. The atmosphere was electric. It was really loud. You talk about some of the loud places we played, like Neyland Stadium at Tennessee. And LSU would get that way at “Death Valley.” But it was so loud you couldn’t even communicate with the people next to you. I couldn’t hardly talk to Trent Patterson or Chris Robinette, my guards.

It was raucous. We knew people were going to shake the bus and cuss at us, all the things you expect when you come into a hostile environment.

…

It was just one of those games. They were a good football team and they were motivated.

We moved the ball on them. We scored 20 points. We just couldn’t close the deal.
I’m think I’m going to cry (laughing).

[Pregame 7:45 a.m. CST] Walt checks in below with greeting from lovely snowy Kosovo. Jer is on the road to Tuscaloosa with his brother. He’s checking in via Twitter:

“tWEr comin’. We ride at dawn. Tweeting all the way. Stay tuned. Beat Bama. War Eagle.”

[Pregame 7:15 a.m. CST] Good morning folks! War Damn Eagle! B-E-A-T Beat Bama!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I did. I ate many a delicious casserole and pie.

And I’m thankful for you readers; Auburn; its fans, students, alum; our brilliant coaches; and a senior-laden offensive line and Cammy Cam. And then I’m most thankful for my favorite defensive player (ever?) Nick “Big Freak” Fairley. Visions of sacks today. Visions of sacks, chaos, suffering and candy canes. In my mind, it comes down to our defensive line today. Can they get to Greg “Never Lost … Except …” McElroy enough to disrupt his passing game? Can they plug the running lanes? I’d say yes. Hell yes. With Tracy Rocker calling the shots for the IRON BOWL?!?! C’mon! YES!

Here’s a few links in case you missed ‘em during the last few days:

• Justin brings it for your Orange-and-Blue Friday preview. Let’s just say the margin is looking comfortable. Very comfortable. That margin offers the comfort of a La-Z-Boy with a fold-out foot rest.

• But then … well … there’s the other way of thinking. That the Iron Bowl might come down to the last possession. Mac’s Predict-O-Nomics column has Auburn winning … but it won’t come easy.

• Want pep? We’ve got pep. Have you got pep? Devo’s got pep. Smilin’ Jack has it in spades.

There’s more than one way to skin that Bear!

Click to enjoy:

More pep? Here’s the 1956 Beat Bama pep-rally with downloadabubble audio.

Shug: “Now, no matter how many ballgames that we here at Auburn have won during the course of on any particular year, the season is absolutely not a success unless we accomplish what we’re going after this coming Saturday. So I tell you once again: on to Birmingham. And let’s beat Bama.”

Even more pep? Dancing in the streets/War “shaking ya tail feathers” Eagle!!! after the 17-16 win.

Back in a bit. – J.M.

RPM: Smilin’ Jack likes his Bear … rrrrrrare!

J.M. Comer — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:00:17 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Tigers, Plainsmen …

The ol’ clock on the wall says it’s time again for our dear ol’ friend and Lee County radio legend Smilin’ Jack Smollon. This week’s installment of Rah-rahs Per Minute, our series focusing on the vinyl (and other-formatted) sounds of Auburn Spirit too long relegated to the rotting Shasta box bulk-bins of our thrift stores and garage sales, is another one of … oh … 100 or so numbers salvaged from the Dumpster behind the old WJHO offices (now WANI) in Opelika.

It’s a special week of course and Smilin’ (and fightin’) Jack won’t let you down. Let’s just say the man was prolific when it came to the Iron Bowl. Of course, we’re saving some of his doo-wah ditty-ditties for next year (and the year after). So stick around and we’ll make it worth your while. Eventually.

The first selection this week is entitled “Skin the Bear.”

Click to enjoy:

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Some of the highlights:

Oh Tigersssssss the time has come to skin a Bear go get you some …

Good ol’ Shug in Bir-ming-ham with sweet ol’ Bear in a jam … gonna beat … Alabam …

It’s a short one. Short and sweet. But just you wait ’til the end. Wait for it. The rafters shake from that “WAAAAAAAAAR EAGLE!” Gives me chills.

Next up is a jaunty little number entitled “Beat Bama on TV.”

Click it. Click it and win:

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Beat Alabama on December 3! Beat Alabama take the SEC! Hail hail the gang’s all here for the Alabama Maaaaa-sssssa-creeee!

Auburn Tigers best in the land/Give them Tigers a great big haaaaaaand.

