Auburn Love for LSU SabanFan, You are absolutely correct about this particular quote putting Auburn’s current situation in the proper perspective. The second paragraph precisely articulates the reality of the state of Auburn's 2003 and 2004 teams and the landscape of the SEC in 2003. "No, what makes recruiting hard for Auburn is embarrassing seasons on the football field, followed by embarrassing bumbling by our AD and school president followed by the very embarrassing prospect of our university losing accreditation because of the idiots pulling the strings." The oversimplification of the reasons stated in this paragraph undermines its accuracy a little bit. What I mean is that Auburn's season was not "embarrassing." There were some quality wins, but in a couple of the losses Auburn was not competitive at all. The poster is probably so focused on the loss to GT and Auburn’s season long offensive woes that he/she is unable to recognize any of the successes that Auburn had this year. The poster is obviously a victim of very high pre-season expectations and the wounds left by his/her emotional letdown are still fresh causing him/her to brand the season "embarrassing," when in fact Auburn's season was just average. In my opinion, embarrassing would be a losing season and no bowl appearance, especially for a team that is a member of the SEC. The second reason stated by the poster is the most accurate contention in the first paragraph. The stupidity of Auburn's administrators and their unethical behavior will have some negative effect on recruiting. How much we won't know until February. I doubt the accreditation issue will have much if any effect on Auburns recruiting. This was about when Auburn needed to be taking advantage of our biggest in-state rival being on probation, a young Florida team trying to find itself, a Georgia team that is in the process of reloading, a schizo Tennessee squad, etc. LSU had the same opportunity. They made the most of it, Auburn didn't. Regardless of whether LSU wins or loses, they're going to continue to kick Auburn's head in as far as recruiting goes. We need to take care of our own business and root for our own success rather than the failure of others. This quote speaks the truth and I don't feel like it could have been spoken any better. If Auburn corrects its problems, winning will improve its recruiting success. However, the Landscape in the SEC changes periodically and I just hope that it is not too late for Auburn to catch the winnig boat during this period of transition. Finally, an LSU victory is good for all football teams in the South let alone the SEC. It is fun to be a part of a league that is so competitive and yet still manages to have representative teams in the national title hunt. Go LSU. Maybe Auburn can get a chance sometime soon as well. Dave
Good post AUDave, just when I thought all hope was lost for AU fans a War Chicken with a brain appears. There is hope for AU after all. However Tommy Tub-O-Chit's act is wearing thin on AU's administration, fans and probably recruits. He is quickly replacing Spurrier as the biggest jerk in college football but without the football savvy of Visor Boy. When Tubby is finally fired do you trust the administration to be competent enough to find a suitable replacement?
GO LSU!!!!!!!!!!! KICK ASS IN THE NC!!!!!!!!REPRESENT THE SEC JUST LIKE YOU HAVE BEEN ALL YEAR!!!!!!!! WAR DAMN EAGLE!!
Trust in AU's Admin. is Non Existent I trust that Walker and Housel will hire whom Bobby Lowder tells them to. Lowder has picked the last three Auburn coaches and only one was a championship caliber coach. He will go after a middle of the pack type coach who has shown some coaching talent, but he will not hire the flavor of the month coach. Petrino is an example of what I mean by a middle of the pack coach, one that could end up pretty good but was on no ones must have list. Dave
Well, at least there is 2 or 3 good AU fans here. I live in SE Alabama....surrounded by both AU and UA fans, and I have to say most, if not all of the AU fans I have met so far, hate us, and 100% of the UA fans I have met are behind us. There were a few Aubbies behind us, but the number wasn't too great. Go Auburn!!!! Take the Music home! Go all SEC reps!!!!!
