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IRL (In Real Life) => Sports => Topic started by: SirAndrewD on May 26, 2019, 01:30:05 AM

Title: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: SirAndrewD on May 26, 2019, 01:30:05 AM
I know Airboy is an Auburn guy, but yeah, might be lost on a few. 

The voice of Auburn radio, Rod Bramblett died along with his wife after a horrific car accident. 

I sadly only learned tonight after seeing my social media explode in celebration, with posts of "Roll Tide" and "RTR" with smileys and fireworks.

Came as a shock.  Auburn has had a bad and sad run with it's announcers.  We lost Jim Fyffe in '03, and Bramblett did a fantastic job of filling his huge shoes. 

I hate this for the Auburn family, and it's a great loss for sports broadcasting. 

He cared about Auburn, he was a good man. 

I will always remember Rod on this day..



Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: MetalDog on May 27, 2019, 08:42:49 AM
You could have picked something a bit different if you were looking for 'Bama sympathy.  Just a quick tease. ;)  I would say I was surprised that Tide fans were crass and boorish over something as tragic as Rod and his wife losing their lives, but, I've lived here long enough to know that the two fan bases are dicks to each other.  One of my local guys used to have Rod on occasionally and he was always a gentleman who bled orange and blue.  My condolences to the Auburn faithful and especially to the Bramblett family and those who loved them.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: Gusington on May 27, 2019, 09:06:42 AM
 Bama fans were actually celebrating his death?
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: airboy on May 27, 2019, 09:29:37 AM
Quote from: Gusington on May 27, 2019, 09:06:42 AM
Bama fans were actually celebrating his death?

Doubtful that any of these " Bama fans" ever took a class there.  I'm out of state for a couple of days but I'm sure the reaction happened.

It is not limited to "bammers"
As a UNC grad the worst "fans" never took a class.  People love to jump on the bandwagon of a big winning program.

Look up the guy who was sent to jail for poisoning the Toomer's Oaks if you don't believe the level of asshattery that Bama attracts on the fringes.  (As Metaldog knows, this is not directed at him or anyone here).  A couple of College programs and lots of pro sports teams (especially soccer in Europe) attract these jerks.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: airboy on May 27, 2019, 09:41:06 AM
RIP Jim and his wife.  One of the great, weird sports stories of all time.  Downtown Auburn has a piece of sidewalk memorializing him for his performance in only one game.  Almost unbelievable if you don't understand the madness surrounding this one football game in this State.

Rod (I think) only broadcast for Auburn Football.  Andy Birtcham does basketball and baseball.

Auburn making it to the Final 4 is the first time in 31 years that the sports headlines in the entire State did not focus only on what happened every day during spring football practice.  The college football obsession in Alabama must be personally experienced to be comprehended.

Sorry - I'm mixing the "kick 6" game and the "punt Bama punt" games.  Punt, Bama, punt is the stranger of the two to me.  But my football knowledge is minimal for someone from Alabama.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: MetalDog on May 27, 2019, 11:26:50 PM
Quote from: airboy on May 27, 2019, 09:41:06 AM
RIP Jim and his wife.  One of the great, weird sports stories of all time.  Downtown Auburn has a piece of sidewalk memorializing him for his performance in only one game.  Almost unbelievable if you don't understand the madness surrounding this one football game in this State.

Rod (I think) only broadcast for Auburn Football.  Andy Birtcham does basketball and baseball.

Auburn making it to the Final 4 is the first time in 31 years that the sports headlines in the entire State did not focus only on what happened every day during spring football practice.  The college football obsession in Alabama must be personally experienced to be comprehended.

Sorry - I'm mixing the "kick 6" game and the "punt Bama punt" games.  Punt, Bama, punt is the stranger of the two to me.  But my football knowledge is minimal for someone from Alabama.

