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Nostalgia & History > Super Bowl Sunday - RR "Grease-gate"Date: 02/01/15 12:23 Super Bowl Sunday - RR "Grease-gate" Author: hogheaded Deflate-gate certainly shows us how far football has fallen from its pure & true days, doesn't it? Below is a railroad-themed piece out of Bruce Nash's "Football Hall of Shame" that illustrates how the game really should be played, as far as I'm concerned. (Operation Lifesaver folks, please divert your eyes.)
-E.O. Auburn Greasers Nov. 7, 1896 The rivalry between Georgia Tech and Auburn has sizzled ever since the Auburn students literally railroaded the Tech football team. The scheming students lathered the railroad tracks with slimy pig grease and then stood watching as the arriving Georgia Tech train skidded right through town. The train wasn't able to stop until it was almost five miles down the line. Because the tracks were too slick for the engine to gain traction to back up, the disgruntled Tech players had to disembark. Then en they had to lug their own equipment all the way back to the Auburn field. There, the Yellow Jackets were so wiped out by the unscheduled trek that they were whomped by Auburn 45-0 The prank unfolded during the first Wreck Tech Pajama Parade in 1896. Ever since, the parade has been a hallowed pregame tradition at Auburn. Each year, students clad in pajamas have marched to the home stadium chanting, "Wreck Tech, wreck Tech, wreck the hell out of Georgia Tech!" The first parade was supposed to end at the football field. Instead, it ended early in the morning at the train station where the Auburn fans decided to ignite a rivalry that has flamed for nearly a century. Although he never owned up t it, Auburn coach John Heisman allegedly instigated the prank to distract the opposition and give his Tigers the edge in the game. Ironically the chief prankster was the very same coach who eventually had a trophy named after him - a trophy symbolizing the best in college football. "The Auburn football team's upperclassmen ordered the freshmen to start laying in a supply of pig grease several days before the game," said David Housel, Auburn sports information director. Since it was the first home game, the team wanted to do something to really make the event memorable. Adding to the anticipation was the fact that Auburn and Georgia Tech were both engineering schools at the time and a fierce professional jealousy existed long before the two schools met on the gridiron. Early on the morning of the big game, the freshmen, still clad in their pajama retrieved the stash of pig grease they had collected from farms and slaughter houses in the area and greased several hundred feet of rails with the smelly goo. Then students lined both sides of the track as the Tech Special chugged into town from the east and they waved and cheer d as the train slid out of town to the west. The fans were still at the station hours later when the weary Tech football team came trudging back along the greased tracks. That afternoon, Tech faced another greasing on the football field. The prank irritated the Yellow Jackets so much that they refused to return to Auburn until they were guaranteed that no more pranks awaited them. Auburn agreed, but when Georgia Tech arrived for a game two years later, a contingent of greaseless, pajama- clad Auburn students greeted them at the station just to remind the Yellow Jackets of their 45-0 drubbing. Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/15 12:24 by hogheaded. Date: 02/01/15 20:22 Re: Super Bowl Sunday - RR "Grease-gate" Author: garr Does Auburn still have that pajama march with the Tech chant today? It has been decades since Tech played Auburn, however who could expect less of a school that has what, three mascots/names?
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