This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011...

When you go to a particular school or grow up around college football, you are more than just a fan. It's who you are. We thought we could leverage this pride in your roots and show that "where you come from" is more than just a statement about geography. By positioning NCAA Football 11 as a game that understands this pride and is authentic to these traditions, the takeaway should be that anything that is in college football is in NCAA Football 11.

And this doesn't just include game play (though that's a huge part of it). It's rivals and mascots; it's legends and stories. It's those things that are at the very fabric of the game itself. Of course the game is great this year as well. With authentic entrances, mascots and specific offenses for each team, the term "where I come from" takes on a much larger meaning. While playing NCAA Football 11 is ultimately a great sports sim, it should also give you a sense of the pride and emotion one has for being a fan of a team they will never not be a part of.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

This summer certainly feels different from the last one. By last July, we'd learned that Gene Chizik knew a thing or two about recruiting. Sending your assistants out in white limousines around the state to visit high school kids was a stroke of genius. Asking many of those same kids to join you in rolling Toomer's Corner in the off-season was another sign of ingenuity. The only thing we didn't know was whether or not he could coach.

A year later, that question has been partly answered. Few fans or pundits gave the new Auburn head coach a snowballs chance in Tampa of winning eight games. Collecting more than six wins would take something of a miracle. In the end, Auburn was a few near misses from playing in a BCS bowl game. The results were good by most anyone's standards.

With season two looming, there are still some in the Auburn community who are taking a wait and see approach on Chizik. The first 17 months have been impressive, but now there are expectations. Unlike years past, few people have seen this Auburn team on the practice field. With spring practice more secure than Fort Knox, anyone who says they know this team is only speculating.

The possibilities for Gus Malzahn's offense are endless. Top-to-bottom this is an excellent unit - at least on paper. The million dollar question is how good will quarterback Cam Newton be in his first year on the Plains. With able receivers in Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery, the question remains whether Trooper Taylor can find a capable third and even fourth receiver. To take things to the next level, Quindarius Carr, Emory Blake and DeAngelo Benton must step up and fill those roles - something they struggled with last season.

Another lingering question is whether running back Mario Fannin can endure an entire season of SEC contact. He's spent his career nursing a nagging shoulder. Look for Onterio McCallebb and freshman Michael Dyer to take some of the load off Fannin. If he stays healthy, Auburn could have a backfield that rivals that one in Tuscaloosa.

With the exception of Brandon Mosley, Auburn's offensive line will be an all-senior unit. Center Ryan Pugh and left tackle Lee Ziemba will headline a group that's among the best in the nation. Armed with capable backups, Newton should have plenty of time to throw the football.

New defensive coordinator Ted Roof caught grief in some circles last season for the number of yards surrendered. A closer look reveals that he did more with less than any coordinator in the country. Things should improve in 2010. But with a lightning fast spread offense, Auburn's defense will never rank among the conference's best statistically. It just can't happen.

That doesn't mean things can't improve drastically. It starts with the defensive line. Antoine Carter, Nick Fairley, Mike Blanc and Michael Goggans will bring much needed experience. Add in Nosa Eguae, Zach Clayton and Dee Ford and suddenly, Roof has a pretty good situation on the defensive line.

At linebacker things appear to be even better. Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens have a chance to be among the SEC's best. It will be interesting to watch how All-SEC Freshman Daren Bates makes the adjustment to linebacker from the safety position. Eltoro Freeman will add needed depth and will likely see as much playing time as the starters.

The defensive secondary was uneven at times last year. Experience should help correct this issue. It will be imperative that cornerbacks Neiko Thorpe and Demond Washington improve their craft. They will be tested mightily once they get into the meat of the conference schedule. At safety, it's the return of the starters. After battling injuries last year, Aairon Savage and Mike McNeil are expected to be a strength of this defense. How they do will go a long ways in determining the outcome of Auburn's season.