QFT  I've experienced Yankees/Red Sox and it's similar, but not the same.  Any of the big metropolitan rivalries have other sports, pro or college, to root for and distract them.  Not so Alabama.  Football, and any other competition branded 'Bama/Auburn, is the number one time occupier of the vast majority of the state's inhabitants.  I liken it to growing up.  In your formative fandom, your guys are the best and the other guys can do no right.  Even if they win, there are years of misdeeds that can be drawn from to diminish the other team's accomplishment.  Then you grow up and graduate.  Now you have the ability to wish the other team good luck.  And almost believe you mean it.  There's still a lot of douchebaggery, but, it's mostly verbal.  The exception being a-holes like the guy who took out the trees at Toomer's Corners.  That jerk knew how to destroy the trees beyond repair and then got on Paul Feinbaum's show and proudly proclaimed his deed and his 'Roll Tide.'  Disgusting and abhorrent.  But par for the course in some of the bs I've heard one fanbase does to another.  That there were people laughing and giving a "Roll Tide' at Rod Bramblett's death is not really a surprise.  Juvenille, douchey, and crass, but not unexpected.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: SirAndrewD on May 28, 2019, 02:12:03 AM
Quote from: Gusington on May 27, 2019, 09:06:42 AM
Bama fans were actually celebrating his death?

The vast majority were not, but I saw a bit of it on social media. 

I guess MetalDog is right that I could've picked a bit of a better video if not inciting Alabama fans, but I honestly picked it because it showed his real and genuine excitement that he brought to the broadcast booth. 

Airboy is also correct.  I have many fans that are Bama grads and they're very sad and sympathetic.  I'm sadly sure even a few Auburn fans will give a "War Eagle" should when Eli Gold finally passes on.  The rivalry has a lot of bad blood in it.  Sad to see it go this far sometimes, but it does.

This is a real blow to the sports program.  It's going to cast even more of a pall over the season than Fyffe's loss did.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: Gusington on May 28, 2019, 09:20:50 AM
Tell me more about the Toomers Corners trees.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: airboy on May 28, 2019, 02:13:24 PM
Quote from: Gusington on May 28, 2019, 09:20:50 AM
Tell me more about the Toomers Corners trees.

Probably on Wikipedia.  I lack the internet access to track down something better.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: SirAndrewD on May 28, 2019, 02:52:53 PM
Quote from: Gusington on May 28, 2019, 09:20:50 AM
Tell me more about the Toomers Corners trees.

In 2010 Auburn went on and undefeated run and won the National Championship, its first recognized one since 1957.

Part of that run involved an epic comeback win over an equally good and National Championship caliber Alabama team in the Iron Bowl at Alabama.

Some overzealous Auburn fans hung a jersey of Auburn QB Cam Newton on Bear Bryant's statue after the game in celebration. 

In retaliation an Alabama Superfan named Harvey Updyke, a former Texas State Trooper, obtained a quantity of Spike80DF an extremely powerful and dangerous industrial herbicide.   He applied that herbicide to the iconic trees at Toomer's Corner in Auburn.

Toomers Corner is an intersection at the heart of Auburn near Toomer's Drug Store where students and fans celebrate after a win.  The oaks that stood there had been one of the symbols of Auburn for more than 100 years, and one of our most deeply held traditions is to go out and roll the trees with TP after a win.  Sounds weird to the uninitiated, but it means a lot to us.  Being a student there in the 90's and participating in that tradition is a very very fond memory of mine. 

The Oaks did not survive the poisoning despite the best efforts of the city and university ag department.

So, yeah, Updyke poisoned the trees.  He then called into Paul Finebaum's Radio show to brag, and ended his call with the now infamous call "Roll Damn Tide", a play on our cheer of "War Damn Eagle".

After a quick investigation they tracked him down, and he got jail time over the event.  He actually became one of the more hated men in Alabama by both fan bases.  For Auburn fans the phrase "Updyke" became a nickname for the worst of Alabama fans.  For Alabama fans, he became the embarrassing symbol that reinforces the stereotype of the Camo wearing, beer swilling Alabama fan that has never been on a college campus for any other reason than to see a football game, and defines their self worth by the success of the Crimson Tide.

