Auburn Iron Bowl 2010 WAR EAGLE!

Well.. ok. Try to relax dude..... It’s just game-day smack. Auburn can have 14 mascots if they want. I don’t really care.

And since I am a loyal SEC fan I hope they beat Oregon too.

But I also think Auburn fans better gird themselves for some really bad news. NCAA sanctions hurt and they hurt for a LONG time.

No worries.

I just get a chuckle out of TV commentators who call Auburn the "War Eagles" or make a big deal about "confusion" over the mascot - when they either know of twenty other example that they never talk about, or they are too stupid to hold down their jobs.

I truly don't count as an Auburn fan. I've lived in Atlanta for 26 years and haven't attended even ONE Auburn game, including those played by Auburn in the Peach Bowl or Chic-fil-A Bowl here in Atlanta. I watched most of the Iron Bowl, less than a half of the Georgia game, five minutes of LSU, and not a single minute of any other game.

And you're right, NCAA sanctions hurt, and hurt for a long time. If Auburn or an Auburn booster gave the Newtons anything, then Auburn should be penalized. Newton may also be ineligible based on his or his father's dealings with Mississippi State - and Auburn may deserve a severe penalty, depending on how much they knew. You won't find me whining about it.

And there's certainly enough smoke to suggest a fire.

My favorite moment? The Sun Bowl years ago. David Langner was captain of the Auburn team. Yeah, the David Langner who returned both of the punts for touchdowns in the 17-16 win over Alabama.

As Auburn ran onto the field, the announcer cried "Here come the Screaming Eagles from Auburn, led by their Captain, LeeRoy Mucks!"

Ummmm. There was no LeeRoy Mucks, and no Mucks with any other name, on Auburn's roster.

A few years ago, I was with my two brothers on New Year's Day, and we were watching Auburn in a bowl game. As Auburn came on the field, both of my brothers yelled "Here come the Screaming Eagles from Auburn, led by their Captain, LeeRoy Mucks!"

I'm smiling as I type this, but I guess you had to be there.

I’ll tell you a true story about that year. I was a senior and, still, in the band. It was a rough game in Athens, iirc, had been a very long, tiring day and all +250 of us were hungry. So, we pulled up at this restaurant and got in line. We were tired, grumpy and hungry and knew this would take several hours.

Then, the word went down the line that the football team had been there before us and the restaurant was out of much of the meat. They had plenty of veggies, but the main course was scarce.

Next, word came down the chow line that Auburn had just accepted an agreement to play in Phoenix in the Sun Bowl. That was played on Dec. 26 and would have meant we couldn’t have Christmas with our families, and there was a conference I wanted to attend between Christmas and New Years. Yes, really a conference.

So, hearing the news of the Sun Bowl was the last straw for me. I complained loudly that the just ruined Christmas and why couldn’t we have gone to a lesser bowl but one that played either before Christmas or closer to New Years. I don’t remember if I was alone in my sentiments. As we progressed closer to the buffet, it became apparent the Sun Bowl and Auburn officials were just on the other side of the restaurant’s divide.

The band did NOT go to the bowl game that year.

But I enjoyed Christmas with my family and went on to my conference.

Ah, memories of the Sun Bowl.

If you played in Athens that year, then you witnessed another great David Langner moment, I believe. Langner was either returning a punt or an interception, and was running straight at a Georgia player, who went into a slight crouch to tackle Langner.

Langner tried to hurdle the Georgia player, just as a hurdler does with a hurdle on a track, and almost cleared him. He caught the heel of his shoe in the forehead of the Georgia tackler. A photographer captured the moment perfectly, Georgia player crouched and squared up to tackle Langner, Langner in a hurdler's pose an unbelievable height above the ground, just clipping the forehead of the Georgia player.

Langner was flagged for a personal foul. If the Georgia player had been about two inches shorter, Langner would have cleared him.

Anyway, glad you had your Christmas with your family.

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