Like last season, there are a lot of toss up games. Noted prognosticator Phil Steele says it's possible for Auburn to grab 11 games. In his preseason guide, Steele writes, "They (Auburn) get four key SEC games at home and my main set of power ratings calls for an 11-1 season with an 11-0 vs. 11-0 showdown versus Alabama in game 12. The Tigers will top last year's eight win total."

While Auburn has a favorable schedule, it remains brutal. The only favorable parts are the number of home games against the competition. Chizik welcomes Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia to Jordan-Hare Stadium. Dangerous road games loom at Miss State, Kentucky and Ole Miss. The Iron Bowl is the last thing on this staff's mind heading into August. It will take a lot of work and some luck to roll into Tuscaloosa undefeated.

I can't wait to get started.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

Regardless of what kind of recreational drugs you've done in your past - and it's my hope that you've done none - it's doubtful that you've ever experienced a high quite like you have following a big Auburn win. Take a second and think back to those most magical of moments when Auburn made a play that solidified a big win. Think about how you felt.

Outside of the birth of your children there's never been a better feeling. When I say this, my wife always scolds me and asks about my wedding day. Had my wedding day felt as good as some of those wins, I would be on my fifth or sixth wedding by now, but I digress.

What are your top ten most memorable Auburn moments? What play or victory got you so excited that you thought your heart would explode inside your chest? What win made you feel that life couldn't get any better? Fortunately for Auburn fans, there's been plenty. Narrowing it down to 10 is nearly impossible.

Below are my ten. I'm sure I've missed some good ones. I hope you'll share your favorite moments with all of us. Here goes...

1. Bo Over The Top (1982) Bo Jackson crossing the goal line to give Auburn its first win over Alabama in a decade tops the list. I was living in Europe at the time and can remember sitting in my room on a Saturday night listening to Jim Fyffe and Pat Sullivan on Armed Forces Radio. I ran out into the foyer of our apartment building and screamed to the top of my lungs. My mother screamed back at me. I didn't care, It was the happiest moment of my life up until that point.

2. First Time Ever (1989) There was no single moment in this special day. The entire game was a surreal moment. Knocking off second-ranked Alabama in their first visit to Jordan-Hare Stadium was beyond special. Being a student, sitting in the Auburn student section made it all the more special.

3. "11-0, 11-0, 11-0" (1993) Sitting in Jordan-Hare Stadium the day Auburn clinched its first perfect season since 1957 with a win over Alabama was quite a moment. I can still hear Jim Fyffe screaming, "11-0, 11-0, 11-0" through my earphones. Most poignant was the sight of former Auburn coach Pat Dye joining current head coach Terry Bowden at the center of the field and exchanging hugs. Dye stepped down a year earlier and was responsible for most of the players on that field.

4. Courtney Taylor Touchdown Catch (2004) There have been big plays throughout Auburn's history, but perhaps the biggest was Auburn wide receiver Courtney Taylor's game winning catch against fifth-ranked LSU in 2004. Auburn missed the first extra point; but because of a penalty on the LSU defense, the Tigers got another shot and made good on it, giving Auburn a 10-9 win. The enormous victory helped send Auburn on its way to a perfect season.

5. Ed Scissum Fumble/Jared Holmes Kick (1997) If there was ever a game where a team grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory, this was it. With only seconds on the clock, all Alabama had to do was run the clock out by keeping the ball on the ground. Instead they chose to throw it - to Ed Scissum, who was hit by Martavius Houston and fumbled the ball on the Auburn 33 yard line. A few plays later, Jared Holmes kicked the game winner, giving Auburn an 18-17 improbable win over its dumb cross-state rivals. The goal post was carried out of the stadium by the Auburn students following the win.  I have a piece of it on my mantel to this day.

6. Al Del Greco Sugar Bowl Kick (1984) When Auburn kicker Al Del Greco hit a 19 yard field goal with seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 9-7 win over Michigan at the Sugar Bowl, it was a moment of ecstasy and relief. The magical run of 1983 was complete. Auburn was Sugar Bowl Champions! To make things even better, Miami was giving top-ranked Nebraska all it could handle down at the Orange Bowl. Even with the snub by voters, that January night in New Orleans will always be special. The lasting image of the game will always be Bo Jackson handing over his MVP trophy to senior Lionel James.