My favorite part is how Jack says “massacre.” Just like The Ramones on “Chainsaw Massacre.”

I also love the speedy guitar with the harmonica on this one. (Anyone have an idea what track this is that Jack is crooning over? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?)

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Phil Neelness again via the treasure trove at Weagle Weagle.

… need more pep? Don’t forget the 1956 Beat Bama pep-rally. You can download the audio. It will blow your mind.

WINNING FROM BAMA: The 1956 “Beat Bama” pep rally

Jeremy Henderson — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:30:48 +0000

I’d claim the SEC Championship 10 years from now in an argument about stats or division superiority or something. “Auburn won in 2010.” But I won’t feel it unless. And you won’t feel it unless.

So we must.

One of the things that makes the oath worth the effort is to think that it all began in The Garden. Our fathers were fighting their fathers and our grandmothers were fighting their grandfathers and on and on and on into the sepia foundations of America and the world.

Which is why it always sucks to hear the officially licensed gatekeepers whip out their “Well, Actuallys” via reunion DVDs or gameday programs or lecture series’ to tell you that for a variety of reasons the soul-wracking hatred and marrow-sealed contempt Auburn harbors for the University of Alabama was until the early 60s was really, kind of, you know, reserved for Georgia Tech and Georgia and blah blah blah.

And yet… listen…

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Listen to the living, heaving, sword-in-the-air spirit at the Beat Bama pep rally in 1956. Listen to hell ride with mic man Jimmy Crain. He has given his voice and the Lord is using it. Auburn has beaten Alabama two years in a row, by scores of 28-0 and 26-0. They’re a year away from a national championship. They’re 60 minutes away from beating Alabama 34-7. They’re a year from beating them 40-0. They’re two years away from Bear Bryant. In the mid-50s, Bama was a ghost of nothing.

Now let us listen to Shug… and you tell me what he values:

“Now let’s go up to Birmingham with one thought in mind. And that’s to win from the University of Alabama. We annually dedicate the Alabama ballgame to the senior members of the Auburn football squad. This I couldn’t truthfully say is the greatest group of seniors we’ve ever had but they are on par with any seniors we’ve ever had here at Auburn. In other words, after the game Saturday, they’ll just take their place alongside the other fine and great Auburn football players that have gone on before and have won from Alabama. Now, no matter how many ballgames that we here at Auburn have won during the course of any particular year, the season is absolutely not a success unless we accomplish what we’re going after this coming Saturday. So I tell you once again: on to Birmingham. And let’s beat Bama.”

War Eagle, Coach.

Now let us go to Tuscaloosa with one thought in mind – not Atlanta, not Kenny Rogers, not Dan Mullen, not Cecil Newton, not Thayer Evans, not Oregon, not Steve Spurrier, not the Heisman Trophy, not Gus Malzahn, not Urban Meyer, not Nick Fairley, not Gene Chizik, not Cam Newton.

Let’s beat the living, freaking, eternal hell out of Bama.

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UPDATE: We’ve had several requests to provide an MP3 of the pep rally audio. Voila. [Right click and 'save as']. Yes, perfect for tailgating.

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BEAT BAMA WEEK: TWER is putting the posting pedal to the metal in the homestretch of this tweet-your-grandchildren of a season, cranking out content to stir the soul and build the bile in the remaining days before the Iron Bowl. So far we have Tchaikovsky says “Beat Bama” and Wide Wrong, and The Iron Bowl – presented by Chesterfield. But let’s not forget The Case of The Pea Green Tigers, nor last year’s promising but ultimately cut-short collection celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Iron Bowl first coming to Auburn.

BEAT BAMA FOOD DRIVE: Greg McElroy hasn’t lost a food drive his entire time at Bama. Make sure he loses this year.

@KennySmith does Georgia (with commentary by Kenny Smith)

Kenny Smith — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:19:02 +0000

The South’s Oldest Rivalry, a bitter, bitter affair some years. This turned out to be one of those years. On the line for Georgia, the possibility to turn around a bad season (their worst in more than a decade) by beating second-ranked Auburn. For Auburn, a win meant a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. The Tigers were looking to snap a four-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. And, of course, there’s all of that Cameron Newton controversy.

