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Auburn picked up the school’s third Heisman trophy tonight when Cam Newton was honored in New York. Before the most boring (and, this year, anti-climactic) made-for-television spectacle of a relatively useless award, The Yankee threw three frozen boxes of corn for touchdowns.
She celebrated on the back aisle of the grocery store.
And the Tigers are going to play for the BCS Championship!
We did not go to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, but instead chose to save a few bucks and watch it in the brand new Auburn Arena with a few other folks who stayed in town. Since the game was a monstrous destruction of South Carolina, and since there will be time to discuss the game at length — and with more skillful dissectors of the game, anyway — I’m just going to reprint the Twitter updates and concentrate on the euphoria.
Because this was fantastic and as glorious as a silly little game should get.
So the Twitter thoughts are in blockquote below. Anything in bold are after-the-fact additions.
Now young men become legends, legends immortal, where memories are cataloged for an eternity. Get it, Tigers.
Inside the Auburn Arena. The Lady Tigers lead Temple, we’re set to see AU win the SEC Championship.
Temple has a one point lead. The crowd comes alive. When Auburn Arena is at capacity this place will be obnoxiously loud.
Temple escapes with a win 62-61. The Wave had three players in double digits. Tough break for the Lady Tigers.
They are lowering the HD screens in the very noisy Auburn Arena. It makes a beeping noise. Modern Marvels ain’t got nothing on us.
I challenge Auburn to make every away game an Auburn Arena spectacle. Back me up on this, Tiger fans.
Because this is silly, but it is fun. Yes, people were waving their shakers about something that was happening in a different state, but it didn’t matter. Everyone was in this terrific little moment. And if road games became 10,000 people inside the arena they could sell tickets for two bucks and make a run on concessions and we’d all have a great time. If they charged $3, however, I would stay home. Know and understand your price points, friends.There might have been religious conversions as Cam Newton dropped a bomb in Darvin Adams’ hands.
I did hear several “Oh Lords!” and various other prayers of exultation.
For it was GLORIOUS.
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Newton with all day finds Onterrio McCalebb for the score. Wes Byrum makes it 7-0. Bodda gettas abound.
One more of those and we say Zac Etheridge is playing out of his mind.
I don’t think it was a coincidence, the way that side played and how instrumental Etheridge was early. He set the tone in this one. And let us say in no uncertain terms that we have found that thing which has alluded Auburn all season: a complete game. We have seen it and we have trembled.
Auburn leaves a large man uncovered. Even Stephen Garcia won’t miss a fullback open like that. 7-7.
I kid, but it is true.
Cam Newton is a magician, Eric Smith is tougher than a Northport pork chop.
You see, it is funny because I imagine all the food in Northport, a “suburb” of Tuscaloosa, to be really bad. And Eric Smith is a bad, bad, dude.
Cam Newton thinks your spy is useless. And he is not in charge of any international spy rings.
Not that he’d get caught.
Cam Newton is an Auburn man among Carolina boys.
Oh hai, Cocky. Meet Mike Dyer. You may know him as a man who breaks Bo Jackson’s records.
How demoralizing this must be. “Here’s the two in our one-two punch. Consider his bonafides. Wanna quit yet?”
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Cam Newton on a 6-yard plunge. 14-7. And, now, AUHD is piping in War Eagle after the score.
Darvin Adams is returning punts. There will be no drops.
I apologize in advance.
I shop at the same grocery store as Darvin Adams. He doesn’t drop stuff there, either.
Truly, I am sorry.
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Newton to Adams! 55 yards! 21-7.
The game was long-since over, I called it on that third down where the Carolina defense couldn’t stop after they punted, but the fun was just beginning.
Fifteen minutes are in the books and the Tigers are looking fine. AUHD is drowning out commercials with TWill’s Tiger Walk.
It grows on you. I like the Pat Dye part.
Rub some Tussin on it!
Cam Newton got dinged. Posses were formed. That Carolina defender was probably thinking about changing his identity. No one would blame him.
Gary Danielson? Shut up. Accusing Carolina of taking dives is tacky.
It is one of those things that, if the Gamecocks were doing it, he could say “I pointed this out to you earlier.” But if it didn’t happen, the comment would be mostly forgotten. It didn’t happen. The comment was never revisited. I didn’t forget. Gary Danielson should be ashamed of himself.
Meanwhile, we learned 21 points is the most any team has ever scored in any quarter of the SEC Championship game. And we’re still just getting settled in.
And now Cam Newton is angry. Also, Auburn’s defense is forcibly in the game.
Garcia garcias (Don’t they make his name a verb by now?) and Spurrier is ticked. Daren Bates intercepts.