7. Reverse To Victory (1986) Auburn's final drive of the 1986 regular season will go down as one of the most memorable. With running back Brent Fullwood doing much of the heavy lifting, Lawyer Tillman took a handoff from Jeff Burger and scored from seven yards out with 32 seconds to play, to give Auburn a 21-17 win over Alabama. The call was intended for someone else. Nevertheless, Tillman never blinked and dove into the end zone for the win. The video of Dye and Pat Sullivan jumping up and down on the sidelines will forever be remembered.

8. Frank Sanders Catch Against Florida (1994) Riding a 17-game winning streak to Gainesville to face top-ranked Florida, few people gave Terry Bowden's sixth-ranked Tigers a chance at The Swamp. In a back-and-forth battle that raged on for 60 minutes, Frank Sanders catch in the corner of the end zone to give Auburn the lead for good will go down as one of the biggest plays in Auburn history.

9. Down Goes Florida (2001) Despite losing to the Gators twice in 2000, including the SEC Championship game, Auburn was not intimidated when Florida made a return visit the following season. The Gators came into Jordan-Hare Stadium ranked number one in the country and left there 23-20 losers to unranked Auburn. Damon Duvall delivered on a 44 yard field goal to seal the deal for the Tigers. It was perhaps the most unexpected victory in Auburn history.

10. Tebow Is Tamed (2007) Unranked Auburn went to The Swamp an afterthought in the minds of Gator fans. Sixty minutes later, Tim Tebow left with his second consecutive loss to Auburn. The defending national champions never found an answer for the Auburn offense. Wes Byrum famously kicked the winning field goal twice, defeating the Gators 20-17.

There they are... my ten most memorable Auburn football moments in order. Undoubtedly yours will be different. I was too young to remember Punt Bama Punt. It would have to rank at the very top for those of you old enough to remember. 

How would you rank them? I hope you'll share with us.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

Picking your favorite Auburn players is like browsing The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and settling on the two best looking models. It's damn near impossible. My favorite Tiger players over the years run the gamut from quarterbacks to cornerbacks. As you will see, it's impossible to pick one favorite or ten. Here's my best shot...

My earliest "hero" was quarterback Phil Gargis. He wore number 11 and played on some of Shug Jordan's last teams. He was the toughest player I'd ever seen. He took shots from defenders that today's quarterbacks would buckle under. You won't find his name on any all-conference teams and there's few mentions of him in Auburn's own record book. But when it came to grit and determination, there were few better than Gargis.

Speaking of quarterbacks, who can forget Dameyune Craig? Being a toddler when Sullivan played, Craig is without question the best Auburn quarterback of my generation. Were it not for some questionable dropped passes, Craig would be wearing an SEC Championship ring for his performance in 1997. He'll always be one of my favorites.

I wrote about the 1983 team earlier in the week and there are plenty on that team that remain some of my all-time favorites. Perhaps the most unique was defensive back David King. He's the hardest hitting Auburn player to dress out in my lifetime. He could flat out hurt people. I'll never forget turning on MTV one day and seeing him on-screen dressed like Prince. It was just plain weird. I can't recall the circumstances surrounding it. I just remember thinking, how could someone so tough, look so much like... Prince?

Who can forget those great Wayne Hall defenses of the 1980's? Names like Harold Hallman, Greg Carr, Tommie Powell, Donnie Humphrey, Doug Smith, Ben Thomas and Kurt Crain bring back floods of great memories. I'll never forget seeing Humphrey walk across campus one Sunday afternoon with a tshirt on that read, "Give Georgia a Bo Job."
 
