a Positive outlook at JABA

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

     So I am sitting here at work, bored out of my mind rewatching some classics of AU Football when I started thinking of this. We all know about JABA. We all have felt the tear at our heartstrings probably your entire life of the Football Program. We all want Auburn to be excellent in every aspect, including Football. I was talking with a friend of mine who is an Alabama fan and he made a joke about how Auburn wants to storm the field every time we win an iron bowl. I told him that it's because we are always the underdog and it's a big dang deal to us. He said he couldn't relate because For the past decade, Alabama hasn't been an underdog to Auburn. This got me thinking..How would it feel to always be favored to win. Now obviously I would love to win a National Championship every other year, play for the other, and average 12 wins a season for a 10 year stretch. I'd love for Auburn to land the Top recruiting class year in and year out. Do not get me wrong I think we would all love this. The truth is we don't do those things. We haven't done these things. I don't know if we ever will with this Staff or any other for that matter. We are probably the most unpredictable team when it comes to Football year in year out. We have preseason Natty aspirations and we finish 8-5 at best. We go 3-9 and have very low expectations out of a first year coach and we almost win a Natty. JABA right? 

    So as I am thinking on this I take myself back to the Kick Six. That moment was truly one of the happiest moments of my life. I hosted football party with my wife and had my 2 older brothers and wives, my mother, and a couple friends over to watch. When C. Davis #11 hit the sideline I lifted my oldest brother up off the ground ( he's a good 275 LBs lol) and took off running until we both tumbled down. We yelled so loud we scared the dogs off. It was pure joy. I know every Auburn fan knows the feeling and could tell me exactly where they were and what they were doing when that happened. We later went to the bar and celebrated all night Truly one of the best nights of my life. 2 weeks prior I was working late and listening to RIP Rod and Stan when the prayer happened. I almost lost my job over my reaction to that. Another one of the best moments in my life was Jan. 10th, 2011. I was alone in my Studio Apt in Las Vegas. I had called my brother back when earlier in the season to talk ball. I remember asking him if he thought Auburn would ever win a Natty in our lifetime. He said "I don't know but I sure as hell hope so". (We both are still pissed to this day about being snubbed 2004). So on Jan 10, 2011, after Wes Byrum sealed the deal and Auburn won it's first Nation Championship in over 50 years....I literally cried. All by myself...in my lil 1100 sq ft apartment. I bawled my eyes out. Then I yelled for a long time. Woke the neighbors. What an Epic moment

     I bring these memories up because they are at the pinnacle of Auburn Successes. After the conversation I had with my friend about the iron bowl, It made me realize that one thing that comes from JABA is it makes the experience so much more when we do win. I mean think about the final 4 this year...and Baseball. Same thing. They were epic runs. Of course I hope the success continues, but that's not my point. Especially with football. When you are the underdog it makes it mean so much more when you achieve greatness. I have never seen Alabama fans get as excited as Auburn fans over anything. I mean they are so used to winning. I am sure someone on here can tell me how many times in Saban's tenure that they have not been favored to win. It isn't many. How would that feel to always expect to win. To always have the better players, the better facilities, the better staff. To always be the team that should win? Would the kick six have been as epic had the roles been reversed? Prayer at Jordan-Hare? Camback? 2010 BCS? I just don't think so. Do you think that if Auburn was expected to win every game, that it would take away some of the thrills we have enjoyed as members of this Roller coaster ride we dare call Auburn Football?

   I truly hope that this staff can get things together and Auburn can go on a run like we have never seen before? I don't know if that happens with this staff, or even the next, or ever. I hope so. I do know, however, that I absolutely love Auburn, and will continue to Love Auburn and Auburn Athletics until the day I die. I will root for our players, our staff and our University. I will bang my head in the hard times ( JABA ) but I will embellish in the good. I will soak in every single detail. The sounds, the sights, the smells, and the euphoric feeling that we as Auburn fans get when we beat Bama's Aspirin. So until that next epic life changing Auburn win.............................War Damn Eagle

     

    

[Gowebb11 9,339]