Cam bleeds. He is human.
This tidbit is sure to go down the memory hole.
Carolina’s kick, like their offense and defense, is no good.
Cam is smiling again. Carolina trembles. The entire state.
I jinxed Darvin, and I am sorry friends.
He’s better now. Glad my apology was accepted by the football gods.
That guy is so good and so dependable it was shocking to see a brief hiccup in his game. And then, just like that, he’s back, everyone is comfortable and we’ll never again have to revisit the two most unexpected drops you’ve ever witnessed.
I would love a Kodi score and a Mario score and a Caudle score in this game.
I’m a softie. This is a blowout. Let’s call our shots. Those guys all deserve a moment to celebrate.
Carolina caps off a big stand by driving the field for a score near the end of the first half. 21-14, Tigers
In retrospect this seems odd, doesn’t it? Looking back it doesn’t seem possible this was at one time, albeit ever so briefly, a one score game.
Who’s day is it? TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Cam2illa to Adams by way of TZach. Quit now Spurrier! 28-14, half.
Terrell Zachery maybe didn’t get a hand on that Hail Mary, but that was my call at the time, so I’ll just use it as a reason to celebrate him, too. Meanwhile, HAVE YOU EVER IN YOUR LIFE KNOWN EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO GO JUST AS YOU HOPED FOREVER, AMEN? Today was Auburn’s day.
In the second half Newton will throw a chest pass.
I love the Dr. Pepper promotion. It should be at every game. That young lady was great and she won (a LOT) of money. Good for her. She dropped a dynamite promo in Dr. Pepper’s lap at the end, too. Everyone is happy. Except Carolina.
Marcus Lattimore is putting Carolina on his back.
If that had gone on just a little bit longer it might have given the orange and blue reason to worry. And then I think South Carolina put him on the sideline for a while.
You get the feeling that Danielson, an aerodynamics expert, is just making it up as he goes along.
Truly, AUHD is great. I just wish they’d had the chance to take one of those Sports Synch radios and run that through their equipment so we could listen to Rod Bramblett and Stan White call the game. Or if they couldn’t do that for technical or licensing reasons, just turned down the audio so I could listen to the six-year-old Bama fan sitting nearby trying to talk Iron Bowl smack. That kid would have been better than Danielson. “The air flow in the dome is impacting how the players run and play and breathe. Also, a butterfly flapped its wings in New Brunswick and declared Cam Newton eligible.” Just stop, Danielson.
LOVE YOUR CAM NEWTON.
There’s a guy sitting in front of us who keeps turning around for high-fives. And he keeps asking me, not his two friends, just me, “How does he do that!?” I don’t know, bub, but I hope he does it forever.
That referee is trying to keep Emory Blake down.
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Cam Newton trucks the entire state of South Carolina. 35-14.
Poetry.
That’s culture. A friend on Facebook says his darling young daughter has added two new words in the last hour. “Cam” and “Darvin.”
Cam Newton joins Tim Tebow in the 20-20 club. Twenty rushing scores and 20 passing TDs in a single season.
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! AC with the pressure, T’Sharvan Bell with the pick six. 42-14.
Word. RT @WBE_Jerry That pick was courtesy of a blitz drawn up by Ted Roof. 14 pts vs. this O w/this many possessions in game is excellent.
Mike Dyer is a beast!
Time for @supurmario27!
Grace, power, etiquette. LOVE YOUR CAM NEWTON.
We have this theory, a friend and I, usually applied it to old famous high school footage from people like Bo Jackson, James Bostic and Stephen Davis running over people clearly not their equal. They were obviously going to be stars. Cam Newton is that on the collegiate level. We have another theory, this same friend and I, about the consummate politician, who must be on all of the time, because the cameras are always there. Newton just picked up that referee’s hat, gave him a little wink and smile and made him blush. And then he went back to today’s chore of ripping South Carolina from the mainland.
Gus Malzahn is drawing up a Kodi to Mario passing touchdown. Come on Gustav!
A guy can dream …
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Cam Newton to Emory Blake! 49-14. Delirium.
Right about here, I think it was, that it really sank in. I texted my parents “Auburn is going to the National Championship!” and that was my moment of clarity. Odd, really. I’m generally a pragmatist about sports, but this entire year, since the Clemson win, there wasn’t a team that I felt could stop the Tigers. Despite that feeling, it had never really registered that this was the logical conclusion of that. It was a moving moment.
Now, back to beating down the Gamecocks.
I’m thinking of old skool Spurrier and we NEED to hang about 56 on him.
Cammy Cam Juice! Drink.