To this day, I still wonder how Auburn managed to lose like they did in the late '70's with the likes of Joe Cribbs, James Brooks and William Andrews in the backfield. Every kid who wore an Auburn tearaway jersey worshiped those three. Andrews became one of my all-time favorites when he joined the Atlanta Falcons after leaving Auburn. And what kid didn't line up in his backyard as Charlie Trotman? I still have my orange number six jersey put away for safe keeping.

And then there were the obvious favorites - the ones who make everyone's list of all-time favorite players: Lionel James, Bo Jackson, Randy Campbell, Brent Fullwood, Tommy Agee, Lawyer Tillman, Jeff Burger, Carnell Williams, Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown, Stephen Davis, Brandon Cox and Courtney Taylor. I could go on literally all day.
 
Mention their names and certain plays or games immediately come to mind. When I say Tommy Agee, how many of you immediately think of the 1983 Maryland game? When I say Brent Fullwood, how many of you think about the 1984 Florida State game in Tallahassee? When I say Lawyer Tillman do you immediately think of Grant Field in 1987? 

The great thing about remembering these players and these special times are the circumstances around them. It's what makes them special all these years later. Maybe you were with your girlfriend at Jordan-Hare Stadium or your high school or college buddies. Perhaps you were sitting there with a parent who's no longer here. We have favorite players not only for the way they played, but when they played and circumstances under which they performed.

Writing this has brought back a flood of great memories; many of which I haven't thought about in years. It's what makes us love Auburn and the players associated with it. The best part is that new memories are made each year. 

Who are some of your favorite Auburn players? Can you narrow the list any better than me? Good luck!

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

We continue this week's EA Sports series with a look at tailgating traditions. What goes on before the game is almost as important as what takes place on the field. For some, it may be just as important. Take a walk around Auburn on game day and you'll see all types of tailgating. From the million dollar RV's to the $59 pop up tents, there's more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to pregame festivities.

For me, tailgating has changed quite a bit over the years. Gone are the all day drunkfests with friends that typify a 20-somethings Saturday on the Plains. Sadly, I've reached the age where I look at those people with scorn - something I promised I'd never do. Maybe it's more jealousy than scorn. How did I get old so fast?

For me now, it's all about family and fun. A perfect gameday consists of getting to the tailgating spot early and setting up the tents, tables, chairs and food.  Most importantly is the television. After that, family and friends arrive throughout the day. Regardless of kickoff, I arrive at the crack of dawn. There's something about sunrise on the Plains that just gets you ready for football - that and perhaps a Bloodymary or two.

The great thing about the Auburn campus is that it's built for tailgating. With plenty of green, open space, Auburn has more tailgating spots than most schools. Auburn officials get a bad rap at times for their tailgating policies, but I find them more lenient than most places. The fact that you are still allowed to set up shop on the grass in front of school buildings is a huge plus.

When you think of Auburn tailgating, the first thing that comes to mind is Tiger Walk. While most schools have now copied the tradition, it's widely known that Auburn was the first to start such a tradition back in the 1960's. The Tiger Walk on December 2, 1989, is remembered as one of the great moments in Auburn history. While there were close to 30,000 there that day; after more than 20 years that number has grown tenfold.

I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I was standing on top of an RV at the intersection by the Stadium doing a live broadcast for WEGL. I was joined by Angie Ward (who's now a popular morning radio host in North Carolina) and I still have the cassette tape from that day.  It's a lot of fun to go back and listen. 

A walk around campus on gameday is quite a sight. A trip to Jordan-Hare is not complete without paying a visit to the orange Volkswagen Van that sits caddy-corner to Plainsman Park. There you'll find a rabid bunch of school teachers with their faces painted orange and pom-poms for hair. If they charged for all the pictures taken of them and with them over the years, they could give up educating the young. 

And who drives the orange and blue firetruck through town with all the drunk co-eds? They play the Auburn fight song at least 1,000 times over the course of the day. While some fans look at them with disdain, it's something I look forward to each week.

For students, tailgating is a completely different experience from the rest of us. Besides consuming more alcohol than any other demographic on campus that day, students line up hours in advance to get in the stadium and claim the best seats.
 
