War Eagle

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

By process of elimination, that's the pond in the open square directly behind Samford Hall, from the perspective of your photo. It's not really a "pond," it's a 10x20 foot rectangle of water. Occasionally, there are fish in it.

 

In ancient times, AuburnJen's dad and his fraternity cohorts might have dumped a case of Jello in that pond during a cold winter's night, and the entire thing set solid. The fish were briefly surprised.

 

Edit: And I'm beaten like Auburn in 2012.

 

 

shhh, you were not supposed to tell his identity....lol

 

Is there a Statute of Limitations on making Jello in a fish pond?

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

 

There is no way that I could or would pay out of state tuition for my girls, so they could chose any University they wanted to attend- as long as it had Florida in the name.  For grad school, though, my oldest knew that the program she was choosing often offered the graduate assistantships, so the out of state tuition thing became much less of an issue.  From what I have seen, Alabama has a great University system- I would tell your DS to pick a school in state and bribe him with some of the fortune you will save by not paying out of state tuition (not to mention transportation costs).

 

TCD

I do agree that in state tuition would be cheaper, but he has his heart set on UNL.  I tried to find out if we can get any sort of break since we do pay some income tax to Nebraska.  Surprisingly we would, but the amount we pay is so small and it would only be a percentage of that.  So, he will definitely be doing some scholarship research as well as college searching.  I am also trying to get him to consider trying to get an ROTC scholarship no matter where he ends up going.  When he was younger he wanted to do that, but now as the time is drawing near he is not so sure.

 

I will have to show him these pictures you took so, he can at least get an idea of the Auburn campus.  Of course he did have a chance to go see it back when his All-Star team was playing in a tournament in Alexander City.  Unfortunately when the guys were going was when I planned for us to go to Mass.  So, he had to miss out.  Yep,  I was the "mean mom" that day.  

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I don't understand the "War Eagles" thing.  Especially when it's on a flag under a picture of Tony the Tiger.  Could someone please explain?

[AuburnChris 193]

<insert standard "why does nobody ask Alabama fans what r*ll t*de has to do with elephants" complaint here>

 

I'm sure if you go back through my post history, the full story of War Eagle and the reason Auburn is named the Tigers are in there. Think of it as a scavenger hunt.

 

I'm taking over this trip report, pursuant to Paragraph 12, Section 8 of Article 2 of the Fort Fiends Constitution, which plainly states that any trip report called "War Eagle" is subject to hijack by the site administrators.

 

I went to A-day (Auburn's spring football game) today, and my phone (and its extra battery) came with me. As soon as the pictures get uploaded, I'll start posting them.

[AuburnChris 193]

I think I have enough to start with. I drove into town at around 10:00 this morning, three hours before game time. People were getting an early start rolling the trees, apparently:

 

 

Here's a better look at them, you can tell the poison really did a number on them. Sad, but: it forced some people to do some research. It turns out those particular oaks are "only" about 76 years old, not 130 as originally thought. There's a picture taken in the 1890's of Toomer's Corner showing an oak tree in about the same place as these, but that oak was cut down by the 1920s- there's another picture from that time showing a stump where that tree was.

 

Anyway: Here's a bit better look at both trees, taken out of my car window:

 

Then, it was time to park and visit the stadium.

 

Here's Coach Heisman, I think you can read the inscription below the bust about why he's there next to Cam, Bo, and Pat.

 

And on to Auburn's 3 Heisman Trophy winners. TCD showed you Cam and Bo, but he didn't know Pat Sullivan, the 1971 winner. He came from a brief period in Auburn's 60's-70's history when we began to experiment with this "forward pass" thing that we'd heard about.

 

I walked down to the athletic complex, where they had opened up the practice fields for fans to come and gawk at. There were games for the kiddies, and a punt-pass-and-kick competition as well:

 

These signs were posted all around the fields. What a scofflaw I am!

 

I try to get out, but they keep dragging me back in. As I headed back to the stadium, the band was getting ready to warm up under the tree outside the south entrance:

 

General admission means I get to sit where I want, right? Well, then! Nothing but the best for me- 50-yard-line seats right below the scholarship deck, underneath the upper deck overhang so the evil daystar cannot scorch me:

 

After I claimed my seat, several event-staff types showed up and started telling people who tried to sit below me that this section had now become reserved seating for scholarship donors, because apparently lots more people showed up than they anticipated. I studiously avoided making eye contact with them, so they wouldn't have an excuse to ask me to move. They never did.

