Last thoughts on A&M

[AU Cav 0]

Something about A&M has really been bothering me and I wanted to put it out there to see what you guys thought.

As a former soldier and a guy who's moved around somewhat, I've known a lot of Aggies in my lifetime. My first platoon leader was an Aggie and a man I admire. Each and every one of them have always been stand up guys, full of class and consideration. From what I understand, for the most part the entire fanbase is like this. Winning is great, but character is key.

So how it is that a fanbase that is known for their own personal character can so deeply embrace one of the worst examples of sportsmanship I've seen in football for a very long time? There is no doubt that the kid can play football but there are serious character issues. As an Auburn man, it would be difficult for me to reconcile my support with his actions if he played for us.

I get Ole Miss getting behind Marshall. It's been a very long time since they've been good at anything and they are desperate for success no matter what the cost. But I have a hard time thinking about all the Aggies I've known in the past seeing him taunt a defender after a play and not being upset about it.

Maybe I just don't know enough Aggies.

[selias 2,398]

Something about A&M has really been bothering me and I wanted to put it out there to see what you guys thought.

As a former soldier and a guy who's moved around somewhat, I've known a lot of Aggies in my lifetime. My first platoon leader was an Aggie and a man I admire. Each and every one of them have always been stand up guys, full of class and consideration. From what I understand, for the most part the entire fanbase is like this. Winning is great, but character is key.

So how it is that a fanbase that is known for their own personal character can so deeply embrace one of the worst examples of sportsmanship I've seen in football for a very long time? There is no doubt that the kid can play football but there are serious character issues. As an Auburn man, it would be difficult for me to reconcile my support with his actions if he played for us.

I get Ole Miss getting behind Marshall. It's been a very long time since they've been good at anything and they are desperate for success no matter what the cost. But I have a hard time thinking about all the Aggies I've known in the past seeing him taunt a defender after a play and not being upset about it.

Maybe I just don't know enough Aggies.

Do you support Dismukes? He was in the papers for less than admirable reasons and eventually got his head on straight. I hesistate to speak for an entire fanbase like TAMU but, perhaps that's their stance on JFF.

[McLoofus 35,182]

If he were our QB, I would probably "tolerate" him also. One thing that I think will be interesting to see, though, is how he's viewed once he's no longer winning games for them. After one year at Auburn, Cam brought a whole new legion of fans with him to Carolina. Will Johnny do the same?

[ertrader 206]

I think part of it is you tend to view things differently depending on what colors you where.

A very large percentage of the people I run into did not like Cam Newton while he was at Auburn. And I'm not talking about the money/MSU nonsense - they think he was a selfish me-first player who didn't care about his teammates or the game. They thought his celebrations after scoring were classless and disrespectful. They thought he ran off to the stands after a win to soak up his own glory instead of celebrating with his teammates.

In other words, lots of people think Cam Newton was a terrible example of sportsmanship.

I certainly do not think these things of him, and I doubt many other Auburn fans do either. But many outside Auburn do.

[AU Counsel 64]

An ex-GF of one of our most beloved players in recent years told me he used to beat the hell out of her. We have players who have done drugs, gotten arrested, etc. Playing the odds, some of these guys cheat on the women they date. I'm not stressing over the human failings of our players. Some surely have done things far worse from an honor standpoint than JFF. I expect the coaches to maintain the integrity of the program to the extent possible. But I follow the team out of loyalty to Auburn Univeristy, without worrying about the ethics and sportsmanship of individuals who come and go.

[AuburnSpider 2]

Don't think Johnny would last long on the island.

[WarEagle84 0]

I think part of it is you tend to view things differently depending on what colors you where.

A very large percentage of the people I run into did not like Cam Newton while he was at Auburn. And I'm not talking about the money/MSU nonsense - they think he was a selfish me-first player who didn't care about his teammates or the game. They thought his celebrations after scoring were classless and disrespectful. They thought he ran off to the stands after a win to soak up his own glory instead of celebrating with his teammates.

In other words, lots of people think Cam Newton was a terrible example of sportsmanship.

I certainly do not think these things of him, and I doubt many other Auburn fans do either. But many outside Auburn do.

Anybody who thought/thinks this wasn't paying attention to anything but ESPN and Fox(=Thayer Evans) headlines. And it was all built on the MSU/money nonsense, and the fantasies of a few sportswriters who wanted to bring Cam and Auburn down.

[texasautiger 0]

IMO, the OP was referring more to JFF's on the field behavior than his off the field stuff. Personally, other than the DUI, I think his off the field stuff was way overblown. He's a rich kid that got a bit of fame and was living it up going to NBA games and such. Who among us wouldn't have done the same? Now, for his on the field behavior, I think even if he played for AU I'd still dislike it. I don't like it when our players show-boat or trash talk, and I think JFF does more of both than any player in recent memory. The kid needs to shut his mouth and act like he's been there before.

[selias 2,398]

An ex-GF of one of our most beloved players in recent years told me he used to beat the hell out of her. We have players who have done drugs, gotten arrested, etc. Playing the odds, some of these guys cheat on the women they date. I'm not stressing over the human failings of our players. Some surely have done things far worse from an honor standpoint than JFF. I expect the coaches to maintain the integrity of the program to the extent possible. But I follow the team out of loyalty to Auburn Univeristy, without worrying about the ethics and sportsmanship of individuals who come and go.