If you have a son or friend that's on the bubble as to whether or not to attend Auburn, just invite him to a game and walk past the student entrance before it opens. Per capita, it has more good looking women than any place on earth. He'll give you a verbal commitment on site.
 
What are your tailgate traditions? How do you spend time before a game? If you don't make it down to the games, what are your pregame rituals at home?
 
I hope you'll share with us.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

Years ago, I was writing for The Auburn Plainsman and sat down with David Housel who at the time was Auburn's Sports Information Director. We were a year or so removed from Alabama's first visit to Auburn in 1989. With Bama not set to return to Jordan-Hare for three more years, I asked Housel if the Tide's return visit would be anywhere near as big as the first.

In true Housel fashion, he shot back, "Let me ask you, was your second time as good as your first?" I'll let you infer what he was referencing. For many, picking an all-time favorite Auburn team has a lot to do with when you grew up and your first brush with greatness.

That's certainly the case for me. Like I said yesterday, I was a teenager before Auburn began fielding competitive, let alone great, football teams. To do this day, I look back on the 1983 season as the most magical in my lifetime. A lot of you will take exception and point to the 1993 team or 2004 unit. You would have a valid argument. But the debate is not about the best team, but rather my favorite team and your favorite team. We all have different Auburn experiences.

For context, you have to look at Auburn before 1983. Fans had endured one of the worst stretches of Auburn football in the modern era. Until the prior season, the Tigers had not been to a bowl game in nine years. They had defeated Alabama only once in 10 years. They had finished in the top 20 only two times in the past eight seasons. Legendary coach Shug Jordan had recently passed away and the Doug Barfield era was less than stellar. Prior to Pat Dye's arrival, Auburn was as low as it could go.

The start of the '83 campaign had a feeling unlike any other in my lifetime. Auburn was not only expected to compete, but was favored to win the SEC - something it hadn't done since 1957. They started the campaign ranked fourth nationally and had a rising star in a kid named Vincent Jackson. 

After a convincing 24-3 win over Southern Miss in the opener, Auburn was suddenly thrown into the center of the college football world when it welcomed Texas the following Saturday in what was deemed at the time, the biggest game of the year in all of football. After giving up 20 first half points, Auburn outscored the Longhorns 7-0 in the second half and lost. It was the last taste of defeat for this Pat Dye team.

This talented team went on to win 10 straight including victories over Florida State, Florida, Maryland (led by Boomer Esiason), Georgia and Alabama. In the process stars were born including Jackson, Randy Campbell, Lionel James, Greg Carr, Donny Humphrey, Doug Smith, David King, Ben Tamburello and Tommy Agee.  I could literally go on and on. 

Auburn returned to the Sugar Bowl for the first since 1971 and defeated Michigan 9-7 with three field goals by Al Del Greco. I literally had to pinch myself each week. Was this my Auburn? It was the greatest football fall of my life. 

This season is one of the reasons Pat Dye remains my all-time favorite coach. He gave people of my generation something to cheer about. He changed the way we thought of Auburn. Suddenly, for the first time, I had my own stories that I could one day tell my kids. 

Like so many great Auburn teams, the '83 squad became victim of circumstances it had no control over. Entering New Year's Day, Auburn was ranked third nationally in both polls behind Nebraska and Texas. Georgia took care of the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl and Miami upset what the media was calling the greatest college football team of all time in Nebraska. Because of the hype, the Hurricanes jumped from fifth to first to claim the national title. To make matters worse, voters in both polls placed Nebraska second. A win over Bo Schembechler's Wolverines was not enough. It was every bit as big a travesty as what happened to the 2004 team.

Though it has been 27 years since that magical season, it still seems like yesterday. I remember exactly where I sat with my father through every home game - Section 43 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.  There have been so mighty good teams come through since and maybe even some better ones, but for me, there will never be another 1983.

Who's your favorite Auburn team?

