Shame, Shame

Doug Gillett is at SB Nation Atlanta, doing his part to make the college football offseason roll by a little quicker by trying to find out which of the many rivals could count as the Georgia Bulldogs' biggest.

Last week, he asked which rival is the most fun to beat. One guess as to which team got the most votes.

This week, he's asking which rival brings the most shame in a loss. I know that I'm in a minority. Our Atlanta-centric fan-base will answer this question resoundingly with "Georgia Tech."

Look, I completely understand that answer. But for me, that team is Auburn.

When it comes to the Bees, I understand they're going to catch the Dawgs every once in a great while. They'll just be up for the game, the Dawgs won't and the story will write itself in a close loss. The braying of their more obnoxious fans is more comical than anything else, and I feel no shame listening to them prance about the internets because they've won one football game this decade.

Auburn, on the other hand, is a more evenly matched foe for the Dawgs. Their fans have tasted the sweet nectar of championships, no matter how they were acheived. When they beat Georgia, they just kind of pat Dawg fans on the back and act as if their victory was always assured, has been in the past, and always will be.

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How Do You?

Dump on USC and Auburn University at the same time?

This.

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The Low Hanging Branches

The poisoning of Toomer's Oaks in Auburn, Alabama continues to be a case study regarding Southern culture taken to the most absurd extremes.

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Chemical Weapons

The 130+ year old live oak trees at Toomer's Corner in Auburn, Alabama have been poisoned with massive amounts of herbicide.

Let me say, first of all, that this crosses the line of college prankery in the worst sort of way. Especially considering the lethal doses of poisonous herbicide used on a landmark where Auburn fans doubtless take pictures with their young children.

When they catch this guy or guys, I hope the full force of the law is brought down against them.

Update: Looks like they have a suspect in custody.

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Fruit of the Poison Tree (Updated)

The UGA - Auburn college football rivalry is one of the oldest and most storied in the sport. I've had a fine time in the past when I have tailgated with Auburn fans, and every two years, when this game is played in Athens, it is an event almost without parallel.

This fun, evenly matched rivalry was what growing up in the South is all about. It was one of my favorite things about college football. Even with a history of questionable, and dare I say, dirty plays, that have been an undercurrent of the game in the past, it always seemed that was a part of playing Auburn.

Until last Saturday.

Maybe this is a result of excusing unacceptable behavior for too long, maybe it is just a panicked reaction to Alabama's success of the last 3 years, but this got out of control. I think the Auburn players, coaches, and fans have absolutely poisoned the well this year, and I'm not even talking about the big controversy. But from the dirty play and fighting to their coaches cheering it on to their fans excusing it after the fact, a corner was turned here.

This game is going to burn bright in Georgia's memories for a long, long time. Much longer than two timeouts.

Which is a shame, really. This was a better rivalry than that.

Update: Thanks to Ryan, who sent me an email link to this post, which pretty much has all the video and photo evidence you'll need to understand what I'm talking about.


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