But you ain't touchin' Aubie's dome. al dot kummin atcha
Aubie the Tiger isn't your average mascot.
He is the only mascot that has ever turned down longtime ESPN College GameDay analyst Lee Corso, who shows off his pick for the network's game of the week by donning a school's mascot headgear. It is a tradition Corso began in 1996, and it has since become a staple of the popular traveling college football pregame show.
"Auburn is the only school in America that will not let me put on the headgear," said Corso on Monday afternoon during a ESPN luncheon at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. "They have some kind of rule that you have got to be a special kind of human being to wear this guy's headgear.
"... So, I'm not going to pick 'em," he said with a laugh.
Before the "Kick Six" Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2013, Corso also mentioned that Auburn is the only school that "has a mascot head that won't let me put it on my head," as he proceeded to put on the headgear for Alabama's mascot.
"It's like the War Eagle Club tradition that no one puts on the mascot, except for the kid who's the mascot," explained ESPN College GameDay producer Lee Fitting. "It's one of those things we respect and find other means – don the old-school leather football helmet and move on."
On Monday afternoon Auburn's official Aubie the Tiger account chimed in on Corso's comments.
"I have never and will never let Lee Corso take my head for @CollegeGameDay!" Animal abuse is never ok! #SaveTheFelines," the mascot's account says.
"Auburn fans don't have to worry about the #CorsoCurse any longer! #Winning #CantTouchThis"
Auburn did not return calls or emails related to its rules regarding Aubie the Tiger.
After Corso found out that he could not wear Aubie's headgear, he came up with a backup plan that also fell through.
"I wanted to put the Eagle on," he said with a smile, "but they wouldn't let me."
Fitting added: "They stick true and true to their tradition. That's the stuff that makes college football cool and unique are those traditions.
"While it may seem crazy to others, it's a big deal in that community and that program we abide by it."
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