To our Rivals: Get over it.

[Tiger Wench]

From TWER:  no offense to others but this guy gets exactly how I feel about Auburn's magical season.

Living With An Asterisk?
Written by Dean Jolley
Aug 10, 2011

Auburn begins this season as the National Champions. Lots of folks, in the media and out of it, seem to hope they can change that by talking about various impending this-and-thats: on-going NCAA investigations, bagmen about to jump from behind closed doors (impelled, apparently, by their disinterested love of truth and desire to keep Danny Sheridan’s reputation free of blemishes), or who knows what other dire prophecies muttered by the Deep Throat du jour. And Auburn fans seem restless, seem to feel that they have been deprived of something.

But here’s the rub: When lately has the fan base of any rival ever simply and collectively acknowledged its rival’s championship? Contemporary American sports, in part because of the journalistic and moral bankruptcy of what passes for sports reporting, exists wholly in the realm of envy. What other teams have (a player like Cam Newton) or win (a National Championship) provokes sidelong glances, narrowed eyes, on the part of their rivals. A rival—shall we say by definition—cannot deserve any good thing. So of course if they have them (Cam Newton; Sears Trophy), their agency in getting them must have been—shall we say it? all together now—Outside The Lines.

If you will forgive me taking refuge in an ancient and venerable tongue: what horseshit!

Auburn won the Trophy. Nothing has been proven. And nothing has been denied Auburn. My own view is that if Auburn’s rivals must envy (and I wish they wouldn’t, just because it is such a miserable state to live in), then Auburn fans should embrace the envy, not as a cost of the Championship, but as a lovely bonus provided with it: “Here is the Sears Trophy, and, as a bonus, the seething, boiling bubble guts of all your rivals!” Every phone call to radio shows, every spouted idiocy on television, every illiterate post on message boards, all unite together in a hymn to Auburn, hallmarking a complete and demeaning inability on the part of rivals to—shall we say it? all together now: Get Over It! If you must spice Auburn’s championship by pouring out your life’s few precious moments memorializing it in the dayglow green of your envy, who am I to tell you No? Memorialize, memorialize; and thank you!

Oh, but the rivals will say, what if Auburn is guilty? Well, then Auburn is. But I am not going to worry about it. I will bask in the Championship and the envy of it, until I can’t. Then I will move on. It’s just football after all, lots of fun and all that, but not important enough to corrupt my character for. I haven’t lost any sleep worrying about the Championship being recalled, and I won’t if it were to happen. That season is history now. And although the bookkeeping concerning it would change if Auburn were found to have done something wrong, not a moment of the season would change or go away. Even if the score of the Iron Bowl is marked with an asterisk, it will still be a game Auburn won: 28-27. The old saying that winners write history isn’t wholly true. In contemporary American sports, the winners make the history, and the losers try to rewrite it.

But before Auburn fans subside into a tranquil glow, before we bask in the collected during-the-season and after-the-season goodies of last year, we should check themselves and our relationship to Alabama’s Championship. How much envy did we send Alabama’s way? I hope the Alabama fans enjoyed it then as much as I am now. It would be nice if we could grow up and all stop being sore losers. But if that doesn’t happen—and of course it won’t—there is no way I will let the tantrums of a legion of sore losers deprive me of one bit of joy in last year; as I said, the tantrums are a bonus. We should take them that way, as a bit of unintended magnanimity by our rivals.

…

Dr. Jolley is a philosophy professor at Auburn University. He works in the theory of judgment, the history of 20th-century philosophy, metaphilosophy and philosophical psychology. He was recently profiled by The New York Times. He also likes football. His book “The Concept ‘Horse’ Paradox and Wittgensteinian Conceptual Investigations” was published in 2007.  His column Leisure with Dignity runs bi-monthly to monthly to whenever. Write to him at kellydeanjolley@gmail.com.

[Snaggletiger]

Well said...slow clap....


Let's play some football.

[Kaos]

No offense to anybody but he doesn't get it. 

If all it was was envy and jealous crazy talk his viewpoint would be fine. But it's not. 