Sugar and Gatorade, Tracy. This team is so good we can do stupid sideline bits during the SEC Championship game against Spurrier.
Carolina pushes through a field goal. 49-17.
Did Bo Jackson just have some Cammy Cam Juice? Did the orbit of the earth change? (It could happen.)
Bo Jackson does not need whatever extraterrestrial growth hormone jet ski fuel is in that bottle. Only bad things could come of it. And then he might suit up and run for 218 Techmo yards in the waning seconds of this game. On second thought …
Yes, Danielson, brag on that O-line. They more than deserve it.
He made a great point here.
Barrett Trotter’s got him some wheels too.
What do I have to sell to get Mario a few more carries?
And then …
Happy birthday Mario. War Eagle, sir.
I’m glad he got the chance to score on his birthday, near his home in a huge game. Do you remember forever ago when Mario came to Auburn? He was a high school quarterback. He was converted to running back. And then he was split wide. And then brought back into the backfield. And he’s been there the whole time, watching his playing time get trimmed during his senior year, loaded with talent, working on a second degree and doing what he’s called upon to do. People like that deserve a moment like this.
OK, defense, get it back for a Kodi score.
Same principle. But I have a vision that he gets one in Arizona to bookend the season.
Bo, Rocker, Pat Dye on the sideline. What decade are we in? Is Sullivan-to-Beasley around?
And then it was over. The team cheered and celebrated and got their trophy and all things in the world of football seemed possible. For a moment all past sins were forgiven. This moment was what everyone was waiting for, for decades.
For 1983, 1993 and 2004. For 270,000 alumni. For every coach and player from Shug to Gene. For Auburn and for ol’ API.
No pressure at all, eh guys?
And so we all left the Arena and made the nice little walk up the hill to Toomer’s Corner on a preternaturally warm December evening.
And what we saw there …… was really remarkable.
By a stroke of luck we found our friends with whom we’ve been enjoying all of the home games this year. We took pictures and watched everyone just watching everyone around them. This felt more like an extended family reunion than a pep rally.
And, at least in the last 15 years, you’ve never seen Toomer’s looking as it did after this game. A bit more for posterity:Standing in the intersection:
Standing near Biggin’s Hall, facing Toomer’s, looking through the old 1917 gates to Toomer’s Drugs:
The compilation video, put together by the talented people behind AUHD:
I kinda want this season to never end. War Eagle.
The set up: Auburn had lost two straight to Alabama. The Tide came into the game favored, hosting the second ranked Tigers. Alabama brought a 20-game home winning streak, but Auburn was 6-1 all time in Tuscaloosa.
The result: The Tigers won 28-27, in the largest come-from-behind win in school history, to finish their regular season a perfect 12-0. (Speaking of memories, check out these.)
Saved below are my stream of consciousness Twitter feelings of the game. The bold comments are after-the-fact thoughts.
Wrapped up my Pick’Em picks. Tie-breaker: Who will score the most points? Auburn. The least? Alabama.
Bryant-Denny: Do not make Cam Newton angry. You wouldn’t like Cam Newton when he’s … On second thought, go ahead.
Students, you just sort of expect that. Goes with the pageantry of the game. From the stadium people? I’ll assume those are adults who should know better, but are stooping to the lowest common denominator. Think the Auburn people didn’t notice? Nice of them to run Thamel’s piece, no?
What I want: A good, clean, healthy game. And crushed Alabama egos.
And the paradigm shifts again. Bama fan: that means a systematic arrangement or certain fine-tuned standards.
Called it at kickoff. My, how our emotions swayed between here and there.
Did you notice when Uncle Verne said “worst fears” there was Cam? Yep.
Verne’s definition was right until he said it was a small degree of distaste. (Doesn’t apply to my three vetted Alabama friends.)
Yes, that show prep of reading any comment on an al.com page was top quality.
Oh Gary, you crack me up. “Neither picture shows it, but he fouled him.”
Still don’t see that pass interference.
Nicky is scared of Demond and Onterrio. He should be.
Can’t count jokes in 3, 2, 1….
My favorite: People talk about Bama’s championship inflation, but today proves they really just can’t count.
Did Gary Danielson just whooo? Really?
I’m not a fan.
I love me a good afternoon coverage bust.
Seriously, it is an interesting experiment in human psychology almost as good as the “I got it … I got it … YOU GOT IT!” stuff in baseball. No? Not buying it?
There is no cheering in the pressbox, but Gary Danielson is getting breathless. And Chizik better challenge his line again.
No doubt they are the engine that make the Gus Bus go this year, but the O-line was getting abused for a good long while in this game. But they once again pulled it together. Never bad-mouth an offensive line. Regret is a powerful thing.
