Top Five Auburn Traditions

Samford Hall, Auburn University

Ranking Auburn’s Top Traditions

There is no denying that passion runs deep in Auburn, Alabama. The city revolves, literally and figuratively, around Auburn University. In the Southeastern Conference where It Just Means More, collegiate athletics are serious business. The city of 60,000 residents welcomes roughly 90,000 fans for football gamedays. What makes Auburn so great? Let’s rank the traditions that keep alumni and fans coming back to The Loveliest Village on the Plains. 

 

Auburn Oaks at Toomer’s Corner

1.  Rolling Toomer’s Corner

Following athletic wins, fans make their way to Toomer’s Corner to roll the oak trees. The tree rolling dates back to 1962 when ticker tape was thrown into the oaks to signal a road victory for the Tigers. No one is really sure how or why the rolling caught on, but it’s quickly become a fan favorite. Following a big football win, the corner resembles a winter snowstorm. 

Fun fact: Auburn is the only city in the country with a budget for cleaning up toilet paper!

It’s not all fun and games, though. In 2011, the original Auburn Oaks were poisoned by a fan of *that other school* after Auburn won the Iron Bowl and the National Championship. The trees died and were removed in 2013. Descendent oaks of the original trees were planted in 2014. Security measures, including the addition of fencing and cameras, were added to prevent future vandalism. However, in 2016 a rival fan set one of the trees on fire following an Auburn win.

 

Eagle flight at Jordan-Hare Stadium

2. War Eagle flight

The eagle flight might be the most unique tradition in college football. Prior to kickoff, an eagle circles Jordan-Hare Stadium and lands at midfield as fans cheer.  Eagles started flying at Auburn home games in 2000. Golden eagle Aurea assumed the title of War Eagle VIII following Nova’s retirement in 2019. 

“War Eagle” is Auburn’s battle cry, not to be confused with the tiger mascot. History about the battle cry and eagle flight can be found here.

According to the University, the role of Auburn University’s eagles is to promote wildlife conservation as a part of the education initiatives of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Southeastern Raptor Center. Aurea arrived at The Center after suffering a wing injury near Selma, Alabama. The injury caused increased flight drag, which keeps her from tracking down prey and surviving in the wild.

 

Tailgating on the Student Center Greenspace, Iron Bowl 2017

3. Tailgating

ESPN, Southern Living, and the Bleacher Report (among others) rank Auburn as one of the top tailgating locations in the country. Tents and RVs line almost every square foot of the campus. Tailgate spots are open to claim starting on Thursday afternoons prior to home football games. Depending on kickoff time, the menu might include mimosas and Chick-fil-a minis or elaborate spreads of barbeque and trimmings. One thing is for sure- you show up to a tailgate well-dressed. Yes, that means sundresses and button-ups. And don’t forget the boots. 

 

Tiger Walk

4. Tiger Walk

Tiger Walk is one of the most imitated traditions in college sports. On gamedays, the Tigers walk down South Donahue Drive from the athletic complex to the stadium. Fans line the street to cheer on the team as they prepare for the game. Tiger Walk dates back to the 1960s when kids would cheer on the players and get autographs. It is now one of the fans’ most treasured traditions.

The most famous Tiger Walk took place in 1989 when Alabama came to Auburn and played at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time. It’s estimated that more than 20,000 fans lined the street.

 

5. Marching Band Pregame

The Auburn University Marching Band has 380 members and performs pregame and halftime shows for Auburn football games. Smaller pep bands play at basketball games as well as away football games. The AUMB is the only band in the SEC without a nickname. Former Auburn president, Dr. Harry Philpott, famously said, “Some other institutions need to give descriptive names to their bands in order to praise them. The quality of the music, the precision of its drills, and the fine image that it portrays have made it unnecessary for us to say more than ‘This is the Auburn University Marching Band.’”

The band’s pregame performance might be the best part of the game itself. The band sprints out of the team tunnel and performs the fight song, “War Eagle” as well as “Glory, Glory to ole Auburn” as it forms the interlocking AU logo. Fans then sing along as the band plays the national anthem and “God Bless America.” There’s nothing else quite like it.

