This is my first blog entry and I thought that it would be appropriate to talk about the Auburn Tiger's National Championship run this year.
I am often asked why I am an Auburn fan when I didn't go to Auburn as a student. I grew up as an Auburn fan because my Dad was an Auburn fan. He attended Auburn in the 1950's when it was still called API (Alabama Polytechnical Institute) and just missed Auburn's last National Championship in 1957. I am thinking that the 1957 National Championship didn't mean as much in those days. They didn't have ESPN non-stop coverage of every nuance of the game and it was much more regional.
In 1957, Auburn was on probation (a running theme with the program) and could not play in a bowl game but the voters in the AP voted before the bowl games anyway and Auburn was awarded the Championship. Auburn had some other great teams before 1957 also, but many of those teams were before the really voted a champion. My fascination with football and Auburn began in the 1980's and Auburn had some great teams during those years, but it always seemed that they just couldn't get over the top and win a championship. They always played second fiddle to big brother in Tusculoosa. The team had some great teams in the early 90's under Terry Bowden, but once again they were on probation when they went undefeated and couldn't play in a bowl game.
The majority of my friends during the 80's and 90's were Georgia fans since I lived in South Georgia and so to me, Georgia was our most hated rival. I can remember much trash talking between my friend Brad and me on the days leading up to the Georgia game. His dad was such a big Georgia fan that it was better that I was not at his house on the day of the game for fear that I might cheer a big Auburn play and upset his father, but you better believe that as soon as the game ended one of us was on the phone calling to bask in the glory of a victory. If Auburn lost I knew that the first phone call was going to be Brad rubbing it in my face.
Brad and I both lost our Dad's at a young age and I know that we both wish we could sit and watch games with them now. I know that my Dad would have thoroughly enjoyed this years run to the Championship and I would have enjoyed experiencing it with him.
There were a few things that I did not like about this years team and I hope will not be a trend in coming years for Chizik coached teams. I denied all season, along with the coaching staff, that Nick Fairley was a "dirty" player. I tried to tell myself that his injuring of multiple quarterbacks throughout the season was just a product of a very large dude landing on top of some smaller dudes when he sacked them. I couldn't, however, deny that in the National Championship game his slamming of the Oregon quarterback's head into the ground after the play was "DIRTY". I have since looked back at many of the prior plays and see that for whatever reason a sack was not good enough, he had to slam the quarterback to the ground with intent to injure. The majority of these plays would have been subject to fines if he played in the NFL and he probably would have been suspended after so many plays of this nature. It didn't appear that Coach Chizik was willing to address this problem and although I probably wouldn't have said this during the season he should have set him down after the Georgia game at least for a half to send a message that dirty play will not be tolerated. So there you go, are my Georgia friends happy now.
Both Cam Newton and Nick Fairley have announced that they will leave for the NFL and this is not unexpected. I still don't know what might come of the Cam Newton investigation, but I hope for the sake of the snake-bitten Auburn crowd that this Championship doesn't get taken away sometime in the future.
Auburn also will lose four of its five offensive linemen and some other defensive players to graduation. The team will be very young next year and I have seen projections that they will start the season close to the bottom of the top 25 preseason rankings. I would guess that this ranking is historically low for a defending National Champion, but with all of the loses it doesn't surprise me.
I guess that will do it for my first blog entry. I don't know if anyone will be interested in my posts, but if you are please let me know. I will try to share a little more of my personal observations in the future. If my high school English teacher happens to read this post, I'm sorry.
I am often asked why I am an Auburn fan when I didn't go to Auburn as a student. I grew up as an Auburn fan because my Dad was an Auburn fan. He attended Auburn in the 1950's when it was still called API (Alabama Polytechnical Institute) and just missed Auburn's last National Championship in 1957. I am thinking that the 1957 National Championship didn't mean as much in those days. They didn't have ESPN non-stop coverage of every nuance of the game and it was much more regional.
In 1957, Auburn was on probation (a running theme with the program) and could not play in a bowl game but the voters in the AP voted before the bowl games anyway and Auburn was awarded the Championship. Auburn had some other great teams before 1957 also, but many of those teams were before the really voted a champion. My fascination with football and Auburn began in the 1980's and Auburn had some great teams during those years, but it always seemed that they just couldn't get over the top and win a championship. They always played second fiddle to big brother in Tusculoosa. The team had some great teams in the early 90's under Terry Bowden, but once again they were on probation when they went undefeated and couldn't play in a bowl game.
The majority of my friends during the 80's and 90's were Georgia fans since I lived in South Georgia and so to me, Georgia was our most hated rival. I can remember much trash talking between my friend Brad and me on the days leading up to the Georgia game. His dad was such a big Georgia fan that it was better that I was not at his house on the day of the game for fear that I might cheer a big Auburn play and upset his father, but you better believe that as soon as the game ended one of us was on the phone calling to bask in the glory of a victory. If Auburn lost I knew that the first phone call was going to be Brad rubbing it in my face.
Brad and I both lost our Dad's at a young age and I know that we both wish we could sit and watch games with them now. I know that my Dad would have thoroughly enjoyed this years run to the Championship and I would have enjoyed experiencing it with him.
There were a few things that I did not like about this years team and I hope will not be a trend in coming years for Chizik coached teams. I denied all season, along with the coaching staff, that Nick Fairley was a "dirty" player. I tried to tell myself that his injuring of multiple quarterbacks throughout the season was just a product of a very large dude landing on top of some smaller dudes when he sacked them. I couldn't, however, deny that in the National Championship game his slamming of the Oregon quarterback's head into the ground after the play was "DIRTY". I have since looked back at many of the prior plays and see that for whatever reason a sack was not good enough, he had to slam the quarterback to the ground with intent to injure. The majority of these plays would have been subject to fines if he played in the NFL and he probably would have been suspended after so many plays of this nature. It didn't appear that Coach Chizik was willing to address this problem and although I probably wouldn't have said this during the season he should have set him down after the Georgia game at least for a half to send a message that dirty play will not be tolerated. So there you go, are my Georgia friends happy now.
Both Cam Newton and Nick Fairley have announced that they will leave for the NFL and this is not unexpected. I still don't know what might come of the Cam Newton investigation, but I hope for the sake of the snake-bitten Auburn crowd that this Championship doesn't get taken away sometime in the future.
Auburn also will lose four of its five offensive linemen and some other defensive players to graduation. The team will be very young next year and I have seen projections that they will start the season close to the bottom of the top 25 preseason rankings. I would guess that this ranking is historically low for a defending National Champion, but with all of the loses it doesn't surprise me.
I guess that will do it for my first blog entry. I don't know if anyone will be interested in my posts, but if you are please let me know. I will try to share a little more of my personal observations in the future. If my high school English teacher happens to read this post, I'm sorry.
Drew, this is a good blog. Lots of luck with it.
ReplyDeleteI came back to Georgia in late 50's and to UGA, ag school. Wally Butts was still coach.
Simply put, I detested him. I cheered for Ga Tech.
I did watch my bro Gibson catch winning TD as a freshman: GT vs Auburn in 1953, I think.
Brad's mother reminded me that an Auburn loss one year resulted in my having to rake their yard. To the victor go the spoils.
ReplyDelete