 

Next: Football! And toilet paper!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Good for you for staying in your seat. With the last rolling wouldn't they expect a huge crowd?

And good point about the Tide. What does that have to do with elephants?

People from all teams in Alabama are confused.

Are they going to replant? They should. Keep tradition going. CJ's kids won't ever realize.

[AuburnChris 193]

Well, I lied. Just a couple of football pics here, because all of the ones I took were of the "These are unidentifiable football mans doing unidentifiable football things" variety, and that doesn't make for good story. The game itself was, well, nice. The pace was quick, as you'd expect from a hurry-up-no-huddle style coach like Gus Malzahn, but it's painfully obvious that there are still vital pieces of the puzzle missing at Auburn. We have no identifiable starting quarterback, but we have a JuCo transfer and this year's Mr. Football in Alabama coming this fall to help with that. Our defense looked better, when Malzahn wasn't having fun picking them apart a bit with his playcalling, but most of the razzle-dazzle stuff was still under wraps.

 

Heeeeeeere come the Tigers!

 

Usually, the quarterback is untouchable in spring games. In this play, though, the snap is being taken by one of our wide receivers in the Wildcat formation. Note: You can see Coach Malzahn 10 yards behind the offense. This is where he was the whole game.

 

Today's score: Jumbotron 1, Chris' cell phone 0

 

This one worked out a little better- it shows the final score (as if anyone cared about the score of a spring game), and it's a great segue to our next topic: The final rolling of the Toomer's Corner oak trees.

[AuburnChris 193]

Usually, at a football game, people start to leave once the outcome isn't in doubt. This is especially true in spring games, where there's not even an outcome to worry about. Not this time. The stadium continued to fill, and then it -kept- filling. They had originally announced that the upper decks would be closed, but halfway through the first quarter they opened them, because they had to- people couldn't find a place to sit in the lower bowl. Eventually, most of the upper deck was full, too. They announced an official attendance of 83,401, which is close to a sellout, but not quite. I think that's a generous estimate, actually- just before they announced the official attendance, the radio team was guessing around 70-75k, and that sounds about right to me. Still, either of those numbers is an Auburn A-Day attendance record.

 

They weren't here for the game, though. Not really. They came for the trees. After the game ended, people started filing out and moving in one direction and one direction only: To Toomer's Corner.

 

Nobody got in their car. Nobody left early. EVERYONE went to Toomer's. On the way, I walked past the pond TCD and Jen were talking about:

 

83,401 people were attempting to stand under those oaks at once. And throw toilet paper at them, one last time:

 

The trees will be taken down Tuesday, and the wood from them will be used to create souvenirs and various pieces of art. But today, they stand, and they wear a LOT of toilet paper. Neighboring trees were not safe, either:

 

The following picture is of interest only to Five Guys hamburger fans and my wife. It is the former location of our store when we lived in Auburn. It's less than half a block from Toomer's Corner:

 

 

If you took "There will not be a picture of a man in orange pants jumping rope while on a unicycle in this trip report" in the office pool, I have bad news for you:

 

 

They announced the final future plans for the Corner at this event. This was the best picture I could get of them. It looks like they're going to keep the brick gates where they are, and put two new oaks beside them. It should create a little more open space, which would have been a good thing to have today- I told Jen it was like Mardi Gras, but with toilet paper. It was occasionally difficult to move around due to all the people.

 

Aubie climbed up on the brick gates and paid his respects to the trees:

 

The woman standing next to me tried to toss Aubie a roll of paper, but she forgot an important point: Aubie can't see for crap inside that thing. She succeeded in chucking a roll of TP at Aubie's crotch, which I happened to record for posterity:

 

She felt bad. I can't imagine Aubie felt any better, but he carried on like a trooper:

 

It's surprisingly hard to get action shots of a tiger throwing toilet paper at a tree.