Were the trees poisoned?  Have lies about Auburn players and coaches been peddled to recruits? Is the media complicit in trying to defame Auburn and derail recruiting? Did Auburn's beatwriter contact the NCAA to report Big Cat violations and then make contact again to question the Tiger Prowl? Has the same media whitewashed and covered up Bama violations? 

If the envy was restricted to words I could adopt this stance.  But they're using sticks and stones too. It's dangerous to pretend otherwise. 

And he is horribly wrong in the reaction to bama's 2009 win.  Not even the craziest Auburn fan built a website dedicated to finding a way to take it away from them.  There are at least five bama-led and one LSU-backed site spreading lies right now. 

Singing la-la-la isn't going to help.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

No offense to anybody but he doesn't get it. 

If all it was was envy and jealous crazy talk his viewpoint would be fine. But it's not. 

Were the trees poisoned?  Have lies about Auburn players and coaches been peddled to recruits? Is the media complicit in trying to defame Auburn and derail recruiting? Did Auburn's beatwriter contact the NCAA to report Big Cat violations and then make contact again to question the Tiger Prowl? Has the same media whitewashed and covered up Bama violations? 

If the envy was restricted to words I could adopt this stance.  But they're using sticks and stones too. It's dangerous to pretend otherwise. 

And he is horribly wrong in the reaction to bama's 2009 win.  Not even the craziest Auburn fan built a website dedicated to finding a way to take it away from them.  There are at least five bama-led and one LSU-backed site spreading lies right now. 

Singing la-la-la isn't going to help.

Has a school ever ended up on probation based strictly off of rumor and innuendo started by opposing fan bases?  Does water roll off a duck's back?

[Tiger Wench]

No offense to anybody but he doesn't get it. 

If all it was was envy and jealous crazy talk his viewpoint would be fine. But it's not. 

Were the trees poisoned?  Have lies about Auburn players and coaches been peddled to recruits? Is the media complicit in trying to defame Auburn and derail recruiting? Did Auburn's beatwriter contact the NCAA to report Big Cat violations and then make contact again to question the Tiger Prowl? Has the same media whitewashed and covered up Bama violations? 

If the envy was restricted to words I could adopt this stance.  But they're using sticks and stones too. It's dangerous to pretend otherwise. 

And he is horribly wrong in the reaction to bama's 2009 win.  Not even the craziest Auburn fan built a website dedicated to finding a way to take it away from them.  There are at least five bama-led and one LSU-backed site spreading lies right now. 

Singing la-la-la isn't going to help.

He is specifically talking about whether or not we can enjoy the championship or whether we let any rival - bammer, corndog, whatever - take away our enjoyment.  This is not about the war - this is about enjoying the victory we have.  And I am.  Thoroughly.  My answer to everyone who says shit about Cam and an asterick - and yeah, the T-sips and Aggies and corndogs and sooners are right there with bammers - is simple "National Champs, bitch.  We won.  Can't ever be undone - bell can't be unrung.  National Champs.  Suck it."

[Snaggletiger]

I imagine the big difference is this guy probably doesn't spend much time scouring message boards and listening to Finebaum.  K, I totally agree with you that stuff is going on and it absolutely turns my stomach to see people so damn caught up in spending time trying to tear the other guy down.  Talk shows are one thing, but actually making the effort to build a webiste who's sole purpose is getting dirt on your rival is nothing short of pathetic.

However, there's a huge segment of ours and any fan base that don't get on message boards, that...believe it or not....don't listen to Paul Finebaum...that don't really give a shit what the other guy is doing.  I've talked about this before, but the weeks I spent at the beach this summer were fantastic in every way, including not reading about, hearing about and pretty much not even thinking about rivalries and Cam Newton or T-Town or Chargers or $100.00 handshakes.  Looked like nobody around me was thinking about it either.

Does that mean it's not going on?  Nope.  If you live in this State, you will be exposed to it in one form or another.  But a lot of people would rather not participate in it and just enjoy the 2010 accomplishments.  Yes, it goes on and yes, I get caught up in it from time to time.  But, what's cool to me are the times I talk Auburn football with my dad.  That's all he wants to talk about and is pretty much oblivious to all the shit that goes on.  He's 79 years old and finally has a reason again to just grin ear to ear and rib his Bama buddies. 

