Track'em is finally back with a vengeance with 2 good posts on Sunday. The latest by Jay Coulter is good fodder for discussion since as discussed in my last post we are more or less in a holding period.
Coulter compares this current team and new coach with the situation in 1993. Fellow Track'em poster Acid Reign also weighs in in the comments section. Good stuff. Since I graduated from Auburn in 1992 and saw every single game Auburn game home and away from 1991 to 1993 except at Texas '91, at Florida and Bama '92 and at Arkansas '93 I had to comment.
Let me say first that I do not think much of Terry Bowden now. I think time told the story on Bowden and it was not a good one. It seems to get worse every time he opens his mouth. However as much as he has tried to destroy his legacy at Auburn (and pretty much succeeded), nothing will take away how awesome and magical the 1993 season was at that time.
I do think Coulter is right and there are alot of similarities although I think that when you look a little closer there are alot of differences as well. I started on a big entry really comparing the two teams but then as I start revisiting 1993 for info on the comparison I dropped it. Instead I am going to post what I wrote about the 1993 season way back then. It was a magical season that nobody expected. We didn't have any depth and all the players that did step up were not expected to step up. We can say now how good that team is in hindsight but before that season started nobody thought we would be real good.
Since I went to every game that season but one I decided to create a giant poster with all the ticket stubs and pictures from all the games. When I finished I kind of wanted to write something to put on it and this is what I wrote...
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WHY I LOVE SPORTS
The 1993 Auburn team started about as low as a team could start. They were shackled with: NCAA probation that prevented them from having anything to play for and being seen by anybody except the spectators, a new coach with no big-time experience, the loss of the greatest coach in Auburn history, a team that had not been ranked in 2 years, a team with supposedly no "talent" like a quarterback who was a "loser", a middle linebacker that was barely 210 pounds, a reciever that was supposed to be all mouth, a secondary that had lost their best player for the season, two senior fullbacks who were washed up, and with defensive and offensive lines that were "below average".
Basically, the same team that had endured two straight seasons of losing, two straight seasons of controversy, and two straight seasons of complete frustration. A team that was picked by almost everyone to have a losing record. And finally a team who's cross-state rival had just won a national championship. But with a new "Attitude" brought in by the new coach and put into action by the players, this team achieved perfection. This team went 11-0, the first Auburn team to ever do it. This "Attitude" was simply about believing in yourself, setting goals, working hard and persevering to achieve those goals, and not worrying about things you can't control.
To accomplish what they did this team prayed before and after every game; they started the season by beating a team that had crushed them the year before; they beat a team in a place where they had not won in over 50 years; they, in maybe their closest game, stopped a team on 4 plays at the goal line; they beat the 4th ranked team in the nation by coming back from 10-0 and 27-14 deficits and finally winning on a last second field goal in one of the greatest games I have ever seen; they won in below freezing weather; and finally pulled out one more mracle to beat their cross-state rival in maybe the biggest game ever played in Alabama.
There were so many reasons this season was special but one of the best was seeing little known and rarely used players step up and make their contribution: a tiny senior defensive end that makes 2 huge sacks against Florida; a little used senior defensive back makes a goal line interception to stop Georgia; a senior cornerback who's career had fallen short of all expectations gets to start due to injuries in the last game of his career against Alabama and makes 8 tackles; and finally a back-up quarterback who comes in (due to an injury) on 4th and 15 down 14-5 against Alabama and throws a 35 yard touchdown pass to bring Auburn back.
But it was also great watching: the quarterback, who had persevered through so much criticism, step up and help lead the team to victory, a bunch of linebackers who were supposed to be a weakness become a strength, a reciever become an all-SEC big time player; a secondary become one of the best in the nation, 2 fullbacks finish their career by contributing so much, the offensive and defensive lines become dominant, and finally an MVP tailback who just would not be stopped. Of course, these were just college kids, just regular people, and they had some luck but what they achieved and how they they did it showed why I love Auburn and I love sports.