I’m generally staying out of that debate (aside for expressing my disbelief at the poor quality of reporting that emerged in the first two days of the story) mostly out of a fundamental human decency. I’m not covering the story and I don’t know anymore than anyone else. The thing will turn out however it turns out. Neither of your basic resolutions will do anyone much of any good, but the chips will fall where they may. I hope, hope, hope Auburn comes down on the right side of this because the alternative will be more than unpalatable. In the meantime, it is entertaining to watch people play a game.

So here are pictures, video and my Twitter impressions, such as they are, preserved forever. After-the-fact thoughts are in bold.

Nastinchka called my sweater retro. Just because I’ve been wearing it to #Auburn games for 15 years … I see her point.

@AUHD is showing an overhead shot of Tiger Walk. That might be of 1989 proportions out there. Did it seem bigger than normal to anyone else?

Oh it is ON. Curtis Luper wore a bow tie! Surrender now, Georgia. You can hide a lot of weapons in a bow tie.

Not kidding: @AUHD plays Nothin’ But A Good Time, Cam Newton appears on the screen. Students develop a UGA bloodlust.

Hope you brought your tickets, Tiger fans. Receiving reports that upper deck seats are going for $400.

Hunker down, it is a fine day at Jordan-Hare for housebreaking Bulldogs.

Cam Newton is the announced starter. (Not that there was much doubt, but I included it and this for posterity. It might not count at all in a few years — who knows? — but it counted on a beautiful fall Saturday. They announced him last in the lineup. It would have been cooler if they’d just mentioned it like any other game.)

Praying for the souls of the poor puppy dawgs.

This place will be Beyond Thunderdome in an hour.

We’re all going deaf tonite. Riotous may not describe Jordan-Hare.

Buzzed by Nova – he flew just a few feet over us – and by two fighters. Now: football!

Touchdown Auburn! Cam Newton, Mike Dyer, TZach, Newton and that’s an 80-yard drive in 2:24. 7-0.

Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray looks terrified. Not that you blame him. By far the biggest road game in his short career, but he settled in nicely.

Georgia converts a fourth and one for a score. 7-7.

So UGA has a running back of some talent, AJ Green, a flustered QB and … that’s about it right now.

That’s a statue of liberty. Good grief. And, sadly, a holding penalty. Thing of beauty, everywhere except the holding call. And, sure, this is Georgia and you can’t leave anything out, but you have to think “If this is what Gus is showing Alabama, what is he hiding?” And then you smile.

Flag, flag, interception, flag. Think it may be getting to the offense?

That stiff arm? Worth every penny. I only made the one joke. It looked more like a stiff arm than a head slap until I saw it on television. And I’m sure this was borne of frustration, if not the jawing and the extracurriculars that were already creeping into the game.

Freshman punter buries one inside the five. Four guys can’t down it. One of those days. Truly, this was the one place in the game where I fretted. If the ball isn’t going to bounce your way you need to find the signal as soon as possible, and this looked like a bad omen.

See number 8? He should be covered.

Murray to Green. 7-21. Down two scores? Not a bother. If Auburn had fallen back three scores I would have been squeamish.

Newton to Darvin Adams, inside the five. Easy enough.

TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Onterrio McCalebb around left end for the score. 14-21. Simply because of this. You know Auburn will score. And have you ever seen a team, of any vintage at any level, that seems to chew up yardage so quickly? It isn’t just a function of falling forward for three yards, but these guys are eating down and distance like a lineman at the victory dinner.

Somewhere Eric Zeier is a little sad at Aaron Murray.

Nick Fairley has a bad arm or shoulder, but he’s battling.

Tigers force a punt. Big stop for the defense.

When the defense has everything else, there’s always Emory Blake. It isn’t quite catchy enough for a t-shirt, but close.

@phillylutz43!

TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! 21-21 after @wesbyrum‘s PAT. Glory glory.

Hey Georgia? Where is your Herschel Walker? Our Bo Jackson is right here.

That’s Mr. Means if your nasty.

The Redcoat band has a lady who twirls four (FOUR!) flaming batons. Apparently the band plays music, too!

She threw flaming batons high into the night sky, doing splits as she caught them. How did you pay for college?

Sweet halftime vignette from @AUHD.

And now we kick around some mangy red and black puppies.

@wesbyrum gives Auburn the perfect onside kick. Tigers recover, but Josh Bynes is hurt.

Not Bynes, but Chris Davis. He walks off under his own power.

Terrell Zachery on the reverse for 30 yards.

TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Onterrio McCalebb finds the end zone, @wesbyrum makes the lead 28-21.

