GQ Article: "The Most Poisonous Rivalry in Sports"

[Elephant Tipper 430]

http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/201109/college-football-alabama-auburn-rivalry

Note: The article does not speak highly of AU, go figure, and doesn't speak poorly enough of the UpDyke historic bad behavior.

First paragraph:

"What would college football be without the trash talk, the drunken battle cries, the simmering, adolescent feuds? A lot less fun, that's what. Still, the whole football-as-warfare thing can sometimes get out of hand, as one rogue soldier learned last winter in the bitter archrivalry between Alabama and Auburn. Ben Austen heads south to investigate one of the nuttiest episodes in the annals of fandom"

BY BEN AUSTEN

WDE !!!

[bwillaub 0]

Updyke is full of more than just "ALABAMA"!

[preacher1345162942 0]

if you read the full story of tommy lewis, he later said that when he went on the ed sullivan show, i think, that the producers told him to  say that he was "too full of bama". he also later said that it was the most shameful moment of his life.  harvey should do his home work.  he is nothing like tommy lewis.

[Guest LIMESTONETIGER]

I had the pleasure of working in the same building where Tommy Lewis maintained an office after he had retired.  He was a class guy every time I ever talked to him, and we used to have some great chats about Alabama and Auburn sports.

After going to the 2000 IB, I dropped in to see Mr. Lewis and told him I had seen his picture at the PBB Museum and that as a college football fan the story of Tommy Lewis and the '54 Cotton Bowl was one of those kind of mythic events that I felt made the game what it is (or at least used to be)...a kid getting caught up in the moment and going down in history.  Mr. Lewis' response was  that he was still embarrassed about it almost 45 years  later.  Though I didn't see it that way, he said it was a demonstration of poor sportsmanship and not youthful over-exuberance.  As you might imagine my respect for the man went up another notch.

Like Preacher said, there is a huge gulf between people like Mr. Lewis and the people who want to be famous (or infamous) in connection with 'Bama (or other schools for that matter) no matter what the long-term cost is to others or themselves.  I can just imagine what Mr. Lewis would have to say about the Toomer's poisoning.  I'm not sure Harvey would be able to handle it...

[triangletiger 1,599]

I had the pleasure of working in the same building where Tommy Lewis maintained an office after he had retired.   He was a class guy every time I ever talked to him, and we used to have some great chats about Alabama and Auburn sports.

After going to the 2000 IB, I dropped in to see Mr. Lewis and told him I had seen his picture at the PBB Museum and that as a college football fan the story of Tommy Lewis and the '54 Cotton Bowl was one of those kind of mythic events that I felt made the game what it is (or at least used to be)...a kid getting caught up in the moment and going down in history.   Mr. Lewis' response was  that he was still embarrassed about it almost 45 years  later.   Though I didn't see it that way, he said it was a demonstration of poor sportsmanship and not youthful over-exuberance.   As you might imagine my respect for the man went up another notch.

Like Preacher said, there is a huge gulf between people like Mr. Lewis and the people who want to be famous (or infamous) in connection with 'Bama (or other schools for that matter) no matter what the long-term cost is to others or themselves.   I can just imagine what Mr. Lewis would have to say about the Toomer's poisoning.   I'm not sure Harvey would be able to handle it...

Nice post