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

The old saying goes that at birth you must make a choice between Auburn and Alabama. In reality, most times it's the family that make the choice for you. That was certainly the case with me. On both my mother and father's side of the family, it was all Auburn. Having a choice between the two schools was never an option.

Growing up in the 1970's, it wasn't easy being an Auburn fan. These were the years of Shug Jordan's final teams and the dawning of the Doug Barfield era. Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of joy for a kid who wore an Auburn jersey to school. To make matters worse, Bear Bryant was in his heyday at Alabama and Vince Dooley was doing his thing in Athens. 

My formative years were spent pulling for a school in transition. My first recollection of an Auburn victory over Alabama came in seventh grade when Bo Jackson went over the top to beat the Tide in 1982. Watching the celebration on television made all those years waiting and hoping worth it. Little did I know that 1982 was just the beginning of one of the great runs in SEC history - and one that solidified my love of Auburn.

Despite the tough going on the field in my early years as a Tiger, they are some of my most memorable. My grandfather owned a little grocery store for more than 30 years. I was raised in that store and some of my all-time favorite memories are of those Saturday's spent in the back of the store watching the Auburn-Alabama game on his small black and white television. 

All of my grandfather's regular customers would roll in to the store on gameday and most of them were Alabama fans. This didn't stop him from talking Auburn up and even going out on a limb (a very long one at that) and guaranteeing an Auburn victory. 

After this went on for several years, I remember asking him why he kept baiting these Alabama fans knowing Auburn had little chance of victory. I'll never forget his answer. "What you've got to realize is that every Alabama fan I've picked on today will show up after the game to rub it in," he said. "When they do, they'll buy something before they leave. That makes me the winner." I think of that often.

Another vivid memory of childhood was the stories my dad told me about Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley. I was a toddler during their playing days, so I have no memory of them playing except for his stories and a few grainy videos. These times were much simpler and with no satellite television and internet, our imaginations were much better.
  
In vivid detail, Dad would tell stories of all their on-field exploits. To hear him talk, these two guys were superheroes of the likes of which we'd probably never see again on the college gridiron. To this day I can recall games they played in detail, despite never seeing or hearing the audio or video. 

All of these things ingrained in me my love for Auburn. When I think of Auburn football, I think of family and life experiences. In a lot of ways they are one in the same. I suspect a lot of people feel the same way about their schools. But deep down, something makes me believe Auburn is different.

The experience of being an Auburn person is different. It's better. Sometimes I look at fans from other schools and feel sorry for them; not because their schools aren't great, but because they are not Auburn. My family has done much for me, but most importantly, they made me an Auburn man.

What's your story?

For a lot of fans, the Fourth of July is not only a celebration of our great country, but a milestone of sorts. Once the grill goes cold and the last set of fireworks are launched, Auburn fans begin turning their attention to the upcoming season. For the first time in seven months, the season is close and kickoff is just around the corner.

Another sign the season is close at hand is the release of EA Sport's NCAA Football 2011. Some people swear this is what Christmas in July is all about - count me among them. For this reason, I was ecstatic when the folks at EA Sports asked to sponsor a week's worth of posts leading up to the game launch next Tuesday, July 13th.

They asked that we celebrate the fan - the Auburn fan. It's what their game is built around this year and it's what Track'em Tigers is all about - you, the fan. 

Each day this week we'll be posting stories that celebrate the Auburn fan. The only way I know to do it is to tell you my story. I hope you'll join in and tell me your stories of Auburn fandom. Below is the list of articles for this week:

Monday: How I Became An Auburn Fan

Tuesday: All-Time Favorite Auburn Team

Wednesday: Tailgating Traditions

Thursday: All-Time Favorite Auburn Players

Friday: My Most Memorable Moments

Monday: Expectations For The 2010 Auburn Tigers

Tuesday: Christmas in July - The Release of NCAA Football 2011

This is going to be a great experience.  I hope you'll join in.  Happy July 4th Weekend to you and your family!

War Eagle!