I do honestly remember that 2010 was one of the best and worst years to be an Auburn fan.  Bama fans were seriously more invested in Auburn NOT winning a National Championship than they were in Alabama possibly making a run at one themselves.  When Cam Newton was cleared by the NCAA, the portion of the fan base that felt that way had little outlet but outright violence and hostility directed at Auburn fans.   

I actually lost a couple of friends that year, who weren't really friends, because I was an Auburn fan.  My late Dad's wife started a almost decade long feud with me that ended in me being banned from my Dad's funeral, and part of that was because I was an Auburn grad.   She outright told me that it was "disgusting" that I went to that school. 

All over football. 
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: MetalDog on May 28, 2019, 10:50:49 PM
That's awful about your late father's wife.  It makes me sad for you.  I just wish stories like that were rare.  Unfortunately, who you root for gives too many people a sense of self esteem and identity.  And with Alabama and Auburn the only game in town here makes it doubly bad.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: SirAndrewD on May 28, 2019, 11:09:36 PM
Quote from: MetalDog on May 28, 2019, 10:50:49 PM
That's awful about your late father's wife.  It makes me sad for you.  I just wish stories like that were rare.  Unfortunately, who you root for gives too many people a sense of self esteem and identity.  And with Alabama and Auburn the only game in town here makes it doubly bad.

There was more to it than that, but it was part of her first impression of me and it ended up coloring a lot of how she interacted with me for years.   We first met during the Tuberville years and it was frought because of the disparity between the programs then.   The Tuberville streak didn't do a lot to keeping things civil in the state.

She never went to college but made a life for herself in spite of it.  She was insanely unhappy that my Dad had saved and paid for my tuition, and I'd made the "immoral" decision to go to Auburn when I had the choice to go anywhere I wanted, ie Alabama.   Her decision was entirely focused on football, not academics.  She believed that Auburn fully was corrupt and paid for recruiting classes and the corruption bled down to the entire university.   In essence, the entire town was a cesspool of bad money, bad management, bought players and bought students.  She felt I did myself and my Dad a disservice on that.   In essence, there was no way Auburn could EVER compete with Alabama unless it cheated, stole and committed fraud. 

This from someone who never went to Alabama OR Auburn. 

Honestly, I never even really knew the depth of the rivalry till I came here.  I'm from Dallas Texas, and before I was a teen I never cared for the College game.   I was and am a die hard pro-Cowboys fan.  When I came here in the early 90's I was asked, nay, demanded to declare.   The hostility I felt from Alabama fans made me just pick Auburn out of the blue, and that happened to be the epic '89 First Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare year.  I was smitten after that, and sold after my four years on the Plains as a student. 

So, I feel a lot for the Auburn family, it means a lot to me.  Sports wise I'm still really first and foremost a Cowboys fan, hated as that is.  But I do love Auburn sports, don't really get riled when they lose, but love it when they win.