The Auburn University Marching Band also performed in three presidential inaugural parades.

Easy Way to Create More Experiences

Do you realize how close minded you are? Here’s how I figured out how close minded I was. I started saying YES to everything.

About 2 years ago, I made the choice to study abroad. Being born and raised in Montana, I loved it. I loved the outdoors, and the opportunity of adventure at any point. What I didn’t realize was this was the ONLY thing I knew. I always deemed Montana, Missoula specifically, as a place where most people are well rounded people, and I think relatively, they may be. However, staying in one place your whole life can be very toxic.

I moved to Australia around two years ago, but not just to Australia, but to one of the biggest foreign exchange schools in the world. When I met people of new and different cultures, I noticed immediately the assumptions I made, and how quickly I again banded myself with people similar to myself. I hated myself for it. I understand this is a natural human function, but as I noticed it happening to me, I brainstormed how to break myself away from it. What I did was, I started saying yes to everything.  When someone asked me to do something, or an opportunity presented itself, or some random person on the street asked me to talk, I would always say yes, and I held myself to it. I started saying yes to opportunities I, in the past, would have turned down immediately for reasons to do with pride, fear, etc.

I very quickly saw the change it made, and yes, I did have the occasional situations I definitely should have said no to. But in the long run, I saw myself becoming a much more experienced, well rounded, and cultured person. I started going places, eating things, and hanging out with people I would have never before. It was absolutely liberating and I’m so glad I did it. I saw it as “going with the flow”, and instead of doing that with my own interest in mind, I truly did whatever opportunity came to me. I put myself in danger, in so many awkward situations, but overall, experienced life as it came to me. I made way more friends than I ever would have, and experienced life lessons at a much faster rate than I previously would have. Free yourself, open your mind, SAY YES!!

Bears are Scary

Yeah that’s right. Bears are terrifying. That’s the blog.

I am so sick and tired of this Winnie the Poo sounding, “Man, I hope we see a bear on this hike” having bullshit I hear every time I go into the woods with my friends. Sure, seeing a little black bear in the distance while you’re in your car on “Going to the Sun Road” gets the dopamines flowing. But when you’re actually in the woods without the protection of a massive metal cage on wheels while driving a road traveled by millions of visitors every year, spotting a bear is a whole different story. Bears are big and dangerous, wild animals that should be left alone to tend to their own business.

Let me just start with a brief history of notorious bear and human relationships.

  1. Short Faced Bear

Back in the olden days of 1.8 million years ago until only 11,000 years ago, an absolute beast of an an animal existed, deemed the Short Faced Bear. This freak of nature weighed a solid 2,500 lbs., had a height of about 12 feet standing up, and if you can recall early history, LIVED WHILE HUMANS DID. As people much smarter than me can speculate using geographic means, there was a bering land bridge that stretched from Russia’s North-Eastern point to Alaska’s Western coast, in which people who lived in Asia would use to travel in order to inhabit North America.

What they couldn’t count on was this ginormous tank, murder beast that literally could not be stopped by any means. Scientists say this bear was so deadly, that it prevented human migration entirely across the bridge for a period of time. Nobody was stopping to admire nature when they approached this thing; they either died trying to get past it or cut their losses and turned back to Russia. Just imagine, you freeze your nuts off in Asia for years while fighting Woolly Mammoths and Saber Tooth Tigers, so you decide to march 620 miles to possibly find something better, just to be met with a big hairy killing machine that prevents you from crossing.

No thanks. I’ll fight Manny from Ice Age any day of the week over the Short Faced Bear.

2. Hugh Glass

Alright the story of Hugh Glass is pretty insane. This guy was a frontiersman and fur trader who operated around Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota in the early 1800s. He had built himself quite the resume of badass activities, from being a pirate to living with the Pawnee Native American tribe. He was an expert navigator and survivalist who had taken on many dangerous missions across the Western United States, until his legendary encounter with a Grizzly in South Dakota. Upon running into a bear and two cubs, Glass prepared to be charged and was able to get one successful shot off from his musket as the bear began to maul the shit out of him. I mean, have you seen The Revenant? This bear comes back for seconds, then thirds “Oh don’t mind if I do”, just annihilating Glass before ultimately dying of the gunshot wound. This griz tears the guys scalp off, absolutely shreds the entire rest of his body and leaves his legs utterly useless.

