Time To Give Thanks...
by Jay Coulter on Nov 24, 2009 1:00 AM CST
in Football
32 comments
It seems Thanksgiving and the end of football season gets here a little quicker each year. It's almost unfair that baseball and basketball can linger on forever, yet the game we love most comes and goes within a matter of weeks. So here we are again, the end of another football season and the beginning of another round of holiday madness.
If you've been a reader of Track'em Tigers over the past three years you know that one of my favorite things to do each Thanksgiving is to stop and give thanks for all the many blessings I've received in life. This is hardly an original idea. For as long as I can remember, I've been getting up on Thanksgiving morning and racing to the paper box to grab a copy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to read writer Furman Bisher's annual holiday column. Nowadays, I just crank up the computer - and no, it's not the same.
Bisher retired earlier this year after more than half a century behind the typewriter. Maybe it's fitting that his career comes to an end at a time when the newspaper business is also taking its last breath. He will be remembered as perhaps the greatest sports writer in the history of the South. I hope he won't mind if I take a page from his playbook and share with you all that I'm thankful for this year. Without further ado...
- I'm thankful that for the past 16 years I've called the same woman my wife. I guess these days that's a lot of years. Talking her into marrying and staying with me is the crowning achievement of my life. If I never do another thing else, I've done pretty well.
- I'm thankful for the hiring of Gene Chizik as Auburn football coach. He wasn't my first, second or tenth choice, but I'm sure glad he's here now. He may not become the next Jordan, Dye or Tuberville, but he sure carries himself the way an Auburn football coach should. He's been nothing but class since his arrival.
- I'm thankful for two of the greatest kids in the world. There's not enough money in the world to replace the feeling of seeing them come through the door each evening. I don't deserve them, but I'm sure glad God sent them my way.
- I'm thankful for Chris Todd and Kodi Burns. Their pictures will never be on the side of the stadium, but the lessons I've learned from them this year are more important. The next time you face adversity at work, stop and think about these kids and what they've been through on the football field and how they've handled it. It's better than any self-help book.
- I'm thankful for the 13 years I had with my Newfoundland - the best dog a man can have. As I write, I do so with a heavy heart. Today, I had to put him to sleep after a short illness. As you can imagine, he's become family after all these years and right now I feel like I've been punched and kicked in the heart a thousand times. To borrow a line from the Georgia faithful, "He was a damn good dog."
- I'm thankful for people like Jana Tarleton. As president of the Columbus/Phenix City Auburn Club, she started a program called Tigers For Heroes. Each week she searches all across the Tiger Nation for Auburn football tickets to give out to service members who were injured in combat. What started as something small has grown quickly. Thanks to her, these deserving veterans are getting a chance to feel the Auburn Spirit.
- I'm thankful for all the many regulars here at Track'em Tigers. I can't thank you enough for spending part of your day with us. Reading your comments, I realize I'm not nearly as smart or knowledgeable as you are about Auburn football. One of the highlights of my day is reading your thoughts.
- I'm thankful for Thom Gossom. The former Auburn player helped break the color barrier on The Plains and now shares his story with others. Thom's experience at Auburn was not like most, yet he still loves his school and continues to be a tremendous ambassador. Do yourself a favor and pick up his book, Walk On. It's a must read for all Auburn people.
- I'm thankful for the three guys that share the stage with me here at Track'em Tigers. They are simply the best. Not only are they great writers and knowledgeable about Auburn football, but most importantly they care. Keeping up a daily blog is not easy - especially in March. Yet they always come up with interesting stories. It's a pleasure working with each of them.
- I'm thankful for Coke in a stadium cup at Jordan-Hare. Is it just me or do cokes taste better at Pat Dye Field than anywhere else on earth? And no, it's not the bourbon.
- I'm thankful for our visitors from other schools. There are a number of Alabama, LSU and Georgia fans who visit TET regularly and share great insight and enjoy the rivalry between the schools. Football is a lot more fun when fans can discuss it intelligently.
