I was fortunate to get to know Tiger Jack through this Board. Others have, too. It is no secret that he was a fantastic friend and consumate Auburn man.
I really miss him this week. The UGA game was his favorite. He thought it our best rivalry -- intense but civil with so many intertwining stories between the athletics departments. TJ had family on both sides of the rivalry. He had many UGa friends, too. He really relished this game. His crew's tailgates for this game were extra large and extra special.
I think the younger generations of fans on both sides of the aisle perhaps do not appreciate this game like some of the older ones do. I am not sure why. I have some theories about it, but I am not sure they are relevant or even interesting. I do think it is sad. Maybe not as sad as having to admit that I am now one of the old folks, but sad nonetheless.
I want Auburn to kick some Dawg ass this weekend. But I can't hate the Bulldogs. My father was coached by Vince Dooley and Erk Russell when he played at Auburn. My earliest training was to respect those men. Vince and Erk, of course, became Georgia coaching legends, but they were once Auburn students, athletes, and coaches. He played against Pat Dye. Old timers know what Joel Eaves meant to each university. Shug served in Athens, too, as a football assistant and basketball head coach after WWII. Few rivalries have these kinds of profound intersections.
Heck, my daughters are students at UGA, and they will be secretly (or not so secretly) pulling for the Tigers this weekend. There are some unbreakable bonds in this life.
Tiger Jack understood how unusual and meaningful this rivalry is, and he knew it as well as any person I have ever met. He wrote about it on this Board often and more eloquently than most.
So I miss him this week a little more than usual. War Eagle, Jon!