6 hours ago, Tigerpro2a said:

   I truly hope that this staff can get things together and Auburn can go on a run like we have never seen before? I don't know if that happens with this staff, or even the next, or ever. I hope so. I do know, however, that I absolutely love Auburn, and will continue to Love Auburn and Auburn Athletics until the day I die. I will root for our players, our staff and our University. I will bang my head in the hard times ( JABA ) but I will embellish in the good. I will soak in every single detail. The sounds, the sights, the smells, and the euphoric feeling that we as Auburn fans get when we beat Bama's Aspirin. So until that next epic life changing Auburn win.............................War Damn Eagle

Great post. If you look at the true bluebloods of college football (UAT, Ohio St, Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State, etc) the vast majority of them are the state school. Thats where it begins for AU. As the ‘other school’ in your own state, everything comes a little harder. You are out numbered by fans of the state school, and the media does you no favors. You have to fight for every inch. And that’s what made me fall in love with AU. We are the blue collar, bring your lunch pail to work, underdog. Fight, claw, scrap, bite; whatever it takes to compete. Everything we get we have to get with Bama in our backyard. LSU doesn’t have that type of competition in state. Neither does Georgia. On the positive side of that, we win our share of championships and certainly have some spectacular seasons/moments. On the negative side, the inconsistency of our program is maddening. To your point though, because our road is laden with more obstacles, our big moments are more precious to us. Auburn is in my DNA. Going to school there changed my life. We could limp to a 6-6 season this year, or contend for a spot in the CFP. Either way I will be there hanging on every play, proud to be an Auburn Tiger. Forever, and ever.

War Damn Eagle 🦅 

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

People will jump all over me for this, but your Bama friend isn't totally wrong.

I was 100% ok with rushing the field in 2013.  That was a surreal moment and the greatest ending in football history.  It made sense.

I was pissed our fans did it in 2017.  The game was won handily.  Stay in the stands and celebrate.  For many of us, we've been there before.  I feel like our current students don't know much better though and primarily know Bama as this juggernaut, thus the need to go over the top when we win.  And make no mistake, they were the ones who started the field storm in 2017.

Beating Bama is always fun, but save the field storming for something truly incredible.

[TexasTiger 12,961]

7 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

People will jump all over me for this, but your Bama friend isn't totally wrong.

I was 100% ok with rushing the field in 2013.  That was a surreal moment and the greatest ending in football history.  It made sense.

I was pissed our fans did it in 2017.  The game was won handily.  Stay in the stands and celebrate.  For many of us, we've been there before.  I feel like our current students don't know much better though and primarily know Bama as this juggernaut, thus the need to go over the top when we win.  And make no mistake, they were the ones who started the field storm in 2017.

Beating Bama is always fun, but save the field storming for something truly incredible.

Wasn’t Bama ranked #1 at the time? Beating the #1 team pretty handily still rates as a big deal, doesn’t it?

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

6 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

Wasn’t Bama ranked #1 at the time? Beating the #1 team pretty handily still rates as a big deal, doesn’t it?

Wasn't UGA ranked #1 when we beat them by 23 two weeks earlier?  Didn't seem to feel the need to rush the field that day.

Also, we were #5/6.  It wasn't a monumental upset of Bama.

[War to the Eagle 364]

In my mind it just takes the right leader. When Dabo Swinney came on at Clemson, everything changed-culture, coaching, everything. When the right leadership is there, everything else follows.

[TexasTiger 12,961]

58 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Wasn't UGA ranked #1 when we beat them by 23 two weeks earlier?  Didn't seem to feel the need to rush the field that day.

Also, we were #5/6.  It wasn't a monumental upset of Bama.

We upset the #1 team twice in three weeks. It’s was pretty monumental.

[drsteve87 91]

I'd remind your Alabama friend that during our 7-0 run of Ironbowl wins under Tubs that storming the field wasn't a thing. Of course, UA wasn't very good during those years. It wan't as big of a deal as it is to beat a national juggernaut like UA is under Saban. 