[Kaos]

Has a school ever ended up on probation based strictly off of rumor and innuendo started by opposing fan bases?  Does water roll off a duck's back?

Have recruits been lied to and influenced?

Was AU singed for Big Cat? Is Tiger Prowl still rolling?

I know where you stand.  You know where I do.  No sense in wasting everyone's time. 

[Godfather]

Honestly, I quit reading after he called it the Sears Trophy.  Hasn't been called that in several years.

[dallaswareagle]

He is specifically talking about whether or not we can enjoy the championship or whether we let any rival - bammer, corndog, whatever - take away our enjoyment.  This is not about the war - this is about enjoying the victory we have.  And I am.  Thoroughly.  My answer to everyone who says shit about Cam and an asterick - and yeah, the T-sips and Aggies and corndogs and sooners are right there with bammers - is simple "National Champs, bitch.  We won.  Can't ever be undone - bell can't be unrung.  National Champs.  Suck it."

I don’t think it is so much about us enjoying it. (Most fans I know are). I think it is more about how other fans are totally justifying why they didn’t win it.
When I was in NO a couple of months ago I went in to a sports shop downtown and am always looking for Auburn stuff. The lady behind the counter wearing her LSU stuff started in on (Scam Newton and blah-blah) she was more pissed that we won it then lsu lost it. Auburn is always suppose to be on the cuff of winning but is not suppose to win it. If we did we had to of cheated-We have pissed in the big boy pool, and will continue to do so for a while.

As soon as she (scam) I asked her if there was another place that had Auburn stuff, she said that she had plenty; I told her that as a business owner you don’t degrade your customers or their passion. I spent my $200.00 elsewhere.

[Kaos]

Their ignorance hasn't kept me from enjoying anything.  Their pettiness has made me despise them more for it accentuated their true oily colors. 

And I don't wake up every morning dreading anything. 

[AWK]

I hate them, but I love us more.

[Snaggletiger]

I hate them, but I love us more.

This was succinct, yet profound.  Direct, but deep.  Absurd, yet flaccid.

[Saniflush]

This was succinct, yet profound.  Direct, but deep.  Absurd, yet flaccid.

You hate flaccid.

[The Prowler]

Has a school ever ended up on probation based strictly off of rumor and innuendo started by opposing fan bases?  Does water roll off a duck's back?

Read up on the Don Fuell (sp?) Case.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Have recruits been lied to and influenced?

Was AU singed for Big Cat? Is Tiger Prowl still rolling?

I know where you stand.  You know where I do.  No sense in wasting everyone's time.

[JR4AU]

Their ignorance hasn't kept me from enjoying anything.  Their pettiness has made me despise them more for it accentuated their true oily colors. 

And I don't wake up every morning dreading anything.

No, and most Auburn fans don't dread, and do enjoy it.  This stupid shit online, and on talk radio has become a mantra..."blah, blah, blah, Auburn's gonna have to vacate" by about 8 callers, followed by one Auburn caller claiming it aint gonna happen, and for citing facts, the next few callers call the Auburn caller a whiner, and query "Why can't them aubs just enjoy their championship?" as if any of them would actually like us to.  No, it's not about Auburn people, it's about them feeling better about what went down last Nov. Dec. and Jan.  They are compelled to justify it, create an air of fear (at which they've been totally unsuccessful, yet think they have been successful), and then predicting loss of trophies from last year, and a losing season this year.  It's like it's on a loop.  In reality, Fbomb squeezes in maybe 25 callers a day, of which 15 or so are the dregs of the earth, from both fan bases, and a couple here and there talk real issues and football, with a smattering of intelligent people telling Paul how they think he and his show are fucking trash pandering to the lowest common denominator.  In reality, I never hear any of that shit anywhere but places like Tigerdropppings, or F'bomb.  NEVER ONCE in person.  So, yeah, it's easy to enjoy the championship, and the icing on the cake is how badly it's fucked with the simple minded mullets of the crimson hoard.   

