SI story is about Toomers and updyke

[auburntiger77 0]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1189175/index.htm

The big SI story is about Toomers.    the Bammers have rumored this to be about us.

BTW, clay travis also has an article on Updyke, titled something like "I like Updyke"

[pologuy24 0]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1189175/index.htm

The big SI story is about Toomers.    the Bammers have rumored this to be about us.

BTW, clay travis also has an article on Updyke, titled something like "I like Updyke"

9 Pages!  Someone summarize please!

[AUISALL1345162868 0]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1189175/index.htm

The big SI story is about Toomers.    the Bammers have rumored this to be about us.

BTW, clay travis also has an article on Updyke, titled something like "I like Updyke"

9 Pages!  Someone summarize please!

AU/harvey rivalry is the biggest. AU big on tradition and Toomers Oaks are a big part of the tradition. Updike is a mental midget.

[beagle34 72]

Story grossly inaccurate .AU was not a school for factory workers and farmers.

[Tiger n Miami AU83 25]

Story grossly inaccurate .AU was not a school for factory workers and farmers.

Engineers and later astronauts maybe more accurate.

Anyway, I liked the article. I thought it was pretty well written and made a decent attempt at capturing why we are so upset about what happened. A non-AU fan will never truly "get it", but the author did a pretty good job of trying to understand and convey his understanding IMO.

[pologuy24 0]

Has anyone noticed the "posted date" at the top of the article? August 15th 2011.... Hmmm... who had the slip of the finger on the enter key that posted this 6 days early?

[Tiger n Miami AU83 25]

Maybe the publication date for the paper magazine issue it will appear in? Dunno.

[AuburnGrad78 0]

I liked the article.  Yeah it takes a while to get through it.  It could have pushed the "sidewalk alumni" concept a little more (in contrast to the upper crust alums), but that's an Auburn man's comment.  Definitely good stuff.

And there's nothing wrong with being asked to read 9 pages!

[walker77 0]

What a surprise that the SI piece does not bring forth fodder for the NCAA to give AU the death penalty...

The false prophets out there are running out of bullets... they continue to misfire... who knew?

[im4aual 488]

Good article, for an outsider it seemed he really tried to understand how the oaks are much more than trees on a college campus, they are truly part of who we are as a family.

[NOLATiger 0]

Beagle34: It is not grossly inaccurate to suggest that API and Auburn were for the children of blue collar and farming families. That is not a slight. It's absolutely true, and I, for one, happen to think those origins are directly responsible for the idea of the Auburn family. What outsiders may view (with at least some truth) as a chip on our shoulder and "little brother" syndrome is, at its core, the unity that comes with being a land-grant university that offered so many families an opportunity to watch their first member receive a higher education. "Thuh Unuhvuhsuhtee" in Tuscaloosa, meanwhile, was where the lawyers and doctors and leading merchants sent their children. Again, this is not insulting. It's history. And we should be proud of it.

If anything, I worry that the current Auburn student body -- overwhelmingly more wealthy than a full generation ago -- doesn't truly understand and embrace what it means to be a land-grant school. That doesn't mean they don't appreciate the notions of "the Auburn family" and "the Auburn spirit." They just may not get the full depth of the where those institutional characteristics actually come from.

[DANSBY 0]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1189175/index.htm

The big SI story is about Toomers.    the Bammers have rumored this to be about us.

BTW, clay travis also has an article on Updyke, titled something like "I like Updyke"

9 Pages!  Someone summarize please!

It's worth the time to read it.  This was well done, from an unbiased perspective.  Tells the story of a great rivalry that is headed down an ugly road.  Pretty well grasps what Toomers means to the AU family and makes Updyke look like a crazy @-hole (not hard to do).

[JasonsDad 0]

Beagle34: It is not grossly inaccurate to suggest that API and Auburn were for the children of blue collar and farming families. That is not a slight. It's absolutely true, and I, for one, happen to think those origins are directly responsible for the idea of the Auburn family. What outsiders may view (with at least some truth) as a chip on our shoulder and "little brother" syndrome is, at its core, the unity that comes with being a land-grant university that offered so many families an opportunity to watch their first member receive a higher education. "Thuh Unuhvuhsuhtee" in Tuscaloosa, meanwhile, was where the lawyers and doctors and leading merchants sent their children. Again, this is not insulting. It's history. And we should be proud of it.

If anything, I worry that the current Auburn student body -- overwhelmingly more wealthy than a full generation ago -- doesn't truly understand and embrace what it means to be a land-grant school. That doesn't mean they don't appreciate the notions of "the Auburn family" and "the Auburn spirit." They just may not get the full depth of the where those institutional characteristics actually come from.

That is well said. My dad was the first to graduate college in our family. AG Science degree from Auburn in '53. My grandfather was a factory foreman. Dad was an Alabama fan growing up. All of his rich friends were going to Alabama. My Gandfather gave him a choice, Go to Alabama on his own dime or Auburn on Papaws dime. Dad said it was the best choice he ever made next to meeting and marring my Mom while attending Auburn.  Factory workers and farmers. That exactly describes how my family ended up at Auburn and are still attending now three generations later.

[AUAeroEngineer 0]

This is one of the best article I've read about Auburn from a national media outlet in a long, long time. Not only did they do a great job of displaying what the trees mean to us, but also kept it with very little bias toward either side, which is very difficult to do. 9 pages isn't anything, it's definitively worth it

[Tmad4AU 0]

I agree. A very good read. I have one comment regarding this part.

Before the game they went by the Bear Bryant statue outside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Someone had put a Newton jersey on it

I've seen the photo with an earlier time stamp on it than the date of the Iron Bowl. How could he have seen it days before the game. And two, didn't someone from Alabama admit they placed the jersey on the statue as fodder for the team? A sorority I think it was.

Regardless, nice read. WAR EAGLE!

[ToraGirl 5,498]

Beagle34: It is not grossly inaccurate to suggest that API and Auburn were for the children of blue collar and farming families. That is not a slight. It's absolutely true, and I, for one, happen to think those origins are directly responsible for the idea of the Auburn family. What outsiders may view (with at least some truth) as a chip on our shoulder and "little brother" syndrome is, at its core, the unity that comes with being a land-grant university that offered so many families an opportunity to watch their first member receive a higher education. "Thuh Unuhvuhsuhtee" in Tuscaloosa, meanwhile, was where the lawyers and doctors and leading merchants sent their children. Again, this is not insulting. It's history. And we should be proud of it.

If anything, I worry that the current Auburn student body -- overwhelmingly more wealthy than a full generation ago -- doesn't truly understand and embrace what it means to be a land-grant school. That doesn't mean they don't appreciate the notions of "the Auburn family" and "the Auburn spirit." They just may not get the full depth of the where those institutional characteristics actually come from.

I agree, well-said!  Our family has roots in farming and teaching!  And my late father was a botany professor at Auburn, so our family truly does relate to its roots.  I've always wanted to ask the Tuscaloosers where would they be without a populace who actually knows how to produce food?!  After all, "just go to WalMart" doesn't solve everything.

But I have figured out an answer, for me at least, to any who (if appearances are anything to be considered) shout "Roll Tide" if I happen to pass by decked, even modestly, in orange and blue.  I'll pretend great excitement and say, "Oh, you went to Alabama!  How neat!  When did you graduate?"  If appearances deceive and they really did, we'll compare notes (AU, 1988, AUM, 1998).  But if what I predict is true, then I'll enjoy watching their reaction. 

I realize, humbly, that many have been afforded opportunities that others have not.  But I also figure if anyone dares to open his/her mouth in ridicule of my sweet Auburn when unprovoked by me, then they are fair game.