- I'm thankful for the new SEC television agreement and big screen televisions. I'm not a fan of SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, but I have to give him props for the new television deal. Having access to every SEC game, every week is unbelievable. It's hard to believe that growing up, I spent most of my Saturday's listening to Auburn on the radio.
- And finally, I'm thankful for beating Alabama six in a row. The odds are long Friday, but the streak gives us all hope that things will turn around quickly. If you are making your way to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Friday please drive carefully.
Happy Thanksgiving. Beat Bama!
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greatest sportswriter
Having attended school in Rome, GA, I too enjoyed Bisher. I gotta tell you though, I grew up reading Grantland Rice and there will never be another like him. Also, I like the contract, too, but I regret the loss of 1:30 kickoffs.
My sympathies...
…..on the loss of your family member! That’s a hard decision to make. I’ve had to tote that load several times in my life, and it never gets any easier! In the end, you just can’t let ’em suffer!
…..They don’t make great newspapermen like they used to! For me, it was Alf Van Hoose and Benny Marshall on Sunday mornings in the fall! I’m currently enjoying one of the last of the breed, over at Auburn Undercover. When Phillip Marshall retires, that will be the last of the legends in the sports writing biz! Of the current beat writers, I think Andy Bitter is hands down the best.
……Speaking of newspapers, where the heck is my Birmingham News, this morning? It’s nearly seven AM! It’s just NOT RIGHT to miss out on breakfast with the newspaper, while you’re on vacation!
Something not to be thankful for ...
… and — a day that will live in infamy as far as most Auburn & Tech folks I know — is the day that Georgia Tech got out of the SEC.
And, you can thank Bobby Dodd and his co-conspirator — the vastly over-rated, vastly under-scrutinized weasel — Furman Bisher for that.
Do a little research and you’ll find that Tech’s exodus wasn’t about Chick Granning and/or Darwin Holt at all … it was all about Dodd’s and Bisher’s vision of Ga Tech being the independent, dominating, non-bowl-revenue-sharing “Notre Dame of the South!”
Go to the early 60’s Atl Journal archives and you’ll find that Bisher beat the drum every day for weeks that the thuggish SEC was not worthy of the purity of the Georgia Institute of Technology. And, the rest — as they say — is history.
How’d that work out for you Furman?
Odd timing...
…..this being Iron Bowl week and all, but we have the Bear to thank on the Bobby Dodd foolishness. Bear put his foot down, and called Dodd’s bluff. How’d that work out? Compare Grant Field and Sanford Stadium. Tech’s program fell behind.
…..As to “purity,” when I was in the Auburn Band, there was one road trip where you’d have to keep your head on a swivel. Tech fans were notorious for throwing whiskey bottles at the band. Not even the LSU rowdies have sunk that far, in the SEC!
Someplace in the back of a closet ...
… I have a copy of a picture of the ol’ Bear walking onto Grant Field wearing a bleeping football helmet to protect against the flying Jim Beam bottles that he’d been pilloried with a couple years before by the ‘pure & innocent’ Tech students.
Funniest thing I’ve ever seen … and, the Techies loved it. NOTE: If anyone has a digital copy of that picture, please post it.
Acid, remind me … what are you referring to about Bryant’s culpability in Dodd’s & Bisher’s apparent collusion?
Tech was having recruiting troubles...
…..due to high admission standards. Meanwhile, the Bear and other SEC powers had sometimes as many as 150 players on scholarship. Dodd whined about that constantly. Tried to get scholarship limitations passed. Dodd had support from a number of SEC administrations, too. Bryant stood up to him, and refused. Dodd and co. soon left the SEC, to play in their own sandbox.
There's a daily blow-by-blow record ...
… of this episode in SEC history mainly chronicled by Furman Bisher for the AJC and a couple writers for the B’ham News (Alf Van Hoose & Benny Marshall, I believe)
Then there’s what Dodd had to say about it – with cool, editable objectivity … and, after-the-fact plausible deniability — in his book "Dodd’s Luck."
