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Auburn is second fiddle in Alabama - just
like FSU is second fiddle to the Gators. |
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| Toomers Drug on College Avenue is local history |
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| Their stadium sits right in the middle of campus |
Sunday morning we visited Auburn University. Being the summer and Memorial Day Weekend and Sunday morning - the place was empty. Although it was already 90 - we walked around the campus to see what it was like at another football factory. Sadly - it seems that most major colleges have just become feeder schools to the NFL. Many people are making millions off these kids. The NFL Commissioner made $22 million this year - in a non-profit tax exempt business.
Auburn has a beautiful campus - but right in the middle is a huge stadium that gets used maybe 6 times a year. The rest of the time students have to walk around it to get to classes. Auburn is in the "famous" SEC where everything is supposed to be bigger and better. I am not a big fan of making statues to the football gods - like Bobby Bowden - Joe Paterno - Paul Bryant - especially when they are living. But at Auburn they have statues of football players that only attended one year - and then left for the NFL. What is this all about?
In the South - they used to segregate public schools - black and white. When he law said they could not do that anymore - the whites just went to private schools and the blacks went to public schools. The money followed the white kids to the private schools. Auburn is surrounded by the greatest football talent in the nation in the Alabama/Georgia/Florida public schools. Auburn - Alabama - Florida State - Georgia - Clemson - all draw from this football feeder area.
We had a light lunch at the Toomer Drug Store in downtown adjacent to the campus. They have ice cream and lemonade. Toomer was a football player - he graduated with a degree in pharmacy. He then opened the drug store right next to campus - it has become the mecca to visit when alumni return. The ice cream was good and the servings large. They used a whole quart for a double dip cone. You could watch them make lemonade from scratch - squeezing lemons - plenty of sugar - and ice water.
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| Statue of Pat Sullivan - Heisman winner |
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| John Heisman was coach here |
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| Bo Jackson got some bronze |
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One year Cam Newton - Newton's dad
extorted money to get him to go
to Auburn. They did not even
let the Dad attend the championship
game. |
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| A new giant TV screen |
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| Putting down new sod |
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The student who took this picture thought
it was father - daughter day |
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| Toomer Drug Menu |
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| Nice things to eat |
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