But guess what. Glass isn’t dying like this, he’s a former pirate of the Black Pearl for Godssakes. And this is what the movie doesn’t show, Glass could not use his legs at all so he -crawled- the entire 500 mile trip to his fort destination. He survived the ordeal and became a legend in his own right. Take a guess who would not be able to navigate, survive the elements, and crawl 500 miles to the next help station while bleeding relentlessly? Me. Or probably any normal human that lives in the 21st century, because that is WAY too hard. There’s no chance I’d survive that initial mauling even. Bears aren’t snuggly or graceful animals. They have giant knife hands along with pointy teeth and beady little dark killer eyes. Hugh Glass would certainly attest to that.

3. Timothy Treadwell

What if we were nice to the bears and wanted to treat them like one of our own? Maybe we try and bridge human society and bear society together? Sounds like a nice idea. Having a bear friend would be awesome, I bet he would know some pretty legit fishing spots at least. I know the University of Montana football team could certainly use a grizzly bear as a linebacker; he’d probably even become All League.

Timothy Treadwell thought similarly. The titled “Grizzly Man” thought he could cohabitate with bears in Alaska and they would learn to accept him as family. To the amusement of many, he was able to successfully do this for 13 consecutive summers. Each bear had a name and different personality, and they would all reside in the same area. He was never armed, and did not even carry as much as pepper spray. Unfortunately, this fairytale story came to a tragic halt in October of 2003 when he was mauled to death by a fully grown Alaskan Brown Bear.

Looks like we aren’t meant to live with bears after all.

To wrap it up:

No, I don’t want to see a bear in the wild, bro. We aren’t meant to mess with them. Sure it would be cool at a distance, if I’m in a bear resistant, protective unit. Bears will not wander over, lick you, and beg for some pets like a dog. Bears will literally rip your face off and walk away as if nothing happened. There is no other thing on the planet where it is recommended to carry a gun and pepper spray in-case you come into contact, and many people still want to have that BeAuTifuL and nATurAL encounter. That’s like saying you’d love to run into a serial killer on a jog because it would be so cool to see one, but hopefully it won’t attack.

No thanks. I’m totally good without meeting any bears in my travels.

Things To Do in Spokane, Washington

If you are headed to Spokane for a weekend getaway or even just a quick day trip, there are many different activities to enjoy, places to eat, and views to take in. My name is Isabella Bradley, I am a senior at the University of Montana. In this blog post I will be sharing with you some of my favorite things to do in Spokane, where I was born & raised.

Kendall Yards

One of my favorite spots in Spokane is Kendall Yards, located closely to downtown! Kendall Yards is a modern neighborhood with a view of the river and downtown. There are many hip spots for food, beverages, dessert and more! In the summer, Kendall Yards hosts a night market filled with food trucks, art, produce, and live music every Wednesday night. One of my favorite parts about Kendall Yards is the paved trail that runs parallel to the river where you can walk, ride bikes, or grab a Lime Scooter to enjoy the view of the river and downtown.

Breakfast Poutine from the Yards Bruncheon, my favorite!
My friend Maddison & I enjoying coffee from Indaba Coffee and donuts from Hello Sugar

Green Bluff

Green Bluff is an association of small family farms and food stands. The activities change based on the season, but they range from pick-your-own fruit, pumpkin patches, and annual festivals. Green Bluff has a variety of breweries, places to dine, and other specialties.

My friends & I enjoying an elephant ear at the pumpkin patch! (aka my friends watching me enjoy an elephant ear)
Picking peaches, Summer 2019

Downtown Spokane

Downtown Spokane is a lively area filled with shopping, dining, Riverfront Park, pubs and clubs, hotels and more. Riverfront Park is home to the Looff Carousel, the Skate Ribbon, the Pavilion Light Show, and the SkyRide Gondola. Both the Carousel and Skate Ribbon were recently renovated, along with the majority of the park, causing them to become more of a staple to the downtown Spokane scene. The Pavilion Light Show was also recently welcomed to Riverfront Park, it is a free recurring weekly light show on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and is a must see on your visit to Spokane.