Whooo! Timeout called! Moral victories, down 14-0, are no fun.
The only thing fun about being down 14-0 is knowing you aren’t down by 21.
Auburn, you’re getting screwed.
I stomped around a family yard playing with the younger kids yesterday in a more demonstrative fashion and I did not get penalized. Denmark smells.
Greg McElroy runs, yells, stomps, is not flagged. Investigate that, Slive.
This would be a good time to have adjustments in place, Tigers.
Antoine Carter! You so crazy! What hustle, Auburn man!
Though the turnover netted nothing on the scoreboard, I think we can safely call this a turning point in the game. There are many guys on this team who exemplify the things we’d like to see as the best of us. You have to include this play and Carter’s hustle as a tremendous example. He stayed in the camera shot the whole way. Watch him run and it is clear. He wanted that ball.
0-24. Stop or no, that’s still trending the wrong way.
Kodi Burns, we saw him at Barbecue House a few days ago. He had breakfast covered in awesome sauce.
Nice to see him make some good grabs today. And in clutch portions of the game. He’s certainly earned that.
You can tell that ref is on the take. He looked TERRIFIED calling that penalty against Alabama.
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Cam Newton to Emory Blake! Now we can play a football game.
Was it just me or did 7-24 feel oddly like the game was already winding up for Alabama? I mean even in the moment, everything else just seemed inevitable. And I’m not that blindly optimistic a person, either.
Can’t scream “BALL! BALLBALLBALL! BALL!” loud enough.
Nick Fairley gentle placed Greg McElroy on the ground, apologized for dripping his perspiration on the quarterback, inquired about his family’s holiday and recorded a fair play public service announcement. And still no one could find the ball. This was perhaps the most anxious moment of the game to me.
You don’t want to oversell it, but the first drive to start the second half is more than a little critical.
Right here I’m thinking about Chizik’s quote from earlier in the year, the one about chalk flying at halftime.
Alabama fans don’t have to ready Moby Dick, Blackberry just spoiled the end for them. Interesting commercial, though.
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Cameron Newton to Terrell Zachery for 70 yards!
Is it possible for a team leading 24-7 to start the second half as tight as Alabama has? Wow. Take advantage, Tigers.
That’s a different team than you saw in the first 15 minutes. It was like we all subconsciously decided to together cross into an alternate universe where Alabama stunk it up on the field or something. Did we do that? Was the Million Dollar Band that boring?
Funny how this defense can go from toothless to “Ewww, they tackle too hard” as the breeze blows.
Aside from the big plays that slip through, the ones they are so desperately trying to prevent, I no longer have qualms about the Tigers defense. As I’ve said here before, it is what it is. People whining about tackling should really try a new sport. Football is a violent game. All of the tackles you see here are perfectly within the confine of the rules. Don’t like the rules? Change the rules.
Seriously, the ref calls a penalty and his voice quakes. It’s like he’s afraid of someone in the light stands or something.
Cam Newton is smiling again.
I can’t help it, but it makes me think of Jules Winnfield’s analysis of Ezekiel 25:17.
I’m cheering so hard for Mario Fannin.
The guy has done everything he’s been asked to do since he arrived on campus. He’s never stirred up anything. He’s working on his second degree. He deserves a lot of success. I just wish he could have scored here.
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Cameron Newton!
Eltoro Freeman is a bad, bad man.
Of course he glowered at the guys in Crimson after a big stop. I was afraid he’d get flagged for affecting a meanie face. Mean defense!
The Auburn defense — the maligned, can’t play, can’t cover, tackles too hard defense — holds the supposed juggernaut again.
I’ll go all in with them: they never stop.
Cameron Newton likes play fakes and thinks Ramma Jamma is stupid.
TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! Newton to Philip Lutzenkirchen! 28-27. @PhillyLutz43, a 6-4 bowl of Justin Bieber is a scoring machine!
Bracing for the “Yall hurt Julio!” complaints. #heplaysfootball
Game of inch. Yes, inch
Row Tahd is Latin for “incredible spot.”
I’m just going to assume that when SkyNet takes over football will survive. I only hope the officiating is then conducted by the machines. Maybe it’ll be a little better.
Come on McElroy, get up. I don’t need to see Saban spank McCarron again. (Seriously, Greg, hope you can walk it off.)
Hurry back, number 12.
Woozy is double-plus ungood. The positive was that Saban said after the game he was OK. Glad to hear it.
@ikepigott I second @TWAY_Kris. Can’t we all agree these little arguments are ridiculous and not worth the feigned moral outrage?
