Dear New Auburn Men,
War Eagle and congratulations on your decision to enroll at Auburn University.
Football is an important reason why you’ve decided to come to Auburn, but it should not be the only one. Auburn is far more than football, even though we understand it will preoccupy a great deal of your time.
The coaches will tell you about what it is to be an Auburn man. Gene Chizik will talk about how this special, magical place, was made great long before you, or a lot of the alumni, put on orange and blue. There’s a powerful truth in that.
Auburn is great because of the history within the beautiful buildings. More than 150 years of men and women have passed over those grounds, carried books into those buildings and later strode confidently into the world to make their community a better place. Auburn is heavy with tradition, rich with athletic accomplishments and overwhelmingly important to this little part of the world.
That is also why it can be so important to you if you are willing. Those athletic talents that you possess are giving you an even greater opportunity for yourself. Use that opportunity well and you will find yourself in some amazing places in this life. You only have to work for it. You know about work and you’ll hear about it even more: Auburn men and women believe in work, hard work.
Choose wisely for yourself in all things. We cheer you on Saturdays because you represent a part of Auburn. We have the greatest hopes and expectations for you every day of the week because you ARE Auburn. More than anything, we want to celebrate all of the wise decisions you make with the opportunities now before you.
We romanticize the idea of what makes an Auburn man or woman. You’ll learn a lot about that as you become a part of campus. We know you have terrific athletic promise. We know you have an equally great promise personally and professionally as an individual. That is what we’ll cheer for the most. With all of its tradition and beauty and history, Auburn is about realizing potential: We have a great vision for what you can become and who you can be for our larger future. Honor this opportunity and those dreams can become your reality.
War Eagle and welcome home; welcome to Auburn. Love it, and it will always love you.
Signed,
The Auburn Family
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.
Signed,
Auburnjunky
From all of our hearts. Perfectly worded, Kenny.
Yep. Co-signed.
So true. It brings tears to my eyes. I believe in Auburn and LOVE IT! Welcome to the plains, gentlemen!
Sending a big War Damn Eagle from San Francisco
Perfectly stated.
War Damn Eagle!!
Good stuff Kenny, makes me want to go back and get another degree 🙂
Every new AU athlete should have to read this…
Good stuff..
WDE!!
Well written, K. Couldn’t have said it better myself.