Nosa Eguae is not a dawg person.

UGA marches down to score. 28-28. That guy is good. And only a freshman? Oh goodie.

@AUHD I still say you need a Fyffe “Touchdown Auburn!” button to go with Ric Smith’s call. One guy can sit by the Fyffe button. When McCalebb or whomever scores, he presses the button. A good, blaring Fyffe bite plays as the crowd roars. We’ve already built an atmosphere that makes the screen and the audio the other 12th man, so why not add a bit of nostalgia? If they can’t staff it I’ll volunteer to be the guy that presses that button. Help me out here, Internet.

TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! McCalebb with his third score of the night. 35-28.

Mike Dyer breaks Bo Jackson’s freshman rushing record.

They flash Mike Dyer’s record on the screen and Bo floats over, hugs him and raises his arm in victory. It probably wouldn’t have mattered much what else happened, because this was the coolest moment of the night. In one of those odd bits of timing that only sport can seem to inspire, Jackson happened to be on the sideline celebrating the 25th anniversary of his Heisman when one of his individual records fell and he had that great moment with Dyer. I’d say he’ll probably re-live that moment for ever, but I think we all will.

Man it is loud in here.

It just so happens that AJ Green is good.

BIG stand for the defense, holding UGA to a field goal. 35-31. And now the band strikes up their crazed rebel call. Love that fanfare. They need their own smoke effect for when they do this. And perhaps a trebuchet to launch something into the visitor’s section.

TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Newton to Lutzenkirchen makes it a two score game. 42-31.

Nick Fairley for dawg catcher!

OH: Why are we so CLASSY!?!?!

The band and students sing Lean On Me, the unofficial theme for the 2010 Tigers.

TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Newton over top. 49-31.

Dee Ford has your exclamation point.

Georgia has clearly gotten under the skin of the Auburn defenders. Tigers need to focus on the game. OK, look. Nick Fairley’s spear into Aaron Murray’s back earlier in the game was reprehensible and helped gift UGa a field goal. As for the rest of his reputation, the guy is playing within the framework of the existing rules. Don’t like it? Get the rules changed. If he doesn’t abide by your new rules, I’ll call that reprehensible too. Clearly, the scuffle at the end of the game was a regrettable moment for all sides. Players taking swings at opponents is first patently stupid (your target is wearing pads) and they should be punished accordingly. Georgia: going after Fairley (which is pretty clear in the replay) and storming the field en masse doesn’t make you innocent of anything.

Similarly, the booing of the Georgia player hobbling off and then falling to the ground on command from the sideline was pretty bad. Could he have hopped off? Sure, it did seem like it. What he did, though, is also within the framework of the rules. Cynical, perhaps, but get over it. Besides ….

Final 49-31. The Tigers are 11 and oh! Western division champs!

Hey Bama! Hey Bama! …

Watching the seniors bask in their moment as their fellow students take up the S-E-C chant. They deserve it.

Proud for those seniors. They’ve been a strong and special bunch throughout and they deserve their moment.

Kudos again to @AUHD for the season highlights in the post-game. Great feature.

Rolling Toomer’s.

And finally:

…

Kenny graduated from Auburn at the turn of the century. He worked in newsrooms across the region and then earned a master’s degree at UAB. He met and married a Yankee, who declared her Auburn allegiance at her first home game. She’s now on the faculty at Auburn. He’s finishing his PhD at Alabama and teaches at Samford University. See him online at www.kennysmith.org and @kennysmith.

The Gameday Post, Georgia — A cinch to clinch?

thewareaglereader — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 13:04:00 +0000

The 1960 game. Georgia's first trip to the Plains, believe it or not. Auburn won it, 9-6, almost exactly 50 years ago (just a day off)! Art via Phil Neel and weagleweagle.com.

Hey Tiger fans! We’ll be updating this post throughout the day. Newer posts at the top of the page. Check in often!

UPDATE 12:10 p.m., from Jerry: I’ll be brief: there’s very little regarding the Cam story that I feel comfortable saying I believe. It’s so hard to know what’s true, what’s exaggeration, what’s rumor, what’s an outright lie, that over the past few days it’s been better to just shut down the critical thinking cap and hope. At times that’s seemed like a completely wasted, worthless hope, but when you’re talking about the weight of years of hope, the accumulation of season after season desperately wanting not just the perfect year but for that year to happen under the perfect circumstances and for it to come without the blight of Auburn’s past transgressions, when there’s that much hope already balanced on the slim edge of the razor … well, what’s another couple days of blind faith thrown on top of the pile?