Dodd said:
1. Dodd wanted Bryant to suspend Holt for several games … Bryant refused and Dodd was livid …
2. Dodd became angry with Bryant, and it was years before the two buried the hatchet regarding the incident
3. Dodd has always insisted the Holt-Granning incident had nothing to do with the termination of the series between Alabama and Tech.
4. Dodd said the decision was made prior to that game. He had already informed the Bear of the termination of the series.
5. Dodd insisted there was no other reason he left the SEC, other than the 140 Rule about recruiting.
(MY NOTE: … and Ga Tech, U-Tenn, and UAT have also insisted that there was no other reason for refusing to play Auburn in JHS for 50 years than the number of 5-star hotel rooms in Lee County. Yeah, right!)
MY POINT: Regardless of what you believe Dodd’s reason to leave the SEC actually was, there’s no doubt that Dodd made the decision himself. And, the contemporary record shows that the first step Dodd chose to publicly take was to villainize Darwin Holt – and by implication Bryant – and by implication the SEC in the press.
And, Dodd apparently used Bisher to beat the drums to make Bryant and the SEC the bad guys to make it possible for him to get out of the SEC without too much PR damage to himself. In Dodd We Trust, and all that.
Bisher was either a willing participant in a conspiracy or just another willing MSM dupe. Either way it was, he sure as hell isn’t (and wasn’t) a great journalist.
Are you sure
you’ve actually seen that pic? I always thought that story was urban legend. A quote from Sports Illustrated in Nov 1964:
A meeting of an Alabama football team always begins on time, is crisp and swift and, since it starts with a talk by Bear Bryant, is completely absorbing. Bryant has a low, resonant voice; it is true that he tends to mumble, but this serves to intensify his effect. He began the regular Wednesday-night meeting by getting right to the point and staying there. The talk was short, less than 10 minutes. He never raised his voice. He said he had been playing and coaching against Tech for 25 years, “before you were born.” He said he knew this: “Tech hits hard, but they don’t hit hard all the time. They play tough, but they don’t play tough all the time, because they don’t live tough like we do.” He said that “stuff about Dodd-luck and Tech-luck at Grant Field” was corn for the gullible to feed on, and that beating Tech five out of six ought to be proof enough. “You make your own luck, even at Grant Field,” he said, “but lei me tell you this. That will be the most hostile crowd you’ve ever seen. Two years ago they threw everything at us from ice to bourbon bottles. I don’t mean to insinuate they’re not good folks, they probably have good mamas and papas, too. But I think some of them have forgot their training.” He said that helmets would therefore be worn on the bench and that he might wear one himself (laughter).Banned in Boston. Banned in Bama.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Nov 24, 2009 2:46 PM CST up reply actions
Oh yeah, I've seen the pic ...
… and it was decades before PhotoShop. I might start digging through my stuff and try to find it.
I did a google and found this link but no photo yet:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066377/index.htm
It says:
“In 1964, Alabama coach Bear Bryant walked onto Georgia Tech’s Grant Field wearing a football helmet to protect himself from objects hurled from the stands. Watching Bryant that day was a a Ramblin’ Wreck lineman named Bill Curry, now Alabama’s new coach. Considering what he’s facing, Curry might well be wondering if he should be similarly attired for his first game as the Tide’s coach—even though it will be before a home crowd at Birmingham’s Legion Field …”
There is definitely a photo of Bryant wearing a helmet at Grant Field
It is in one (or more) of the books on Bryant and/or Alabama football. Can’t remember which one.
by yellowhammer on Nov 24, 2009 3:54 PM CST up reply actions
My Thanks
I’m thankful for Trackem Tigers, Jay and the rest of the crew.
I’m thankful for Auburn and all that it stands for, and above all, I’m thankful that I was not born an Alabama fan.
I’m very sorry to hear of your loss Jay. I dread the thought of potentially having to make that kind of decision with my dog one day in the future.
War Eagle to everyone and have a great holiday!
Really well done...
I have experienced, and made it through the loss of a family pet. We had Max with us for 19 years, we still talk about him, and miss him.