[Snaggletiger]

No, and most Auburn fans don't dread, and do enjoy it.  This stupid shit online, and on talk radio has become a mantra..."blah, blah, blah, Auburn's gonna have to vacate" by about 8 callers, followed by one Auburn caller claiming it aint gonna happen, and for citing facts, the next few callers call the Auburn caller a whiner, and query "Why can't them aubs just enjoy their championship?" as if any of them would actually like us to.  No, it's not about Auburn people, it's about them feeling better about what went down last Nov. Dec. and Jan.  They are compelled to justify it, create an air of fear (at which they've been totally unsuccessful, yet think they have been successful), and then predicting loss of trophies from last year, and a losing season this year.  It's like it's on a loop.  In reality, Fbomb squeezes in maybe 25 callers a day, of which 15 or so are the dregs of the earth, from both fan bases, and a couple here and there talk real issues and football, with a smattering of intelligent people telling Paul how they think he and his show are fucking trash pandering to the lowest common denominator.  In reality, I never hear any of that shit anywhere but places like Tigerdropppings, or F'bomb.  NEVER ONCE in person.  So, yeah, it's easy to enjoy the championship, and the icing on the cake is how badly it's fucked with the simple minded mullets of the crimson hoard.   

You're so right, Carl

[Kaos]

Just left a meeting with a group I've been negotiating a pretty significant deal. 

I'm geting in my car and one of the principals drives by. Seeing the small NC sticker on my car he stops.

"Might as well put it out there while you can," he says.

"What?"

"That sticker.  You gonna keep it on when they take it away? You think they'll take the Heisman too? Won't make a shit to cam. He got his.  Y'all are the ones who have to suffer."

"What?"

"Yall knew before you went you weren't gonna keep it.  I know y'all wanted one bad but it was stupid to trade your integrity for a temporary title.  I know Bama wouldn't do it.  We not about bogus championships.  Its just not worth that."

What?

You know they cheated.  Had to. A coach with a losing record can't get those kind of recruits. It's just a matter of time before they take it away from you."

I went to Arizona. I watched Auburn win the national championship. Saw it with my own eyes. Bought the t-shirt.  Going to keep the sticker.  There's not s single thing anybody can do or say that will make me unsee what my eyes saw or unhear what my ears heard or unfeel what my heart felt. Nobody can take a DAMN thing from me. Ever.

"Well Danny Sheridan...."

...is a fucking idiot. 

He drove off. 

Before I posted this I sent an email.  The deal is off.  I will pursue other options. 

[Token]

PM their company name and mailing address.  I have some money to spend, and they sound like my kind of company.

[JR4AU]

Just left a meeting with a group I've been negotiating a pretty significant deal. 

I'm geting in my car and one of the principals drives by. Seeing the small NC sticker on my car he stops.

"Might as well put it out there while you can," he says.

"What?"

"That sticker.  You gonna keep it on when they take it away? You think they'll take the Heisman too? Won't make a shit to cam. He got his.  Y'all are the ones who have to suffer."

"What?"

"Yall knew before you went you weren't gonna keep it.  I know y'all wanted one bad but it was stupid to trade your integrity for a temporary title.  I know Bama wouldn't do it.  We not about bogus championships.  Its just not worth that."

What?

You know they cheated.  Had to. A coach with a losing record can't get those kind of recruits. It's just a matter of time before they take it away from you."

I went to Arizona. I watched Auburn win the national championship. Saw it with my own eyes. Bought the t-shirt.  Going to keep the sticker.  There's not s single thing anybody can do or say that will make me unsee what my eyes saw or unhear what my ears heard or unfeel what my heart felt. Nobody can take a DAMN thing from me. Ever.

"Well Danny Sheridan...."

...is a fucking idiot. 

He drove off. 

Before I posted this I sent an email.  The deal is off.  I will pursue other options.

Id give a testicle to actually meet a gump like this with the nads to actually do this face to face.