[Carnell 592]

11 hours ago, Tigerpro2a said:

     So I am sitting here at work, bored out of my mind rewatching some classics of AU Football when I started thinking of this. We all know about JABA. We all have felt the tear at our heartstrings probably your entire life of the Football Program. We all want Auburn to be excellent in every aspect, including Football. I was talking with a friend of mine who is an Alabama fan and he made a joke about how Auburn wants to storm the field every time we win an iron bowl. I told him that it's because we are always the underdog and it's a big dang deal to us. He said he couldn't relate because For the past decade, Alabama hasn't been an underdog to Auburn. This got me thinking..How would it feel to always be favored to win. Now obviously I would love to win a National Championship every other year, play for the other, and average 12 wins a season for a 10 year stretch. I'd love for Auburn to land the Top recruiting class year in and year out. Do not get me wrong I think we would all love this. The truth is we don't do those things. We haven't done these things. I don't know if we ever will with this Staff or any other for that matter. We are probably the most unpredictable team when it comes to Football year in year out. We have preseason Natty aspirations and we finish 8-5 at best. We go 3-9 and have very low expectations out of a first year coach and we almost win a Natty. JABA right? 

    So as I am thinking on this I take myself back to the Kick Six. That moment was truly one of the happiest moments of my life. I hosted football party with my wife and had my 2 older brothers and wives, my mother, and a couple friends over to watch. When C. Davis #11 hit the sideline I lifted my oldest brother up off the ground ( he's a good 275 LBs lol) and took off running until we both tumbled down. We yelled so loud we scared the dogs off. It was pure joy. I know every Auburn fan knows the feeling and could tell me exactly where they were and what they were doing when that happened. We later went to the bar and celebrated all night Truly one of the best nights of my life. 2 weeks prior I was working late and listening to RIP Rod and Stan when the prayer happened. I almost lost my job over my reaction to that. Another one of the best moments in my life was Jan. 10th, 2011. I was alone in my Studio Apt in Las Vegas. I had called my brother back when earlier in the season to talk ball. I remember asking him if he thought Auburn would ever win a Natty in our lifetime. He said "I don't know but I sure as hell hope so". (We both are still pissed to this day about being snubbed 2004). So on Jan 10, 2011, after Wes Byrum sealed the deal and Auburn won it's first Nation Championship in over 50 years....I literally cried. All by myself...in my lil 1100 sq ft apartment. I bawled my eyes out. Then I yelled for a long time. Woke the neighbors. What an Epic moment

     I bring these memories up because they are at the pinnacle of Auburn Successes. After the conversation I had with my friend about the iron bowl, It made me realize that one thing that comes from JABA is it makes the experience so much more when we do win. I mean think about the final 4 this year...and Baseball. Same thing. They were epic runs. Of course I hope the success continues, but that's not my point. Especially with football. When you are the underdog it makes it mean so much more when you achieve greatness. I have never seen Alabama fans get as excited as Auburn fans over anything. I mean they are so used to winning. I am sure someone on here can tell me how many times in Saban's tenure that they have not been favored to win. It isn't many. How would that feel to always expect to win. To always have the better players, the better facilities, the better staff. To always be the team that should win? Would the kick six have been as epic had the roles been reversed? Prayer at Jordan-Hare? Camback? 2010 BCS? I just don't think so. Do you think that if Auburn was expected to win every game, that it would take away some of the thrills we have enjoyed as members of this Roller coaster ride we dare call Auburn Football?

   I truly hope that this staff can get things together and Auburn can go on a run like we have never seen before? I don't know if that happens with this staff, or even the next, or ever. I hope so. I do know, however, that I absolutely love Auburn, and will continue to Love Auburn and Auburn Athletics until the day I die. I will root for our players, our staff and our University. I will bang my head in the hard times ( JABA ) but I will embellish in the good. I will soak in every single detail. The sounds, the sights, the smells, and the euphoric feeling that we as Auburn fans get when we beat Bama's Aspirin. So until that next epic life changing Auburn win.............................War Damn Eagle

     

    

I would rather win 3 or 4 titles than 1 kick six.  The thrill of competing for titles every year is better to me than the prayer in jordanhare.  I would rather alabama and georgia go into the game with a hope of a kick six to win and we going into the game with the confidence of being a double digit favorite.   I HOPE you guys feel the way I do but while I am happy and cheer kick six and punt bama punt we were not the overall better team in those games so there was no transition to the future.  

