Welcome to the "Saturdays To Remember" Auburn and SEC sports blog. My name is Jeff Sallas and I love reading and writing about Auburn and SEC sports. I am a 1992 graduate of Auburn University and attended over 90% of the homes games at Auburn from 1983 till 2001. My oldest son then got old enough to play sports and we had to give up our season tickets (or to be more accurate, mooching off my parents' season tickets) after the 2001 season but I still try to get down to one or two games a year.
We have a pretty good Auburn legacy going in my family. My dad graduated from Auburn, my mom graduated from Auburn, my brother graduated from Auburn, my father-in-law graduated from Auburn, etc... We are definitely an Auburn clan. I have lived my entire life in the state of Alabama (and thus have had to endure a lifetime of dealing with the evil empire and their lackeys in the media (-: ).
I kind of blogged before there was blogging. I kept up a web page writing about Auburn and SEC football from 1999 through 2002 but gave it up before the 2003 season. You can still see this sterling work here. Kind of a little time capsule as I have not touched it since 2003... (-:
I am an avid follower of several current blogs including Will Collier's From The Bleachers (the few times of year he actually posts something), Track Em Tigers, Tony Barnhart, Jay Tate, Andy Bitter and of course the al.com blogs of Evan Woodberry and Charles Goldberg. My favorite though is of course the Joe Cribbs Car Wash. Great great stuff even if he is a bit too positive at times for me (-:
What has brought me out of retirement? Well I must first say that the proliferation of so many blogs has had me stirred up for awhile but what finally pushed me over the edge is all of the sunshine pumpers. I could barely take it during the Tuberville years but the current deification of Gene Chizik and Chris Todd is simply more than I can take and will probably be the subject of my first post.
I have been accused of being negative but as all pessimists say, we are not negative but realistic (-: Honestly though I try to keep a fair common sense view of things and the sunshine pumping done by fans of both schools in this state (especially in spring and fall practice) make me in the words of Michael Caine "physically sick"...
If you feel the same way or you are a sunshine pumper that likes to venture inside occasionally, bookmark this blog. I know my favorite blogs are the ones that provide regular fresh material and I will endeavor to do so. I will also endeavor to respond to good questions and comments on my stuff (except the ones that say I am a blooming idiot). I may get it wrong sometimes (not much of course) but I like reading different "takes" on sports and especially Auburn and SEC sports.
So where did the blog name "Saturdays To Remember" come from? Old school Auburn grads and fans will recognize it as the name of the definitive work on the Shug Jordan years. David Housel, Auburn's former SID and AD, wrote an incredible book that was released in 1973 called "Saturdays To Remember". I grew up reading it over and over and over. It chronicles over a dozen games of the Shug Jordan era and in those chapters the seasons those games were in. It is simply awesome. If you like reading all of these blogs and about Auburn and you do not know much about the Shug Jordan era, you simply HAVE to read it.
Housel takes you behind the scenes and through the games including Shug's first game against Vandy, Auburn's 40-0 woodshed beating of Bama to cap the national championship season in 1957, the 1969 stomping of the Bama and the Bear (the last time we beat them by more than 10 points), the 1970 comeback from 17-0 down to Bama and finally the classic 1972 Punt Bama Punt game.
It also covers several other classic Auburn games and moments including the 1963 Auburn vs. Bama game, the little known 1968 Auburn vs. Bama JV game where Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley led Auburn back from a 27-0 deficit, Sullivan's Heisman clincher where undefeated Auburn beat undefeated Georgia and several other classic games from Jordan's early years.
I think the essential Auburn history that every Auburn fan needs is this book, the Decade of the 80's video tape or DVD, the 1993 season recap DVD and the 2004 "Hard Fighting Soldiers" season recap DVD. I think those four things chronicle the best of Auburn and the best moments from its last four coaches.
However "Saturdays To Remember" is where it all started for me though and this blog is dedicated to that book and the hope that we have many many more "Saturdays To Remember".
We have a pretty good Auburn legacy going in my family. My dad graduated from Auburn, my mom graduated from Auburn, my brother graduated from Auburn, my father-in-law graduated from Auburn, etc... We are definitely an Auburn clan. I have lived my entire life in the state of Alabama (and thus have had to endure a lifetime of dealing with the evil empire and their lackeys in the media (-: ).
I kind of blogged before there was blogging. I kept up a web page writing about Auburn and SEC football from 1999 through 2002 but gave it up before the 2003 season. You can still see this sterling work here. Kind of a little time capsule as I have not touched it since 2003... (-:
I am an avid follower of several current blogs including Will Collier's From The Bleachers (the few times of year he actually posts something), Track Em Tigers, Tony Barnhart, Jay Tate, Andy Bitter and of course the al.com blogs of Evan Woodberry and Charles Goldberg. My favorite though is of course the Joe Cribbs Car Wash. Great great stuff even if he is a bit too positive at times for me (-:
What has brought me out of retirement? Well I must first say that the proliferation of so many blogs has had me stirred up for awhile but what finally pushed me over the edge is all of the sunshine pumpers. I could barely take it during the Tuberville years but the current deification of Gene Chizik and Chris Todd is simply more than I can take and will probably be the subject of my first post.
I have been accused of being negative but as all pessimists say, we are not negative but realistic (-: Honestly though I try to keep a fair common sense view of things and the sunshine pumping done by fans of both schools in this state (especially in spring and fall practice) make me in the words of Michael Caine "physically sick"...
If you feel the same way or you are a sunshine pumper that likes to venture inside occasionally, bookmark this blog. I know my favorite blogs are the ones that provide regular fresh material and I will endeavor to do so. I will also endeavor to respond to good questions and comments on my stuff (except the ones that say I am a blooming idiot). I may get it wrong sometimes (not much of course) but I like reading different "takes" on sports and especially Auburn and SEC sports.
So where did the blog name "Saturdays To Remember" come from? Old school Auburn grads and fans will recognize it as the name of the definitive work on the Shug Jordan years. David Housel, Auburn's former SID and AD, wrote an incredible book that was released in 1973 called "Saturdays To Remember". I grew up reading it over and over and over. It chronicles over a dozen games of the Shug Jordan era and in those chapters the seasons those games were in. It is simply awesome. If you like reading all of these blogs and about Auburn and you do not know much about the Shug Jordan era, you simply HAVE to read it.
Housel takes you behind the scenes and through the games including Shug's first game against Vandy, Auburn's 40-0 woodshed beating of Bama to cap the national championship season in 1957, the 1969 stomping of the Bama and the Bear (the last time we beat them by more than 10 points), the 1970 comeback from 17-0 down to Bama and finally the classic 1972 Punt Bama Punt game.
It also covers several other classic Auburn games and moments including the 1963 Auburn vs. Bama game, the little known 1968 Auburn vs. Bama JV game where Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley led Auburn back from a 27-0 deficit, Sullivan's Heisman clincher where undefeated Auburn beat undefeated Georgia and several other classic games from Jordan's early years.
I think the essential Auburn history that every Auburn fan needs is this book, the Decade of the 80's video tape or DVD, the 1993 season recap DVD and the 2004 "Hard Fighting Soldiers" season recap DVD. I think those four things chronicle the best of Auburn and the best moments from its last four coaches.
However "Saturdays To Remember" is where it all started for me though and this blog is dedicated to that book and the hope that we have many many more "Saturdays To Remember".
I'm looking forward to reading more.
ReplyDeletefrom a wanna be Auburn football fanatic.