The Mind of Shy

Tiger's Final Flight....

Okay, so the game sucked...we got our asses totally kicked and I don't really feel like talking about it, but the one bright spot was being there to see Tiger fly one last time. They started her lower than usual, and she didn't really do the whole round and round thing, but then she's been through a lot with the whole skin cancer thing. She was the bird when I was in school at Auburn and it was awsome just to see her honored. On November 11th, 2006, War Eagle VI was officially retired in a pregame ceremony before the Georgia game. During halftime her predecessor, Nova, was named War Eagle VII. In her final game as War Eagle VI, Auburn defeated Arkansas State 27-0, finalizing the team's record under War Eagle VI at 174-69-4. She saw two undefeated Auburn seasons, four SEC titles, and six SEC Western Division crowns.


Tiger came to Auburn from the Tennessee Valley Authority Raptor Rehabilitation Facility in Land-Between-The-Lakes, Kentucky. Trainers made the trip to the facility to receive Auburn's new mascot. Funds for this trip were made through the donation of Thomas Chamberlain, an Auburn alumnus. The bird originally came from St. Louis, Missouri, where she was seized by Federal agents as part of an illegal breeding operation and brought to Kentucky. Like War Eagle V, she is under the stewardship of the U.S. Government under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act and is on loan to the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. She arrived in Auburn on October 8, 1986 at an age of six years old. Like the two eagles before her, she was cared for by the brothers of Alpha Phi Omega until 2000 when she was turned over to the Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center. Currently, the Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitaion Center uses three birds, Spirit, a bald eagle, Nova a golden eagle and Tiger.
Nova, Auburn's six year old Golden Eagle, was officially named War Eagle VII on November 11, 2006. He was born in the Montogomery Zoo in 1999 and moved to Auburn at only six months of age. Prior to being named War Eagle VII, Nova had already participated in pre-game flights and convervation exhibits throughout the southeast.
WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!!

Farewell to Tiger....

I had this footage of Tiger from the Olympics in Utah. It's from before I got my first digital recorder for the TV so it was dubbed from VHS to DVD, transformed to .AVI and ultimately uploaded to youtube where I am sure it will sit on servers for generations to come. Today is Tiger's last flight and I just wanted to pay my respects.


Since everyone always asks why we do "the whole War Eagle thing", I offer the following....
The story of the first War Eagle dates back to the Civil War. According to the legend, a soldier from Alabama was the sole Confederate survivor of a bloody battle. Stumbling across the battlefield, he came across a wounded young eagle. The bird was named Anvre, and was cared for and nursed back to health by the soldier. Several years later the soldier, a former Auburn student, returned to college as a faculty member, bringing the bird with him. For years both were a familiar sight on campus and at events. On the day of Auburn's first football game in 1892 against the Univeristy of Georgia, the aged eagle broke away from his master during the game and began to circle the field, exciting the fans. But at the end of the game, with Auburn victorious, the eagle fell to the ground and died.