The reason for this attitude is small thinking at Auburn.  Alabama goes to the NFL to get a head coach we get a loser from ISU and a high school coach.   AND APPARENTLY THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANYTIME SOON.

[aubaseball 2,629]

The reason for this attitude is small thinking at Auburn.  Alabama goes to the NFL to get a head coach we get a loser from ISU and a high school coach.   AND APPARENTLY THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANYTIME SOON.

 

while I understand your comparison, the “loser from ISU and HS Coach “ brought AU a National title and a title game appearance.   Now should they have ever been hired?  In my opinion no, but that is in the past.   There is something flawed with how AU conducts business.   This is what needs fixed before success will truly take hold 

[Carnell 592]

1 hour ago, aubaseball said:

The reason for this attitude is small thinking at Auburn.  Alabama goes to the NFL to get a head coach we get a loser from ISU and a high school coach.   AND APPARENTLY THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANYTIME SOON.

 

while I understand your comparison, the “loser from ISU and HS Coach “ brought AU a National title and a title game appearance.   Now should they have ever been hired?  In my opinion no, but that is in the past.   There is something flawed with how AU conducts business.   This is what needs fixed before success will truly take hold 

I am not saying auburn has not had high points but the two coaches mentioned above never implemented a system in which Auburn is a consistent player in the championship season.  For Auburn in the 2010 season for Auburn to get through the season we had Cam one of the best if not the best quarterback in NCAA history.  How many more Cam are we expected to get in the future.  And with Gus after the DCs in the league saw him once they had no trouble stopping him.  In fact, Gus could have a good record at auburn with his ability to recruit but he is so arrogant he will not bring in an OC that could show him up.  When he hired Lindsey, he interviewed 5 OCs that was far more impressive than Lindsey as far as having OC experience at schools in a power 5 conference but he ended up hiring lindsey  and now Dillingham.  With those kind of hires Auburn can at best expect only middle to lower performance expectations.

[AU64 10,122]

4 hours ago, Brad_ATX said:

Wasn't UGA ranked #1 when we beat them by 23 two weeks earlier?  Didn't seem to feel the need to rush the field that day.

Also, we were #5/6.  It wasn't a monumental upset of Bama.

Alums might feel that way but for students?   ....it was a big deal beating a hated rival....especially since most of them grew up listening to the bama BS that swamps the state media …..therefore a big difference in the uga and bama wins......and doing something that even most alums thought was impossible. Wonder how many folks were on this forum "guaranteeing" that AU was gonna beat bama?        I agree that rushing the field should be for special victories …...but special is in the eye of the beholder. ...and students and younger alums have a shorter span of experience.

JMO I guess but if I were at the game, it would be headed for the exit....but I can understand why some fans, especially students might see the outcome as worthy. 

[gr82be 14,440]

We are Auburn and we don't need to storm the field no matter who we beat but hey that's me as a older fan. When I was a student it's hard to say what I would have done. Barfield was coach so there wasn't much opportunity. We got excited over orange jerseys and a tie with Georgia. 

[AU64 10,122]

56 minutes ago, gr82be said:

We are Auburn and we don't need to storm the field no matter who we beat but hey that's me as a older fan. When I was a student it's hard to say what I would have done. Barfield was coach so there wasn't much opportunity. We got excited over orange jerseys and a tie with Georgia. 

I guess football and basketball are the only sports where storming the court/field even occurs.....and seems this is something that has come up in last decade perhaps at other schools.....beating Duke or Kentucky in basketball for example.   As for football....folks complain if the student leave after halftime and don't stick around to the end of a game......or get too excited with a big victory and celebrate excessively.....adults have gotten kind of picky it seems.  

  I just hate what I think are excessive fines that seem only to occur in the SEC. 