Ike, who is my friend and a good guy despite his Alabama fetish, is suggesting people are cheering that McElroy got hurt. I don’t disbelieve Ike, because he has a terrific degree of credibility, but my experience is similar to Kris’ who saw no cheering about this. No one in my stream was happy about the injury.
This devolves to the circular and straw man argument, of which most everyone has been guilty, about the class of any given fan base that isn’t yours. Let’s just leave trailers and tractors and Walmart and Volkswagens hanging from trees out of what has become a terrific game. And, keep our eyes firmly on the ball, a very bright young man with a big future ahead of him is hurt. If this is too reasonable for you, let me know.
Cam over the top! Getting ready for Toomer’s!
I find it remarkable that a team of potential perfect destiny is coming down to a punt.
If the 24-point comeback was to preserve an undefeated season, this punt — on a night when no one seems to be kicking well — is what must defend it. Just a bizarre development in the game.
I find it remarkable that a team of potential perfect destiny is coming down to another improbable defensive stand.
Turned out to be not so improbable. But even as I’d felt comfortable about the outcome since 7-24, this was a fine opportunity to feel a little uneasy.
T’Sharvan Bell is your MVP if he catches that ball.
He just seemed to be in some key places throughout the game.
Tonight we rename the joint Chizik-Tuberville Stadium!
Twelve and oh. Twelve and OH! TWELVE! AND! OH! War Damn Eagle!
Love ya, Rod, and I miss ya, Jim.
Good Lord willing we’ll never have to see anything like V-E day. V-A Day at Toomer’s is plenty ecstatic.
I don’t know why I was thinking this as I walked up College Street. I’m not really comparing these two things. That would just be silly. But think about it: you see pictures from that day in New York and elsewhere, but you don’t know what it sounded like, which is a separate and lost experience. I know what relief and joy and exultation at Toomer’s sounds like from blocks away and that, I think, is enough. Plus, I like V-A Day. I’m coining a phrase. Make this happen, TWER.
49 degrees and feeling fine. Hey all you Tigers in west Auburn, make a quick and safe trip down 82. We need you at Toomer’s!
Police are trying to clear the corner and the bank sign says 48-degrees, but no one is leaving. The family reunion continues.
Here’s Toomer’s Corner in a nutshell, for the uninitiated. Toilet paper materializes from nowhere. If you didn’t bring any, or the bathrooms from the nearby establishments have all been locked, you will find an enterprising young man who will sell you a roll or three for a modest profit. You pull off a tail, throw that over your shoulder and heave the roll into the storied oaks that shade the corner of campus where downtown and the university meet.
(I’m not a big proponent of rolling the corner for every little thing. We’re overdoing it at risk of the trees’ health, which have toilet paper, cement over their soil, downtown congestion and a recent drunken driver to overcome. I wouldn’t mind if we could come up with a consensus for when a victory is “big enough.” I don’t roll the trees much anymore for those reasons, though I did throw a few tonight. I don’t begrudge anyone the chance to roll the tree.)
When friends or family come to games I make sure to take them. They should visit because this isn’t about rolling the trees, but about the spirit of the moment. I’ve been under the trees when they were lit on fire. I’ve been under the trees in rain and under cold fire hoses — because some idiot lit them on fire. I’ve climbed the stones and been beaned with the industrial strength rolls. I stood next to a police officer who had to rescue the street signs after a raucous celebration. I’ve watched people shimmy all the way up the light poles.
I don’t recall having ever witnessed a frantic moment at Toomer’s Corner. If there’s a more inclusive, family friendly celebration of something as silly and fleeting as a football game, I don’t know what it is. People jostle for position, but give up toilet paper to strangers. Kids always seem to win if there is a tie over a roll. People, shoulder-to-shoulder and chest-to-back are patient and help each other with pictures and walking through the crowd. I gave three or four rolls to kids to throw tonight. I taught one little girl and two young ladies how to throw their rolls tonight. You see a lot of this sort of thing all around.
Tonight a guy was stumbling a bit and I placed my hand on his shoulder. He turned and said “What’s up?” as if he suspected I was trying to start something.
“I’m just making sure you don’t stumble into my wife,” I said. He smiled, I smiled. He went on his way.
It isn’t unique to this place, but it is one of my favorite parts of Auburn: where strangers know each other, calm in the face of exultation, proud to be in a great place.
Tigers and Tide are both off today, but they’ll play for pride next Friday. Undefeated Auburn will be on the road, looking to snap Alabama’s two-game winning streak in the series.
I like Auburn’s chances.
Via, The War Eagle Reader.