 

One last look at the trees, this time with Samford Hall at my back, looking towards the Corner:

 

 

And that's it. Hope you enjoyed it!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Very cool report Chris!!!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Looks like a great day.  Wish Jen could have been there with you. 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

That story gave me chills.   I wish we could have made it.  This is a great picture from today.  I see if I can get a copy to frame. 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

And I hope it was okay to post that.  Sorry if not.  I don't know the rules.  Thought it would be okay since the logo was on there. 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

One more and I'll stop!!

 

:insanity:

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

And I hope it was okay to post that.  Sorry if not.  I don't know the rules.  Thought it would be okay since the logo was on there.

 

You're fine!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Yesterday I mentioned the trees to David, and I was surprised that he knew all about it.  So I did some research this morning.  How sad!  I was shocked to learn that the person who poisoned the trees was 62 years old.  Guess I'd been assuming it was a college kid trying to pull a prank. 

 

I had no idea that Auburn has a real eagle that flies over the games.  Wow!  How cool!

 

Having attended UNC-G, a 98% female university at the time, we only had intramural sports which no one attended.  So I've never been much of a college sports fan.  I'm realizing that I missed out on a lot of good times and camaraderie and am learning appreciation for your school loyalties and traditions.

 

I'm happy for Chris that he was able to be there yesterday but, as Dave said, wish Jen could have attended too!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Very cool.

Thanks for sharing Chris.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, I forgot all about Article 2, paragraph 12, section 8!

 

I'm glad that Chris didn't.

 

Those photos are great!

 

It is amazing how many fans showed up to support the school.  Especially after a down season.  That is really impressive.

 

I saw that bust of John Heisman, but didn't stop to read the plaque.  I thought he was there because he was the guy they named the trophy after.  I didn't know he had a connection to Auburn.

 

Chris, that is the pond that I was talking about.  I did not see any fish or jello in it.  But I will look closer the next time I'm there.  Which will be in less than two weeks when I go to move my daughter in to her new apartment (and hopefully get a cup of lemonade).

 

War Eagle.

 

TCD

[AuburnChris 193]

Thanks, TCD! Glad you enjoyed the pics (and my merciless hijack of your trip report)!

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

Oh, sorry. Having a tree as your mascot makes much more sense that a poisonous nut. :rofl2:

TCD

Way more sense.

I thought buckeyes were those chocolate covered peanut butter balls people make at Christmas time? All this time, I was convinced the team was named after balls. Balls.....Nuts......Tomato....Tomahto....

Interesting note....In that "state-up-North" they don't refer to those delicious morsels as Buckeyes....they call them monkey balls. Nasty "state-up-North".

Not trying to cause an argument, but,,,,,, in Illinois we would rather our family members went to prison than "The OHIO State".

We think the same thing about people from Illinois...that they belong in prison that is. And since were talking mascots......what the Fort is an Illini?

Neither of them shot any Yankees, but then again, they never met BuckeyeFortFan.

Aww. Bless your heart.

I grew up in Ohio and lived there for all but 8 of my 42 years on this earth and am not a fan of The Ohio State either. I know some very nice people who went to school there but do not like that school...so no arguments here.

:raspberry:

LOL. The exagerated "the" always makes me laugh. The people who say that never realize how dumb they sound.

TCD

I admit, that does sound silly. Most people don't say the "The" around here either.

Ear Wagle.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

RIP Toomer Oaks:

 

 

TCD

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

So sad

[alexwyattmommy 181]

So sad.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

How sad!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Way more sense.

Interesting note....In that "state-up-North" they don't refer to those delicious morsels as Buckeyes....they call them monkey balls. Nasty "state-up-North".

We think the same thing about people from Illinois...that they belong in prison that is. And since were talking mascots......what the Fort is an Illini?

Aww. Bless your heart.

:raspberry:

I admit, that does sound silly. Most people don't say the "The" around here either.

Ear Wagle.

 

Yeah, what is an Illinis? It's clear that the South has better mascots all around.

 

RIP Toomer Oaks:

 

 

TCD

 

Very sad. I predict that wood is going to turn into expensive memorabilia... cuff links, pens, etc.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Harvey Updyke's sentence should have been that he had to personally chop up those trees with a dull ax and remove all the wood from the Corners.  I don't care if it took him 4 years of hard labor through all kinds of weather, he should have been sentenced to work there every day until it was done.  But like most moronic criminals destroying this country, he got off too easy.