[Tiger 8,829]

I would like to think we stormed the field because we took the West vs Bama in 2017. Not because we beat the #1 team or because it was Bama but because we secured a division championship that night.

[steeleagle 2,945]

7 hours ago, Tiger said:

I would like to think we stormed the field because we took the West vs Bama in 2017. Not because we beat the #1 team or because it was Bama but because we secured a division championship that night.

I would think it could be a little of all of what you suggested. OFC, there are AU fans who only see beating Bama as the goal. 

[creed 1,641]

What does JABA stand for?

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

22 minutes ago, creed said:

What does JABA stand for?

Just Auburn Being Auburn.  See incestuous hiring practices at Auburn as an example.

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

8 hours ago, Tiger said:

I would like to think we stormed the field because we took the West vs Bama in 2017. Not because we beat the #1 team or because it was Bama but because we secured a division championship that night.

Unless you're a perennial doormat or FCS team beating a top 10 team there's really no reason to storm the field.  A once proud program winning their division really shouldn't qualify.

[Tiger 8,829]

Just now, dyehardfanAU said:

Unless your a perenial doormat beating a top 10 team there's really no reason to storm the field.

That's what I'm saying, beating a #1 when you're #5 isn't a big deal and shouldn't warrant a field storming unless it's something insane like a Kick 6

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

On 7/5/2019 at 11:40 PM, Tigerpro2a said:

Would the kick six have been as epic had the roles been reversed?

I thought about that a few days after it happened. Yes, I do believe Alabama fans would have stormed their field had they run back a Kick Six against #4 Auburn. I've had an Alabama fan tell me prior to that moment they would never storm their field over any win. The Kick Six is proof they would have. Why? Because it was an unpredictable, unprecedented winning score after the opposition misses a game-winning FG. It has never happened prior and will very likely never happen again in our lifetimes.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,305]

I was watching the Kick Six with 12-15 alumni in a basement in NC. We were all between 25 and 40 years old.

We had a dog pile in the middle of the floor after that happened and immediately ran outside to roll a 15' tree in the front yard.

In that moment, it was pure, sporadic, explosive joy. If I were at the stadium and the first row started onto the field, you better believe I'm following them down.

In 2017, it was a sightly different feeling but the result was the justifiably the same. We had just defeated, SOUNDLY, one of the most dynastic teams and coach in the history of college football, on the heels of a 23 point beat down over a rival team that had owned real estate in our head for a decade, after struggling for 4 solid years to play a complete game that mattered. All of this to earn a right to play for the SEC championship, which is no small feat when the dynasty across the state has won 5 national championships in 10 years or something stupid like that.

 

Call it unpopular, but those are both reasons to celebrate on the field.

[GwillMac6 20,689]

The embracing the underdog mentality and yearning to be a underdog and relishing in it is exactly the kind of mindset that holds us back as a program. I have no clue why so many of our fans are obsessed with being the underdog. That is not how a big time program LIKE WE ARE should think and have the mindset of. A lot of our fans act like we are South Carolina or something. We are not. We are a top 12 program all time and one of the best college football brands out there.

[doc4aday 1,887]

I am too old and decrepit to storm anything except the bathroom after eating something resulting a bout of diarrhea that would make any turd fan in red and white smile with pride!

Nah, I would not storm the field even if I was a young 20 something fan.  The last Auburn game I went to was against Arkansas where we won but almost gave it away back during Tubs era. The 65  inch TV provides me the best seat in the house on any given Auburn game on Saturdays in the fall. We are starting to get close to football season and I am excited to see what we put on the field. 

You know, the last football season that remember where we played the hardest schedule was back in 1983. We were robbed on the NC that year and no team should ever jump from 5th place to NC. I actually got sick and threw up when I found out the next day we did not do anything but remain in 3rd place. I compare 1983 to 2019 in the toughness category.  I hope we have close to the same results and maybe better.

[toddc 13,194]

Only time I stormed the field was when CPD and Bo finally beat the other team in the state that I will not name at Legion Field, and we tore the goalpost down.