So the thing I believe is this: that the people in charge at Auburn, the athletic director and compliance department and our football coaches, will do what is best for Auburn today. Maybe that means Cam starts. Maybe that means Trotter starts. I don’t know. I’m not going to pretend to know.

But either way, I believe that the action that is best for our football program and our institution will be the action taken. I haven’t always believed that of the people in charge at Auburn, but I do today. Whatever they decide, that’s going to be the right decision.

If it turns out that I shouldn’t even believe that, then, well, we’ll cross that hideous bridge when we get there. But for today: I believe in Auburn. I believe in our football team, Cam or no Cam. I believe they’ll beat Georgia. I believe, above all, even after all of this, we’ll be OK.

War Eagle.

——————

It’s the first game of Amen Corner. Today, unless something stupidly stupefying is released by our dear friends at ESPN, let’s think of Our Terrific Tigers, Malzahn’s perfected plays, Roof’s rough-housin’ rouges, moving the ball and pushing the ‘dawgs up and down and around and around Pat Dye Field today.

It’s the damn “Year of the Tiger” dontchaknow!?! And don’t you let anyone tell you otherwise. Smilin’ Jack? Get that snare, timpani and guitar ready! Horny horns?! Ready? Git it!

“… This is is Auburn’s year. Yeaaaaaaahh! Count off!”

Pregame 11:25 a.m. CDT: Custom-made cape worn by the brother-in-law of reader / pal audashdriver: — JDH

Pregame 9:40 a.m. EST: Mac’s Model is up. And how! –J.M.

Pregame 8:40 a.m. EST: OK, I’ve got to get Mac’s picks ready for prime time. Be back in a few. –J.M.

Pregame 8:25 a.m. EST: Phillip Marshall @ AuburnUndercover.com says Cammy Cam will start today (story was posted around midnight):

After numerous erroneous reports said Newton would not play in Saturday’s game against Georgia, AuburnUndercover.com learned he is expected to start.

HABOTN’s Twitter feed from 13 hours ago says: “Charles Bloom, SEC associate commissioner, said the conference has received no indication that AU will (or should) hold Newton out.”

Pregame 8:15 a.m. EST: Clinging to something, anything right now. Jay G. Tate (who, let’s face it, has a infinitely better grasp of what’s going on than you or me) offers a suggestion on the HABOTN.

Pregame 7:55 a.m. EST: Cruel. If it’s true, it’s cruel. I guess we can’t avoid it today. It forces its way into everything. Here’s Goldberg’s Blue Plate Special, asterisk edition. My thoughts? If Cecil Newton finally ‘fessed up to Auburn about this too … well … I don’t know right now. I can’t think straight. There’s that old sick feeling again. The feeling I tried to avoid feeling today. –J.M.

Pregame 7:30 a.m. EST: Do me a favor folks. Please. Well, two or three favors. Are you going to the game today? Yes? Carry the cheers of the two or three or 20 fans that can’t be there today along with you. Cheer for your sons and daughters overseas. Cheer for your dear old orange-and-blue through and through dad and mom, your grandparents who loved Auburn that maybe have passed on. Cheer when the Tigers prowl down the walk, hit the field, make the tackle, hit the seam, stroll into the endzone, hand the ball to the ref, hold up four fingers (for we know that’s when they’re the best). Our hearts have been hurting for, what, a week now? We need a release. Just do your part to make this a day to remember and let’s forget about all the slights for a just a few hours and not let them ruin the great feeling that we all had before. I know it will be a hard thing to do. There’s questions and fears in our hearts and heads. But I know PRIDE when I feel it. It’s a hard thing to kill. I’m real proud of these guys. I’m real proud of our seniors. They’ve been through so much in their four years at Auburn. You think you’ve suffered, questioned and wondered when the times were tough? Send our boys off with style folks! – J.M.

Pregame 7:15 a.m. EST: Good morning! Weagle! Weagle! Wake up eagle! As a very good friend of the site and of Auburn University, Auburn Elvis is taking care of business (TCB) once again. He used his photo zoomery whatsits to enhance Jeremy’s Reverse Tiger Walk photos, uncovering Gus’ clipboard secrets. Shocking? Sure. (But it’s really not a that much of a secret.) – J.M.