And for my part four of my five closest friends on earth are Alabama fans.  One of them watches the Iron Bowl with me almost yearly, and he brings test tube shots half Bama Slammers and Buttery Nipples for the Red and White, half Blue Hawaiians and Screwdrivers for the Orange and Blue.   So yeah, I have no problem with the other side for the most part.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: MetalDog on May 28, 2019, 11:51:08 PM
My grandfather went to UA in the 40's before he enlisted.  He never finished.  Many years later, when I was a tyke, I caught the last few Bear years and the epic '79 Sugar Bowl against No. 1 Penn State.  That was Bear's last National Championship.  So, I have 'pulled' for 'Bama the last four decades.  But I never had any idea what the Alabama/Auburn rivalry was like until I moved here.  It was good to have Roll Tide to present when I was getting a lot of 'Youre a Yankee,' flak.  But my Pop was always a 'Bama fan first and a SEC fan next.  So Bowl season was spent pulling for SEC teams.  Unless, of course, 'Bama was playing someone in the SEC.  Then it was on!  He also told me that Alabama's enemy isn't Auburn, it's Tennessee.  That may change with an Alabama alum as the Vols HC.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: SirAndrewD on May 29, 2019, 12:05:42 AM
Quote from: MetalDog on May 28, 2019, 11:51:08 PM
My grandfather went to UA in the 40's before he enlisted.  He never finished.  Many years later, when I was a tyke, I caught the last few Bear years and the epic '79 Sugar Bowl against No. 1 Penn State.  That was Bear's last National Championship.  So, I have 'pulled' for 'Bama the last four decades.  But I never had any idea what the Alabama/Auburn rivalry was like until I moved here.  It was good to have Roll Tide to present when I was getting a lot of 'Youre a Yankee,' flak.  But my Pop was always a 'Bama fan first and a SEC fan next.  So Bowl season was spent pulling for SEC teams.  Unless, of course, 'Bama was playing someone in the SEC.  Then it was on!  He also told me that Alabama's enemy isn't Auburn, it's Tennessee.  That may change with an Alabama alum as the Vols HC.

The "Tennessee is the ultimate enemy" is still the cry of many Alabama fans.  That is partly truth, and I can say, I lived in Nashville and they feel the same.  But it's partly to belittle Auburn and say they're not significant enough to be in Alabama's notice.   That's partly why 2004, 2010 and almost 2013 were so damaging to the state Auburn/Alabama relations.  Prior to those years there were a lot of chants and shots of "irrelevant" issued at Auburn by Bama.  Losing that disparity was tough for some of their fan base, but they've regained it since.

Honestly, to me as an Auburn grad, I MUCH more have animosity towards LSU and especially Georgia.   I have never been the guy that hates Alabama as an institution or program.  On the contrary, I respect them.  I get it.   I'm a Cowboys fan, I know what it's like to be the team everyone loves to hate.   I actually genuinely root for Bama when they're not playing Auburn or the Longhorns, even though I kid and throw shade occasionally out of light kidding. 
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: Gusington on May 29, 2019, 07:29:03 AM
This makes Boston/NY or Army/Navy seem tame in comparison.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: MetalDog on May 29, 2019, 08:40:34 PM
^ I liken it to a religion.

Quote from: SirAndrewD on May 29, 2019, 12:05:42 AM
Quote from: MetalDog on May 28, 2019, 11:51:08 PM
My grandfather went to UA in the 40's before he enlisted.  He never finished.  Many years later, when I was a tyke, I caught the last few Bear years and the epic '79 Sugar Bowl against No. 1 Penn State.  That was Bear's last National Championship.  So, I have 'pulled' for 'Bama the last four decades.  But I never had any idea what the Alabama/Auburn rivalry was like until I moved here.  It was good to have Roll Tide to present when I was getting a lot of 'Youre a Yankee,' flak.  But my Pop was always a 'Bama fan first and a SEC fan next.  So Bowl season was spent pulling for SEC teams.  Unless, of course, 'Bama was playing someone in the SEC.  Then it was on!  He also told me that Alabama's enemy isn't Auburn, it's Tennessee.  That may change with an Alabama alum as the Vols HC.

The "Tennessee is the ultimate enemy" is still the cry of many Alabama fans.  That is partly truth, and I can say, I lived in Nashville and they feel the same.  But it's partly to belittle Auburn and say they're not significant enough to be in Alabama's notice.   That's partly why 2004, 2010 and almost 2013 were so damaging to the state Auburn/Alabama relations.  Prior to those years there were a lot of chants and shots of "irrelevant" issued at Auburn by Bama.  Losing that disparity was tough for some of their fan base, but they've regained it since.