I’ll have to say that I agree with Acid, A. Bitter is good. I think you guys here at TET can walk with your heads up when it comes to writing for public viewing. It may be easier when it’s a passion, but as I have said before, this is my favorite place to be with my morning coffee.
I am thankful for so many things that I truly do NOT deserve. The biggest sports minded item I am thankful for, is having the Iron Bowl at home every other year!
WAR EAGLE!
"An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject"-Thomas Jefferson
I'M THANKFUL FOR JAY....
…for his articles, his insight, and his vision to start " Football Saturday in the South" which later became ’Track Em Tigers". I too miss Bisher. But guys like Jay and Phillip Marshall do a great job today. I am thankful for my country, my family, and my God. And I am thankful HE allowed me to be an Auburn man.
aubtigerman
Coke...
I’ve been telling people for years that there’s something about the way they mix the cokes in JHS that makes them the best cokes in the world.
The sense of smell
is the one most closely linked to memory, and when I smell bourbon and Coke, I immediately think of Jordan-Hare.
It’s just so ingrained…
Banned in Boston. Banned in Bama.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Nov 24, 2009 11:20 AM CST up reply actions
Thank you Jay !!!
Happy Thanksgiving to all the Tiger fans out there !!!!
War Eagle !!!
My thanks...
I am thankful for a God who forgives and provides. I am thankful for my wife and kids who are true blessings. I am thankful that God allowed me to be an Auburn man and for the Auburn creed. And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn, and love it! BEAT BAMA!!!
Happy Thanksgiving
Sorry to hear about your dog, sad thing to have to do, but know you prob saved the poor guy untold suffering.
"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum
I'm thankful for the health of my family and friends.....
thankful for my wonderful children, my very patient wife, and thankful that I attended Auburn University and came away well educated and an Auburn Man. I am also thankful for the efforts of Jay, Acid, WEA, and Zach that bring us the pure fun of this blog…..I toast your health and and the health of the TET members….Happy Thanksgiving and War Damn Eagle.
My condolences, Jay, for you on the loss of your companion and family member.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
Thanks to everyone for the kind comments...
I really appreciate it. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving and an even happier Friday. War Eagle! Beat Bama!
Track'em Tigers.com
I am thankful for a great life...
To continue the sentiment given earlier, I too have absorbed TET as one of my daily rituals normally started off early in the morning with a can or two of Mountain Dew. Jay, you and Zach and WEA put out a great website on here and it’s my goal to meet all three of you and Todd92 one day. Todd, you’ve got to let me have some of that good Barbeque. JD, I love your insight and xotus you’re also one that I consider to be highly informed. Don’t let me forget Acid Reign, man the stuff you put on here is down right incredible. Sandmountaintiger is pretty cool too. I cannot forget to mention Suicidewatch or the guy from Colorado though I fail at this juncture in remembering his name on here. I’m thankful for all of you guys and even Zoltar. Don’t let me forget GumptownTiger either. I love all of you guys. Though we may not always see eye to eye, it’s still fun to go back and forth with a group of guys that are so well informed.
This Iron Bowl takes on a whole new meaning for me. Last year’s date was indeed the worst day of my life. No, not because Auburn lost. At the time, I wasn’t even thinking about the game. My grandfather, who is often the one I attribute as the most important male role-model I had in my life and father-figure had a severe stroke. He had just gotten back in better health so the news was a bit of a shock. It would have been one thing had my “Pops” passed on that day. However, that was not the case on that terrible November day as I drove home from Florida and came into a chilly Alabama.
Jumping a year ahead I went back to my grandparents’ home in Florida this previous week and helped take care of my grandfather so that my grandmother could do some very important errands. I look back on that day last year and I can’t help but think my grandfather would’ve been better off that day if he had left this world. Now, he is confided to a bed, he cannot talk and he can seldom move. It tore me apart to see him that way, and the man who had fed me when I was little I was now feeding and reading him books. It is with a heavy heart that I’m writing my post also Jay, so I do understand where you’re coming from. I am sorry you had to do that, I had to do that earlier this year with my cat and it was very difficult.