River Park Square, the downtown mall, is located just across the street from Riverfront Park. This mall has many stores including Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Sephora, Athleta, and an AMC Movie Theatre. On the same street, you can find more shopping that includes; Lululemon, Free People, Anthropologie, Nike, Apple, Carhartt, Lush, and more. A large amount of both my time and money have been spent downtown Spokane, with thanks to the wide variety of shopping and entertainment.

Pavilion Light Show, photo from City of Spokane (my.spokanecity.org)
Skate Ribbon at Riverfront Park, photo from Visit Spokane (visitspokane.com)

Manito Park

My final & favorite spot in Spokane is Manito Park. Manito Park is a public park featuring botanical gardens, greenhouses, and arboretum. Manito park has five different gardens; Duncan Garden, Ferris Garden, Rose Hill, Lilac Garden, and Nishinomiya Tsutakawa. Other features include the Mirror Pond and the Park Bench Café. Many people gather at Manito Park to picnic, host gatherings with friends and family, and enjoy the views of the beautiful gardens.

My dog, Spring, and I enjoying a picnic next to the Mirror Pond
My friends and I at the garden, Rose Hill, for homecoming photos in the fall of 2016. This garden was a hot commodity when it came to photos

You are now equipped to navigate a weekend in Spokane. I hope this information was helpful & you enjoy your getaway!

 

Ways to Seek Discomfort in your daily life

We are all scared of change, whether it is a change in our daily schedule or change in the weather. This creates a bit of uneasiness in with us. I personally believe when you change an aspect of your life and it makes you uneasy that is when the best thoughts, ideas, and personality comes from. I have found that schedules can have their advantages and disadvantages. They are very good in the sense of keeping you in line and focused but there is an aspect that is missing and that is “what are we missing?” Within this post, I am going to share a couple of ways that I have achieved seeking discomfort in my daily life. These are very simple ways that you can get out of a rut and experience something new.

Go a different route to class/work

We get stuck in the same process every day. We take the same way to get to our destination and you may never know what you are missing if you take a different way. We see the same parking spot, the same sidewalk, and sometimes the same people. I have found that when I walk a different way to class I realize a lot of different things that I have never before. I run into old friends that I have not seen in a while.

Sit in a new spot in the classroom (non-COVID times)

When we were not in all COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing. I always challenged myself to sit in a different spot every week or so if the professor allowed moving spots. If they did not allow spot moving, then I would enter into the classroom and choose a spot next to people that I did not know. This was a challenge to me because we are all okay with what is normal to us. We find security in our own normal.

Try a new place to eat

I have to be honest with you, every time I am hungry and too lazy to make food I immediately go to McDonald’s without even thinking about it. This is a massive thing I have struggled with. It is just comforting food that I know will fulfill my need for food. We always lean to what is comfortable to us, instead we should be seeing what else is out there and trying new food or places.

Ask a friend that you have lost touch with to catch up

This is honestly one of the hardest to do. We all live in a life now of people’s opinions of ourselves are taking a lot more personally then they have ever. We strive to get the most likes on our pictures or the most views. This can take a toll on someone’s mental health and self-image. That is why I try to connect with people that I have not talked to in a while. This might be a high school friend that you got distanced because of college or a college friend that just split ways with you. This can be very overwhelming at first thought about reaching out to this specific person, but you could make this person’s day if you simply sent them a text.

Do anything that makes you scared.

In daily life, I say ‘I don’t want to do that’ or ‘I don’t like that’ this is something I have been catching myself say, and it all roots down to fear. Fearing something that you do not know anything about is one aspect of life that can stop you from doing anything. Living in fear is not a way of life it is a blanket.

These are some aspects that I have learned by following and living the sole purpose of seeking discomfort. This originated from a YouTube group called Yes Theory. If you have any time to spare go give them a watch and a listen.

Benjamin Brodhead

Instagram: bbrodhead3