Honestly, to me as an Auburn grad, I MUCH more have animosity towards LSU and especially Georgia.   I have never been the guy that hates Alabama as an institution or program.  On the contrary, I respect them.  I get it.   I'm a Cowboys fan, I know what it's like to be the team everyone loves to hate.   I actually genuinely root for Bama when they're not playing Auburn or the Longhorns, even though I kid and throw shade occasionally out of light kidding. 

Tennessee took over during the 41 years Auburn and Alabama didn't play each other between 1906 and 1947.  My grandfather attended in the early 40s.  So I expect that's where his enmity for the Vols came from.  And I was always told by those in the know that it's Georgia for Auburn, not 'Bama.  It's the oldest rivalry in the South.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: SirAndrewD on May 29, 2019, 11:39:09 PM
Quote from: MetalDog on May 29, 2019, 08:40:34 PM
^ I liken it to a religion.

Tennessee took over during the 41 years Auburn and Alabama didn't play each other between 1906 and 1947.  My grandfather attended in the early 40s.  So I expect that's where his enmity for the Vols came from.  And I was always told by those in the know that it's Georgia for Auburn, not 'Bama.  It's the oldest rivalry in the South.

Religion is about right.  I really never even remotely understood how deep it ran until I got here.  As a pro fan, I of course had a rivalry with the Redskins, and there's a ton of bad blood with the Eagles.  I will say on that, I'd feel a bit safer seeing an Iron Bowl in Orange and Blue in Tuscaloosa than seeing an Eagles game in Philly in Cowboys gear.  In fact, I would NOT wear Cowboys gear in Philly, ever, at all.  I've worn my colors in T-Town and not felt much concern. 

And yes, I forgot the great gap in Auburn-Alabama play.  To those that don't know, the rivalry got so bad that for a long time it simply wasn't held.  And yeah, in that time I can see how Alabama and Tennessee got to be rougher. 

Also right that I really dislike Georgia more than Alabama, as I've said before.  I cheered EXTREMELY hard for Alabama over Georgia when they played for the NC.  Georgia fans were deeply brutal to Auburn people about how they'd won more recent Nattys before 2010.   They've been desperate to have one to throw in Auburn's face since.  It's also rough that Auburn has such a following in Georgia.   When I lived in Atlanta I'd say it was at least 30% Auburn fans, and that got under the skin hugely of the home crowd. 

Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: airboy on May 30, 2019, 12:05:16 PM
Sir Andrew - sounds like you Dad's wife had mental issues.  Very sad.

My Dad was a huge sports fan and was attached to Wake Forest.  My brothers went there.   I was accepted, then applied late to UNC and went there.  My Dad only came to Chapel Hill the day I graduated.

It hurt him that I was the only serious sports fan and went to games with him as a kid through high school.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: Gusington on May 30, 2019, 12:26:06 PM
I vaguely knew about these football rivalries but these personal stories are hardcore.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: bayonetbrant on May 30, 2019, 03:10:12 PM
Quote from: Gusington on May 29, 2019, 07:29:03 AM
This makes Boston/NY or Army/Navy seem tame in comparison.

Quote from: MetalDog on May 29, 2019, 08:40:34 PM
^ I liken it to a religion.

One of the very few worldwide rivalries to Bama/Auburn is Celtic-Rangers in Glasgow, and that one literally is religion.

Part of the issue you have in Alabama is that there's no other unifying factor for the fan base to rally around, and there's no other division other than the Bama/Auburn divide.

Here in NC, you have the three-headed State-UNC-Duke rivalry, with an extra dose of Wake/ECU fans jumping in on occasion.  But you also have all of those fan bases pulling for the Panthers or Hurricanes when pro sports come into the discussion.

In SC, there's a clear Clemson/SC divide, but there's a big chunk of prominent people in the state that went to The Citadel, and two of the key media markets  are tied to out-of-state teams (Charlotte/Rock Hill and Augusta/Aiken)

In Louisiana, LSU dominates everything, but you also have the Saints as a unifying factor statewide.

In Mississippi, neither Ole Miss nor MSU has regularly played for high enough stakes to really make the rivalry worth caring about, and Southern Miss has been the better football team for loooooooong stretches of time.