Jeff Sallas
Class of 1992
Auburn University
Coulter compares this current team and new coach with the situation in 1993. Fellow Track'em poster Acid Reign also weighs in in the comments section. Good stuff. Since I graduated from Auburn in 1992 and saw every single game Auburn game home and away from 1991 to 1993 except at Texas '91, at Florida and Bama '92 and at Arkansas '93 I had to comment.
Let me say first that I do not think much of Terry Bowden now. I think time told the story on Bowden and it was not a good one. It seems to get worse every time he opens his mouth. However as much as he has tried to destroy his legacy at Auburn (and pretty much succeeded), nothing will take away how awesome and magical the 1993 season was at that time.
I do think Coulter is right and there are alot of similarities although I think that when you look a little closer there are alot of differences as well. I started on a big entry really comparing the two teams but then as I start revisiting 1993 for info on the comparison I dropped it. Instead I am going to post what I wrote about the 1993 season way back then. It was a magical season that nobody expected. We didn't have any depth and all the players that did step up were not expected to step up. We can say now how good that team is in hindsight but before that season started nobody thought we would be real good.
Since I went to every game that season but one I decided to create a giant poster with all the ticket stubs and pictures from all the games. When I finished I kind of wanted to write something to put on it and this is what I wrote...
-----------------------
WHY I LOVE SPORTS
The 1993 Auburn team started about as low as a team could start. They were shackled with: NCAA probation that prevented them from having anything to play for and being seen by anybody except the spectators, a new coach with no big-time experience, the loss of the greatest coach in Auburn history, a team that had not been ranked in 2 years, a team with supposedly no "talent" like a quarterback who was a "loser", a middle linebacker that was barely 210 pounds, a reciever that was supposed to be all mouth, a secondary that had lost their best player for the season, two senior fullbacks who were washed up, and with defensive and offensive lines that were "below average".
Basically, the same team that had endured two straight seasons of losing, two straight seasons of controversy, and two straight seasons of complete frustration. A team that was picked by almost everyone to have a losing record. And finally a team who's cross-state rival had just won a national championship. But with a new "Attitude" brought in by the new coach and put into action by the players, this team achieved perfection. This team went 11-0, the first Auburn team to ever do it. This "Attitude" was simply about believing in yourself, setting goals, working hard and persevering to achieve those goals, and not worrying about things you can't control.
To accomplish what they did this team prayed before and after every game; they started the season by beating a team that had crushed them the year before; they beat a team in a place where they had not won in over 50 years; they, in maybe their closest game, stopped a team on 4 plays at the goal line; they beat the 4th ranked team in the nation by coming back from 10-0 and 27-14 deficits and finally winning on a last second field goal in one of the greatest games I have ever seen; they won in below freezing weather; and finally pulled out one more mracle to beat their cross-state rival in maybe the biggest game ever played in Alabama.
There were so many reasons this season was special but one of the best was seeing little known and rarely used players step up and make their contribution: a tiny senior defensive end that makes 2 huge sacks against Florida; a little used senior defensive back makes a goal line interception to stop Georgia; a senior cornerback who's career had fallen short of all expectations gets to start due to injuries in the last game of his career against Alabama and makes 8 tackles; and finally a back-up quarterback who comes in (due to an injury) on 4th and 15 down 14-5 against Alabama and throws a 35 yard touchdown pass to bring Auburn back.
But it was also great watching: the quarterback, who had persevered through so much criticism, step up and help lead the team to victory, a bunch of linebackers who were supposed to be a weakness become a strength, a reciever become an all-SEC big time player; a secondary become one of the best in the nation, 2 fullbacks finish their career by contributing so much, the offensive and defensive lines become dominant, and finally an MVP tailback who just would not be stopped. Of course, these were just college kids, just regular people, and they had some luck but what they achieved and how they they did it showed why I love Auburn and I love sports.
Jeff Sallas
Class of 1992
Auburn University
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