If we've got players beating women, I would want them gone soonest.

[TheBlueVue 177]

My final thought about A&M is I'm pretty happy we don't have to play those suckers again. I dont care about Manziels place their or what he does or does not represent. We beat them...moving on!

[CJBas 4]

Manziel grew up a longhorn fan through and through. That's the same as growing up a bamzo. It probably explains a lot.

[AU Cav 0]

I don't know about anyone beating a GF, I don't know what Dismukes did or didn't say, I don't know how many football players have had parking tickets. What I do know is how JFF handles himself on the field and how for him it's not enough to beat a player, but he has to degrade him as well.

I could care less about his off the field stuff. After all, anything that comes up about a school that involves a Gump booster is suspect to me anyhow. I've told everyone in my RL conversations about it that I could care less about anything he does off the field. But if you as a fanbase pride yourself on sportsmanship, than how do you condone poor sportsmanship from your star player? It's not really about JFF. It's about the fact that JFF is the qb at A&M and it's unexpected, to me at least, that his behavior is tolerated.

All I'm saying is this current football team is very un-A&M like to me. Maybe the Ags are the only ones that can tell me if it's worth it.

On another note, I mostly remember Cam running to the stands and celebrating with Auburn fans. I don't remember him getting in the face of beaten defenders or provoking the opposing crowd. But I do wear the O&G so I might be wrong. It was bound to happen eventually.

[AUGradinTX 0]

I think part of it is you tend to view things differently depending on what colors you where.

A very large percentage of the people I run into did not like Cam Newton while he was at Auburn. And I'm not talking about the money/MSU nonsense - they think he was a selfish me-first player who didn't care about his teammates or the game. They thought his celebrations after scoring were classless and disrespectful. They thought he ran off to the stands after a win to soak up his own glory instead of celebrating with his teammates.

In other words, lots of people think Cam Newton was a terrible example of sportsmanship.

I certainly do not think these things of him, and I doubt many other Auburn fans do either. But many outside Auburn do.

Anybody who thought/thinks this wasn't paying attention to anything but ESPN and Fox(=Thayer Evans) headlines. And it was all built on the MSU/money nonsense, and the fantasies of a few sportswriters who wanted to bring Cam and Auburn down.

I loved Cam, but there is one play from that season that makes me think ertrader may be right. When we called Wes Byrum off the field in the BCSNCG to run the clock a little more before the kick, the following call was for Cam to kneel in order to start the clock. He didn't. He tried to sneak into the end-zone. It appears he wanted to score the winning points instead of doing what's best for the team/what his coaches asked him to do.

[AuburnGrad97 37]

I was fine with his behavior, since that is more of the culture of today's athlete, until that touchdown he ran that put them up in the 4th quarter. JFF ran it in from a few yards out, then went to get in Trent Fisher's face!!! How chickens--t is that? Nothing against Trent, but JFF wasn't running up to Dee Ford, Kris Frost, Carl Lawson, Eguae, but former walk-on Trent Fisher, to talk some smack. I thought it was hilarious that the ref stopped him and said something to the effect of "I'm not afraid to throw you out of this game".

JFF reminds me of the junior/senior in high school that plays basketball with the 7th graders, and spends the entire time swatting their shots down, getting in their faces. He's a great athlete, but needs to learn some respect for his peers.

[AuburnGrad97 37]

I think part of it is you tend to view things differently depending on what colors you where.

A very large percentage of the people I run into did not like Cam Newton while he was at Auburn. And I'm not talking about the money/MSU nonsense - they think he was a selfish me-first player who didn't care about his teammates or the game. They thought his celebrations after scoring were classless and disrespectful. They thought he ran off to the stands after a win to soak up his own glory instead of celebrating with his teammates.

In other words, lots of people think Cam Newton was a terrible example of sportsmanship.

I certainly do not think these things of him, and I doubt many other Auburn fans do either. But many outside Auburn do.

Anybody who thought/thinks this wasn't paying attention to anything but ESPN and Fox(=Thayer Evans) headlines. And it was all built on the MSU/money nonsense, and the fantasies of a few sportswriters who wanted to bring Cam and Auburn down.

I loved Cam, but there is one play from that season that makes me think ertrader may be right. When we called Wes Byrum off the field in the BCSNCG to run the clock a little more before the kick, the following call was for Cam to kneel in order to start the clock. He didn't. He tried to sneak into the end-zone. It appears he wanted to score the winning points instead of doing what's best for the team/what his coaches asked him to do.

To be fair, none of us know what situation led to Cam's decision. He may have felt Oregon's defense wasn't completely ready, and he could sneak it in for a TD. He may have been thinking "field goals can get blocked, so why don't I just try to fall forward and get the TD, then we put more pressure on them". Any number of things could have been going through his head. Not saying it was right to go against Malzahn's playcall, but just that I'm not sure it was Cam wanting the glory. Great players want the ball in their hands on EVERY play, that doesn't make them selfish.

[aushrink 22]

Cam trying to sneak into the endzone is one of the best plays in football even if Gus did not call it.

The guy almost NEVER fumbled and Pugh was a stud center.

I liked it.