In Tennessee, the UT-Vandy rivalry was pretty one-sided for a long time, but the state is so geographically spread out that the fan bases can avoid each other pretty easily (and they all ignore Memphis) and that was before pro sports started to seep into the state.

Up in Virginia, the UVa-VT rivalry is pretty good, but not all-consuming when a huge portion of the population is transient or transplant w/ DC & Tidewater.

The Kentucky-Louisville rivalry is mainly hoops-focused, but they aren't in the same conference, and haven't regularly played each other in literally every single sport for 5 generations.

So in the state of Alabama, you've got a combination of insane fans, tight proximity, dearth of alternatives, generational hate, repeated competition, and high stakes that all add up to a total cocktail of crazy.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: SirAndrewD on May 30, 2019, 03:49:45 PM
Brant hit it on the head there. 

Part of what makes Alabama/Auburn as bad as it is, comes from the fact that it is actually a rivalry. 

Many college rivalries are about as much of a rivalry as a hammer has with a nail.  Tennessee/Vandy comes to mind. 

Some are among schools that really aren't particularly nationally relevant. 

Alabama and Auburn are both power programs in the SEC that regularly beat each other in their rivalry game.  In fact, since 1980 Auburn's had the better of it in the Iron Bowl. 

That's part of what draws the ire of many Alabama fans.   After Auburn's fall from the top in the late 50's, and the coming of Bear Bryant to Tuscaloosa, Alabama ruled the state with a dominance over Auburn that was almost comical.   Alabama fans referred to Auburn as their "Little Sister" and the Iron Bowl was regularly just a holiday for Alabama fans to celebrate their guaranteed win.  Outside of the brief run Auburn had with Heisman QB Pat Sullivan, there wasn't much in the way of good football being played on the Plains.

Auburn wasn't even allowed home games against Alabama during that period.  The Iron Bowl was played at Legion Field, "neutral" ground that was in actuality Alabama's secondary stadium that they used because Tuscaloosa's stadium was not large enough. 

That all changed in the early 80's when Auburn invested a considerable about of money into the football program, its facilities, and coaches.  They hired Bear Bryant's protegee, Pat Dye, as their head coach, which was shocking to Alabama fans, and they recruited Bo Jackson who went on to win the Heisman.

After that Auburn started winning.  They arguably won a National Championship in 1983, only not getting official recognition because of the weird voting system used then by the AP.  They forced Alabama to accept allowing Auburn to have home games for the Iron Bowl every other year, and the rivalry became very even. 

To this day there's still a lot of Alabama fans that refuse to accept that.  They still consider Auburn the "Little Sister" and like to imagine the rivalry is still the hammer and nail it once was.  The reality of the situation is honestly infuriating to some.   The Saban era has alleviated that a bit, as a flood of Championships and constant recruiting classes of depth most schools only dream about has restored some of the aura of invincibility around the program.   But yeah, a lot of it is still there and still raw. 

In some ways it's a good and interesting thing.  It adds spice to a state that otherwise sometimes lacks it.   In others, it goes too far like when it breaks apart families, causes people to celebrate deaths, or even worse, leads to death and violence itself (and there are times it has). 
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: airboy on June 02, 2019, 08:10:16 PM
The town of Auburn had a very rough two weeks while we were out of the country.

First, three police officers were shot and one was killed responding to a domestic dispute.  I knew two of the three including the deceased.  Not unusual for a small town to know that many officers.

About the time the officer was buried Rod Bramblett and his wife died in a car crash.

The two weeks of local paper I'm catching up on were just sad.  The only light point was one of the injured officers was visited by his K-9 dog and a picture of the dog licking him while he was in the hospital bed was on the front page.
Title: Re: RIP Rod Bramblett
Post by: SirAndrewD on September 01, 2019, 01:14:20 AM
Well., all of my thoughts are with my alma mater and the good people of Auburn.