Events of 1999 & 2001, and the internet are the cause of the ill feelings between a portion of Auburn's fan base and a portion of LSU's fan base. I think the percentage of fans who “hate” the other team represents the minority position among both LSU and Auburn fans. The Auburn fans that speak of hate for LSU are the ones who have talked smack on the internet for the past few years or are the ones who claim to have been mistreated by LSU fans at sporting events. I really believe that there are a huge number of fans that are unaware of the message board community and the nasty discussions that take place so often. The internet, and talk radio to a lesser extent, in my opinion have really brought the level of sportsmanship and SEC conference pride to an all time low. The massage boards are now being overtaken by very arrogant, poor- winners and very bitter sore losers. The losers are brutally mocked and no part of their beloved university escapes the ridicule of the winning team's fans. On the other hand, the losing team's fans resort to conjecture and shout wild accusations and lament over various conspiracy theories about cheating on and off of the field, and making every attempt possible to disparage and discredit the name, character, and legitimacy of the winning team's players, coaches, administrators, and fans(talk about a run-on). Back and forth it goes, with the intensity of the contempt growing stronger and stronger. Such is the way it has become between Auburn's and LSU's internet fans and the internet fans of the other SEC rivals. You know things are getting bad when opposing fans take delight in student athletes that get injured or fall short academically (we have all witnessed this on the message boards). These fans take joy in this because it is ammunition for their weekly venom spewing smack down on the net. Now, the problem is that some fans have taken the enemy smack personal and it is clear by the extent to which they go to put down rival fans that they wish to inflict personal wounds in return. These are the fans that have dug their heels in and have made it their mission to keep the past events and bad feelings in the forefront of the message board community all the while stirring up the same ill feelings among the board’s members. This is their salve that acts to sooth their own personal wounds. The "hate the rival team" mentality has now reached such depths that fans are tickled pink inside when they find a link that tells of a rival player or coach getting into trouble with the law because "everyone knows that that particular team is run by scum bags and is full of criminals, and the student body as well as the professors are low life law breakers too." (sarcasm) The focus on clean and fair competition and the achievements of student athletes has been fading for some time, but now it is getting to the point where fans appear to be hope for victory just so they can go back to the net and tell the rival fans how pathetic they are and how unworthy their team is. Now it seems like some fans celebrate their team’s wins mainly because it gives them the “one-upsmanship” or “paybacks are heck” position instead of celebrating wins because of pride in their school or the success of student athletes and their admiration for excellent athletic performances (no matter which team is represented). Now the MO in the SEC appears to be to tear down the competition by any means in order to become top dog (or "Top Tiger" in our case. I believe that the fans that don't waste their time on message boards dishing out insults and defending their team with every bit emotion that they have get so much more out of the football season. The discussions at their tailgate parties revolve around reunions with college friends and college memories as well as past football glory days rather than suspecting that every rival fan that walks by their tailgate party is that “piece of shoot” rival fan that dissed them and their team on the net earlier in the week. As an Auburn fan and a SEC fan, I don't like mean spirited smack talk on the net. For me, smack talk with rival fans eats away at the joy that I get from the sheer fun and excitement of Auburn and SEC football games. Furthermore, the intense feelings that are brought out during internet smack downs cause posters to use cutting words that they normally wouldn’t use. The nature of the internet influences people to compromise their character and to show little regard for fellow posters. Because no one is face to face, the human element is diminished. First before posting, and without considering the need for self control and thick skin, posters need to consider the evidence that is all around us that proves that our kindergarten teacher was wrong about one thing, words can be as destructive and cause as much or more harm than sticks and stones. Now I am confident that the horse is dead. I have beaten him several times to make sure. Sorry for the length, but for some reason I have a lot to say about this subject. I will attempt to refrain from posting any more sermons on your board in the future. Take care, Dave
AU Dave; You said it ! Too many people take internet gossip for gospel. I must admit, every Aub fan i've met in person is nothing like the 10-20 A-Hole posters who come over here to compete with our 10-20 A-hole posters. Those few guys get the rest of us sucked into the gutter. I was at the LSU / Aub game the year the old Gym caught fire. I was treated SO well there - and I like to show the same type hospitality to fans from other schools who I run into here at our games. Being "at the Top" is a great feeling. I have followed my Tigers to every bowl since the Orange Bowl in 82 - and I have to say , it feels GREAT to have been with the Tigers every step of the way to the top. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays ! p.s good luck in your Bowl
AU & LSU Well said, AU Dave. Bravo! As I have said before on this board, I have two brothers who are graduates of the Auburn. They cherish their time in "The Loveliest Village on the Plains" as much as I cherish my time at LSU. I really hate that the rivalry has gotten ugly in some quarters and hope that it changes soon. Unfortunately, Auburn is in a much greater crisis right now. The SACS probation is an emergency that the Alabama Governor needs to fix soon. Why did it happen? Well, because of one of the pinheads who takes football way too seriously happens to be one of your biggest donors. Auburn students and alumni need to understand that their biggest enemy is Bobby Lowder. Hopefully their agitation to the Governor can get him removed from the Board of Trustees. Auburn will suffer until he is removed, and that suffering may be permanent if it doesn't happen fast. Unfortunately, many schools have alums who have more money than brains. Do you think that Alabama fans wished Logan Young would have just bought tickets instead of players? We had a Doctor who probably wishes he hadn't ever met Lester Earl. There is a place for big donors, but they should serve the school instead of expecting the school to serve them. The mentality of the SEC is to tear other schools down right now. I hope that changes very soon. WAR EAGLE GEAUX TIGERS
