Good piece pinched and pasted from the al. I am a gay twerker that has no balls!!!! I also have no idea how to use the quote function to post stories, so I annoy the piss out of others. I like male genatalia in and around my mouth. on some similarities between the two schools. I have no doubt this will spawn a list of differences as well. Even a mention of the inspiration for one of our poster's intrawebz name.
Although few die-hard fans want to admit it, Auburn University and the University of Alabama have many similarities. They are both respected academic institutions steeped in history.
In an effort to start the football season with a spirit of camaraderie, this story highlights some of those similarities, albeit some truly odd ones.
It requires a disclaimer: I am a 1987 graduate of Auburn University, where my daughter now attends, and author of the book “Hidden History of Auburn.†Although some people like to claim favoritism in every story about Auburn and Alabama, this is written without football rivalries in mind. Any omissions are unintended.
1. Mascot + Battle Cry = Weird Combinations
Auburn and Alabama each have a mascot and a battle cry, which is unusual in college sports. Weirder still, mascots and battle cries seem oddly mismatched at both: Auburn University’s mascot is a tiger and its battle cry is “War Eagle!â€
The University of Alabama’s mascot is an elephant and its battle cry is “Roll Tide Roll!†after its well-known nickname the Crimson Tide.
Even odder, Auburn sports teams, like those at most universities, are known as “Tigers,†but UA teams are known as the “Alabama Crimson Tide†and not the “Alabama Elephants.â€
Read the stories behind the mascots for both universities here.
2. Notable and Notorious
Both universities have dozens of famous graduates and faculty, from pro athletes to film stars to musicians. But they also have some connections they are not as quick to claim because of their notoriety, such as former UA student Bernard Madoff. Madoff, convicted of a massive fraud scheme, attended in the late 1950s before transferring to Hofstra University, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Let’s look at examples of notorious people with connections to each university: Bobby Hoppe and Marshall Herff Applewhite.
In 1957, Bobby Hoppe, a stand-out athlete known as the “Chattanooga Choo-Choo†and “Hippity Hoppe,†was home in Chattanooga during summer break from Auburn. But before he could return in fall for his senior year, Hoppe’s life would change forever.
That summer, he shot a man to death.
Don Hudson was known as a local bootlegger and had reportedly dated Hoppe’s sister and mistreated her, according to the book, “A Matter of Conscience: Redemption of a Hometown Hero, Bobby Hoppe,†written by Hoppe’s wife and published after his death.
Hoppe didn’t tell anyone what had occurred. He returned to Auburn and played defensive back for the 1957 national championship Auburn Tigers. It wasn’t until 31 years later that he confessed to the shooting, saying it was self-defense. The trial ended in a hung jury and he was never retried. He died in 2008.
One of the most notorious people connected to the University of Alabama was a faculty member named Marshall Herff Applewhite, who went by Herff. He taught in the music department from 1961 to 1964 and was known as a charming man, according to a 1997 article in the Tuscaloosa News.
Herff didn’t make many ripples while at the university but after he married in 1970, the course of his life changed. The couple believed themselves to the “The Two†referred to in Revelations. They formulated a theory that a UFO would arrive on earth to take chosen people and led several cults, the last of which was known as “Heaven’s Gate.†In 1997, thinking the approach of the Hale-Bopp comet was a sign, Applewhite and 38 of his followers took overdoses in California in an effort to get to the “Next Level.â€
3. When panty raids were undie-niably fun
Following World War II, the GI Bill brought an influx of male students to campuses. In the meantime, women had gained more independence and were fighting the restraints placed on them by administrations, including dress codes and early curfews. One result of these new gender interactions was “panty raids,†popular in the 1950s, when male students would storm girls’ dorms for the purpose of stealing underwear.
Auburn and Alabama did not escape the advent on the panty raid.
The University of Alabama made national news in 1952 when administrators and campus security quelled a massive panty raid that was part of a nationwide trend. On some campuses, the National Guard was called and tear gas was used, according to a United Press article on May, 20, 1952: “At Tuscaloosa, Ala., about 1,000 men of the University of Alabama aced up and down the campus bent on staging a panty raid. But university officials and police armed with nightsticks kept them from entering any girls’ quarters.â€
In 1959, the university was once again in the news when tear gas was used to stop 3,000 panty raiders, according to The Anniston Star.
At Auburn, panty raids became so problematic that Catherine Cooper Cater, the dean of women, wrote a pamphlet giving girls tips on how to react. In her publication “Blossoms of the Deep Verdure: A Century of Women at Auburn,†Leah Rawls Atkins wrote: “Dean Cater had to deal with the phenomenon of panty raids, and she issued special ‘Rules for Women in Case of Panty Raids.’ She instructed coeds to don housecoats or raincoats, turn off all lights, and go sit on the floors of the hallways. Restrictions were promised to those coeds who failed to follow these guidelines and appeared in dorm windows or egged on the males storming the doors.â€
A panty raid also impacted the 1957 football season. After the quarterback and several players were expelled, half-back Lloyd Nix of Decatur was moved to quarterback. The Tigers would win a national title that year.
4. Lost Landmarks
Alabama and Auburn each have dozens of beloved landmarks: Auburn has Samford Hall, completed in 1888 to replace Old Main, the classroom building for the East Alabama Male College. Alabama has Denny Chimes, built in 1929 and named for former president George Denny. And both universities have lost landmarks that were once part of the student body’s daily routine.
A long-time student favorite in Auburn, the Sani-Freeze walk-up dairy bar, was where students went for ice cream and hot dogs. It began as a restaurant called The Doll House in 1938 and changed to an ice-cream bar in 1952. After much protest, the shop known as “Sani-Flush†was torn down in 1993.
In Tuscaloosa, The Corner Store on the edge of campus was a fixture for 67 years before it was torn down in June.
The convenience store at the corner of Paul W. Bryant Drive and Eighth Avenue was a popular stop on the way to Bryant-Denny Stadium on game days.
The store, established in 1946, was open 24 hours a day and within walking distance of most major dorms.
Join al.com reporter Kelly Kazek on her weekly journey through Alabama to record the region's quirky history, strange roadside attractions and tales of colorful characters. Call her at 256-701-0576 or find her on Facebook.
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