My grandfather was a great man. He was a preacher for 50 years and had a doctorate of divinity. I realize I speak with a biased nature, but he was one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever known and he was one of the main figures in my life that turned me to the world of history and he helped me get through some rough times when I was in graduate school. From now on, the Iron Bowl will always be a time I’m reminded of that day. I cannot help but look upon this Friday with a strong sense of melancholy that I have not known for the Iron Bowl in years past. I am thankful for many things, and this Thanksgiving I’m most thankful for having known my grandfather before the stroke. God bless all of you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. War Eagle!
Sparkey...
You and your family are in my prayers. Your grandfather is lucky to have someone like you. Times like these put everything in perspective. I hope you have a much better Thanksgiving week this go around. I’ll be thinking about you.
Track'em Tigers.com
Sounds like...
…..a real tough situation, Sparkey. We never get enough time with our elders, I don’t think! Thanks for the kind words, and we’ll be thinking and praying for your grandfather. We’re lucky to have great readers like you!
…..With my grandparents, I had four different end of life scenarios, and none of them was pleasant. Paternal grandad went out the earliest, too fat, vices, heart trouble. He went the quickest, but a decade earlier than anyone else of that generation. His wife went out next, with digestive issues. She was in the hospital 4 days, and gone. Those two died the youngest, but neither one lingered around in agony. I guess there’s a blessing in that.
…..My paternal grandmother went through years of recurring mini-strokes. Towards the end of it, she didn’t even know her own daughter. To me, strokes are the worst. It’s an agonizing process for everyone involved. The most tragic loss was my maternal grandad. He was NOT ready to go at 98 years old. Still sharp as a tack, but his body just broke down and failed him. Our last quality time together was in the nursing home watching Tennessee beat Ohio State in the 1996 Florida Citrus Bowl. He lived long enough to see his beloved Crimson Tide go on probation for the first time in history, so he was cheering for UT in the postseason. It was a different era, I guess! The Fulmer tattletale business hadn’t happened yet! He told me that day that Peyton Manning was going to be one of the best quarterbacks that ever played the game.
…..I’ll get to do all of that stuff again, with my own parents in the next decade or so, I guess. I still don’t get enough time with ‘em. They’ve run off to Chicago for Thanksgiving, this year. I’ll have to email ’em a link to the Iron Bowl open thread!
Been there Sparky...
…. having helped nurse both my parents and grandparents before they passed. Its a difficult thing to see them that way. However I now look back on those years with thankfulness that I was able to be a blessing to them in their time of need.
In away it helped me… to know that God allowed me to be able (in a small way) to return some of the care they had given to me for so many years. As hard as it is , I believe your preacher granddad woul proably tell you (if he could) that God doesn’t make any mistakes.
My family will be praying for you and your grandparents this Thanksgiving .
War Eagle Brother ! Numbers 6:24-26
aubtigerman
by aubtigerman on Nov 24, 2009 11:16 PM CST up reply actions
You and yours.....
are in my thoughts and best wishes Sparkey.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
Thanks to everybody
I’m really glad I found this place where I can connect with people who care about Auburn (well minus the trolls) because where I live, near Seattle, its hard to find anyone who understands. It has also been good to get a small glimpse into people’s lives as we go through the season. I’m thankful God has made me into a person who seeks to understand and look for some good in the world. We got a great little family here and I learn a lot from everybody.
The picture on my page is my dog, Gizmo who I found late one night starving in the Tuskegee national forest parking lot near the fire tower. My gun toting redneck friend offered to put him out of his misery but I decided to take him to the vet instead. He’s a family member as well as my head of security here 11 years later. So sorry about your dog Jay. Happy Thanksgiving to all. War Eagle!
Great Story Mgizmo...
And thanks for the kind comments. Those kinds of dogs make the best pets. I hope you have a rain free Thanksgiving in the Pacific Northwest!
Track'em Tigers.com
Kudos for the rescue!
…..I’ve got a crazy calico cat sitting in my lap RIGHT NOW, that had been dumped in the neighborhood and was a starving kitten, six years ago. Now, she’s my own personal Auburn Tiger!
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