I was wondering how the eagle flying during pregame ever came up?? What is the history there... It is a sweet tradition you guys have when the eagle fly's I wish we had a tradition like that. But being the tigers where did the War Eagle come from?? Thanks for your input AU fans
I worked for the University's freshman orientation program this summer, and one of the staff members is a professor in the Agriculture department, and does a lot of research on Auburn history and tradition. The tigers thing is the same reason LSU is called the Tigers. In the early 1920's the team that won the "SEC" of the day took on the name Tigers of the South. After winning fairly often, both schools claimed Tigers to be their mascot through common association and use of the nickname.
War Eagle has about 5 main legends, but the most common one is from the first AU - UGA game. A civil war vet brought his eagle that he found on the battlefield to the game and there was no score through most of the game. Later on, it took off and started flying around the stadium, circling the patrons and attendees. Auburn started marching down the field and scored the winning (and only) touchdown. During the drive, people started to say "WAR EAGLE," which is also the name for a golden eagle, presumably what the eagle was, and it caught on. Thus the eagle, and its flight became integrated into a pregame tradition.
I worked for the University's freshman orientation program this summer, and one of the staff members is a professor in the Agriculture department, and does a lot of research on Auburn history and tradition. The tigers thing is the same reason LSU is called the Tigers. In the early 1920's the team that won the "SEC" of the day took on the name Tigers of the South. After winning fairly often, both schools claimed Tigers to be their mascot through common association and use of the nickname.
I may be wrong but I think the AG professor needs to leave the history research to the History Professors.........
The nickname "Tigers" (as well as Plainsmen) comes from Oliver Goldsmith's poem, "The Deserted Village," published in May 1770.
LSU's nickname is the 'Fighting Tigers' derived from a military unit of the Civil War known as the Louisiana Tigers. After the Civil War the Cadets of LSU used this nickname. When LSU played its first football game in 1893 they were known as the Fighting Tigers
__________________ "Believe me on this. Please. I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have attended a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. And I've been changed forever. " BUD POLIQUIN
Last edited by eagleair89; 11-08-2009 at 06:45 PM.
Well his research is based on The Glomerata's which have been published since the college was started in 1856. The football team wasn't listed as the "Tigers", unless they won the conference, consistently until the 20's. I'll admit that I don't know the history behind LSU's nickname, but I would say that is a fairly reasonable claim.
Something else worthy of note is that the story I wrote for the origins of "War Eagle" is also a complete fabrication. It first appeared in an edition of The Plainsman (our student newspaper) in the 1970's, and finally in 2003 the author of the article admitted he completely made the story up.
This particular professor did some work, and if any of you are familiar with the wreck Tech game against Ga. Tech early in the rivalry, it dates back to that (this is the game in which our fans greased the railroad tracks, causing the Tech players to walk further to game, yadda yadda yadda, we won). Like I mentioned the Golden Eagle/War Eagle synonym, the students in the ROTC program had golden eagles on their hats. At the pep rally for the game, an ROTC student was up front near the cheerleaders and had the eagle fall off his hat. When he bent over to pick it up he held it up in the air, and the cheerleader in charge of the pep rally started chanting war eagle. We won the game, it caught on, and here we are today.
__________________ "Believe me on this. Please. I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have attended a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. And I've been changed forever. " BUD POLIQUIN
Last edited by eagleair89; 11-08-2009 at 09:12 PM.
I would like to know the story behind Clemson. Didn't someone at Auburn leave and start Clemson and named them the Tigers as well??
I would tell you...but I do not know anything....maybe the AG "History" Professor can dig it up in the Clemson "Glom" .......
WAR EAGLE
ps: Is 1896 close enough to 1920's to be considered the same historical "timeframe"?
__________________ "Believe me on this. Please. I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have attended a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. And I've been changed forever. " BUD POLIQUIN
Eagleair, if you're going to be a douche, then I'm sorry. I was close with the article, and I'm sorry I can't pull all the facts out of my ass from 6 months ago.
This board was once a solid place for discussion. It has increasingly become a haven for the "old guys" to just rag on everyone here. Glad I didn't waste money on the premium nonsense either, bring it on Rivals.
Traditions at AU
"Believe me on this. Please. I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have attended a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. And I've been changed forever. " BUD POLIQUIN
Linear Mode
