ESPN’s blog writers have been pushing out plenty of roundtable discussion debates lately, most recently naming LSU’s Tiger Stadium as the best playing venue in the entire SEC. On Wednesday, they continued their series, this time recognizing the greatest pre-game traditions for each Power 5 conference.
Clemson’s Howard Rock tradition ranks No. 1 in the ACC. Ohio State’s “dotting the i” of “script Ohio” was easily the favorite for the Big Ten. The Big 12 is represented by Kansas State’s Wabash Cannonball, and Colorado’s Ralphie Run took the spot for the Pac-12.
And according to Edward Aschoff, the SEC’s top tradition goes to Auburn’s War Eagle.
“From Bear Bryant’s speech before every home game at Alabama to South Carolina’s dizzying playing of the theme song to ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ the SEC is full of fun before kickoff,” wrote Aschoff. “Although a walk through The Grove or running through the Power T are great to watch, I’m going with Auburn’s War Eagle.
“It’s tough to pull off consistent tricks with live mascots, but Auburn’s golden eagles have a long and illustrious history of soaring around a raucous Jordan-Hare Stadium and landing at midfield before every Auburn home game, which always sends Tigers fans into a frenzy. The current eagle, Nova, is the eighth bird to inspire Auburn’s rabid home crowd.”
In case you were interested in comparing the War Eagle to other notable SEC traditions, we’ve got you covered. All you have to do is check out this link from a few years back.
What do you think — did ESPN get this one right?
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
