Auburn Cheer Thoughts by Adam 12-22-05 As an alumnus who was dating a undergrad and then grad student for awhile, I managed to view at least one game from the student section every year for 8 football seasons. I'd say that makes me as much of an expert as anyone on the various cheers that we employ on a weekly basis to encourage our team and simultaneously illustrate to the other team that they are worthless. What follows is an analysis of the state of Auburn cheers, along with some possible helpful suggestions. 1. Bada Gedda: First, who really knows how to spell this cheer? I've seen it many ways, and not one of them has anything to do with the rules of phonics. Regardless, this cheer goes Bada Gedda Bada Gedda Bada Gedda Ba Ra Ra Ra, Siss Boom Ba Wegl, Wegl, War Damn Eagle Kick 'em in the butt big blue, hey! Now what fool wrote this cheer? I think it is safe to assume that heavy drinking was involved. The only clue we have to the authorship of this cheer comes in line three, when we see a clear reference to the campus radio station. Some stoned, drunk DJ from the 60s is probably responsible for this mess. I think the 60s is a good estimate too, because we see that we are supposed to kick them in the "butt," and not the "a-word" like we would in the 90s or today. If it had been kick em in the “fanny” I would have suggested the 50s. Anyway, I don't like this cheer much because it is clearly some propaganda from a 60s communist hippie. Yet, even commie hippies realize that Auburn can't help but kick everyone in the fanny/butt/posterior region because we are that awesome. So I tolerate this cheer, even though it isn't my favorite. I would like it better if it were something closer to Rip Roo, Rip Roo, Flim Flam Foo Wickidty Wack, Slippery Jack, Whoopidty Doo Tigers, Eagles, Plainsmen Too Everyone else sucks 2. Track 'em: This cheer goes Track 'em, Tigers, just like beagles Give 'em hell, you War Damn Eagles, hey! Now I really like how every single one of our cheers ends in "hey!" as if you try and get someone's attention after you've already talked to them. But anyway, I'm not sure what is up with this cheer either. Are the beagles trying to sneak in as another mascot? And even if we had some formidable beagles on our side, what would they be used for? Is the other team hiding somewhere deep in the hedges such that they would need to be tracked and flushed out? I think between Tigers and Eagles we pretty much have things taken care of, so I see no role for the beagles to fill...although I wouldn't mind if we teamed up with some very intelligent porpoises to make sure that we have a mascot for land, sea, and air...but that is the subject of a different commentary. Also, what is up with giving our opponents hell? I don't want them to be condemned for all eternity, I just want them to be sacked eleven times. I like this cheer ok, because let's face it, beagles are cool...but the whole detour into the theological fate of our opponents turns me off a little. I could also do without the whole “damn” thing, but more on that later. Perhaps this would work better Beagles, Bunny Rabbits, Breezy Summer Days All those are cute and fun, but too bad you suck, hey! 3. Two bits: A favorite cheer in countries where bits are still units of currency, this cheer goes Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar All for Auburn, stand up and hollar, yay! This is a rare cheer that ends in random yelling instead of "hey". So it already has something going for it. But what is with the appeal to currency? This is football, why do we need to be thinking about monetary exchange rates? We should just change this cheer to Two bits, pesos, dubloons, shillings Who wants to see a quarterback killing, yay! 4. Get some: Perhaps the cheer that annoyed me more than any other, this cheer heavily depends on crowd interaction. So the interchange is Cheerleader: Get some! Crowd: What? Cheerleader: Yardage! Crowd: Oh! The main reason this annoys me is because the crowd continues to respond after the cheerleaders have gone onto the next cheer. Typically the whole student section, after this cheer is over, goes "what? oh!" Then, about half the student section realizes how retarded it was, so the next time the "what? oh!" isn't as loud. Finally, there is always that one guy in your section who wants to see it happen a third time. I truly hate that guy. I've never heard it pass beyond three repeats, though I long ago resolved if it were ever attempted I would leave my seat and strangle whoever was trying it. The other reason this cheer annoys me is that it is suggestive. The cheerleader says "get some" clearly implying something dirty. The crowd, wondering if the cheerleader is being as naughty as he sounds, says "what? what did you just say?" The cheerleader, with a smirk, replies "yardage, get your mind out of the gutter!" Relieved that good taste has prevailed, the crowd sighs and responds "oh, ok, just making sure...yes, I agree we need more yardage." This whole exchange is retarded on every level I can think of. This is football, and we don't need marital relations to be part of the cheer...otherwise it could just be Cheerleader: SEX! Crowd: YES! Cheerleader: Football! Crowd: umm, alright 5. Shove it: Do they still do this cheer? If not, I can't imagine why they quit, because it is simply glorious. It goes Shove that ball across the line, shove that ball across the line Shove it! Auburn Shove it! I truly can't say enough good things about this cheer. It works on so many levels. There is the plain meaning, which simply encourages our offensive line to help push the ball across the line of scrimmage, typically in short yardage situations. After all, Auburn has typically been a bruising, running team. But there is also the added bonus of being able to use this cheer as an excuse to tell the annoying drunk in your section to shove it. You know who I am talking about, the guy who trips and pushes about four people into you a couple of times a game, the guy who keeps the "get some" cheer going for another seven or eight iterations, the guy who loudly adds the f bomb in unpredictible ways to every cheer I've mentioned. During this cheer, you have the opportunity to tell him to shove it and to push him down, and if he gets angry, you can just point to the field and say "dude, get fired up, we're shoving that ball across the line!" Any cheer that resonates on the field and also gives you the chance to get back at random drunk guy is awesome in my book. So I couldn't change this cheer for the better even if I devoted the rest of my life to it. 6. Situational cheers: I wouldn't change these either. H-O-L-D hold that line is good because, let's face it, while we probably need to hold that line, we definitely could use the spelling practice. Push 'em back is good because the other team is almost always a bunch of cheaters, and if you are cheering this, it is because they got caught and are being penalized. Defense Auburn Defense is absolutely fundamental because we don't want our players forgetting what they are supposed to be doing first and goal from the 4. 7. "Whore" eagle: The last thing that really gets on my nerves is the way that the war eagle cheer usually starts with a strong H sound. Pay attention to this next game. The mic man will always take off his hat and wave it around and go "hhhhwwwwaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........" This should start with a clear W sound and not an H sound. Tiger is not a whore eagle, she is a model of purity. We should not insult her integrity by implying that she is hot to trot around the raptor center with Spirit or Nova or random condors. So all in all, I'd say the state of Auburn cheering is ok. I could do without the extra curse words (I'm old enough that cursing just to curse isn't cool anymore, and how does adding "damn" between war and eagle do anything other than make us look like drunk rednecks?), and I am curious about some of our more promiscuous/beagle-filled cheers. But the presence of timeless classics like "shove it" and H-O-L-D let me know that there is hope on the Plains. Maybe with some of my suggestions, Auburn Cheering can take its rightful place as the most inspiring, motivational, and poetic cheers in the history of man. War Eagle, and Shove it!